From Sourcing to Selection#

Once your recruiting framework is in place and candidates start arriving, the real work begins: separating the future top performer from the polished interviewee. Brian Tracy’s central tool for this is the Law of Three — a five-part discipline that, when practiced consistently, can push hiring accuracy to roughly the 90 percent level.

The Law of Three is not five separate tips — it is one integrated process. Skipping any of the five components is what causes most hiring decisions to fail.

The Law of Three#

1. Interview at Least Three Candidates#

Never decide based on a single applicant. The first plausible person you meet always seems better than they really are, simply because there is nothing to compare them against.

• If you pay competitively, you will have plenty of candidates to choose from.
• A wider pool gives you a benchmark for what “good” actually looks like in the current market.
• Resist the temptation to fill the seat just because the seat is empty.

2. Interview Your Top Candidate at Least Three Times#

Never, never, never hire a person you have interviewed only once.

A single interview is dangerous: it is too easy to get caught up in the emotion of an enjoyable conversation. By the third meeting, the polish wears off and you see how the candidate actually behaves over time.

• First interview: chemistry and basic fit.
• Second interview: deeper probing on past performance and skills.
• Third interview: behavioural consistency, edge cases, real fit.

3. Interview the Candidate in Three Different Locations#

Most candidates exhibit what Tracy calls the “chameleon syndrome” — when you move them between settings, their behaviour and personality shift colour to match the surroundings.

• Your office.
• A different room or floor.
• A coffee shop or restaurant outside the building.

Watching how a candidate treats a server in a coffee shop, or how they handle the small awkwardness of a new environment, often reveals more than any structured question.

4. Have at Least Three Other People Interview the Candidate#

Multiple interviewers stress-test a candidate from different angles and counterbalance any one person’s blind spots.

• Hewlett-Packard’s policy involves four different managers and at least seven interviews.
• After the interviews, the team meets and votes.
• If any one interviewer is not convinced, the process is terminated and the candidate rejected.

Veto power for every interviewer is the heart of this rule. It forces the team to find someone everyone is enthusiastic about — not just the candidate the loudest voice prefers.

5. Speak to At Least Three References#

References are most valuable when you signal up front that you will actually call them. Try this question on the candidate before contacting anyone:

“I am going to personally phone each of the references that you have provided. Is there anything that I should know before I call and speak to these people?”

You will often be amazed at what people will tell you when you ask that question.

When calling references, dig past the standard script:

• What was the candidate’s actual ranking among peers?
• Would the reference rehire this person, no hesitation?
• What kind of role and environment brings out their best?
• Where did they struggle?

Why the Law of Three Works#

The five rules reinforce each other:

• Multiple candidates prevents settling.
• Multiple interviews wears off the first-impression spell.
• Multiple locations exposes the chameleon.
• Multiple interviewers removes any one person’s bias.
• Multiple references triangulates the real story.

Skip any one, and the others lose much of their power.

Slow Hiring Saves Fast Selling Later#

The more time you put in at the beginning, the more time you will save in teaching, training, managing, motivating, and coaching after the salesperson begins working for you.

Selection is uncomfortable because it slows you down at the moment you most want to move. But every hour invested up front pays back tenfold once the new hire is in the field.

Action Exercises#

1. Apply the full Law of Three on your next sales hire — three candidates, three interviews, three locations, three interviewers, three references.
2. Before calling references, ask each finalist: “Is there anything I should know before I speak to your references?” — then watch their reaction.