COMMENTS
Good call... and you know, as a salesperson, I'd rather work for a small business, as well. I'm sure the majority of salespeople would. Big business means big office politics. So, it would be a mutually beneficial relationship.
I'd be very interested in your thoughts on 'building vs. buying' a sales force. I'm a small-business owner with a pretty good handle on my product and services, but barely a clue when it comes to marketing and sales. I could try to hire good salespeople, and try to learn how to manage them effectively. Or I could hire a proven VP of sales to do it -- most likely at great expense. (Either way, of course, we would use your screening tool.;)
How would you approach this fork in the road?
You're right. You could hire good salespeople and try to learn to manage them but by the time you figured it out you may have turned them all over - a much more costly adventure than finding the right VP of sales. However, you must find a VP that has already successfully done what you would need that individual to do at your company -- build a top performing sales force from scratch.
Good Luck!
Dave