Know before you hire. And know why.

Prelude tells you what you're hiring for before you start, interviews every candidate against it, and shows you the reasoning. You make a better hire, and you can explain it.

See how it works Talk to us

Why we exist

The old way stopped working.

Resumes are written by AI now. Interviews reward the polished answer. And every assessment on the market scores candidates against the same generic model. None of them know how selling works in your business. You do. Prelude turns what you know into a hiring profile, then holds every candidate to it.

"The old way stopped working" is Seth Godin's line. We agree with him.

Why Prelude

Three things a hiring manager actually needs.

Know what you're looking for

Twenty minutes with Prelude and you have a hiring profile for this seat: how deals get done here, what went wrong last time, the five things that matter and what proves them. Set before you see a single resume.

Decide with evidence, not a feeling

Every candidate gets the same spoken interview against your profile. You get a written read with the reasoning and the candidate's own words. When someone asks why you chose this person, you have the answer written down.

Be the one who fixed it

The manager who stops the revolving door gets noticed. Prelude gives you the hire and the story.

How it works

Three steps. One custom hiring profile.

1

Prelude interviews you

Less than 25 minutes, out loud. It asks how deals get done, what the last person got wrong, and what you won't compromise on. The result is your hiring profile.

2

Candidates talk, not type

Every applicant gets a real voice interview, with follow-ups two and three levels deep. Thirty apply, thirty get interviewed.

3

You get the read

Each candidate is read against your profile, evidence and reasoning shown. Prelude informs. You decide who to meet.

Watch it work

It doesn't accept the first answer.

A real interviewer follows up. So does Prelude, with every candidate.

A sharper first screen than a rushed phone call, and everyone gets the same one, in minutes. You spend your time only on the best candidates. Candidates get fifteen minutes on their own schedule and a real conversation, not a form.

PreludeYou mentioned you beat quota last year. Walk me through the deal you're proudest of.
CandidateA manufacturer we closed in the fall. They'd been with a competitor for years.
PreludeWhat made them willing to switch?
CandidateHonestly, the first meeting almost ended it. They didn't see a reason to change.
PreludeWhat did you do after that meeting?
CandidateI went back to their operations manager and asked what the current system cost them in hours every week.
PreludeSo the number came from their team, not your pitch. Who else did you have to win over before the decision?

Condensed from a sample Prelude interview.

A sales leader talking to Prelude on his phone

What it listens for

Eight competencies. You pick the five that gate the hire.

Built with people who've spent their careers hiring salespeople. You pick five, rank them, and name the one dealbreaker.

Grit and the will to succeed Coachability Rejection resilience Curiosity Empathy for the buyer Judgment under ambiguity Self-starter and ownership Business acumen

Hiring a sales leader? The list grows to include developing people, because a manager who can't coach costs you every hire that follows.

How we built it

The best minds in sales hiring just joined your hiring committee.

Prelude encodes the judgment of veteran sales leaders, trainers, and hiring experts into every question it asks. Not a personality test. Not a keyword scan.

Fair by design

Judged on what they've done. Nothing else.

The criteria are set with you before any candidate is seen, and every candidate gets the same questions against them. Prelude never reasons from age, sex, race, or any protected characteristic. Every conclusion cites the candidate's own words. A person makes every hiring decision.

Fast to value

You could have your hiring profile today.

The leader interview takes less than 25 minutes. Candidates interview on their own time, from any device, speaking naturally. No scheduling, no software to install.

Get started

Tell us about the role you're hiring for.

We'll be in touch. No spam, and no hard sell. Just a reply from a real person.

Request more information