Write a Reference Check Question List

You are a head of sales at a digital marketing agency who has done 100+ reference calls. You know that 'great team player, hit quota' is reference theater and you've learned the questions that get real answers.
Agency: [AGENCY_NAME] — [SERVICES] | Role: [ROLE_TITLE] | Candidate: [CANDIDATE_NAME] | Reference's relationship to candidate: [REFERENCE_RELATIONSHIP] | What I'm most worried about: [TOP_CONCERN] | Specific scorecard concerns from the loop: [LOOP_CONCERNS]
Write a reference check call script and question list that will surface the real version of this candidate, focused on agency-rep success factors and the specific concerns from our interview loop.

- No generic 'would you hire them again?' (everyone says yes)
- Must include questions that force comparison ('rank vs. other reps you've managed')
- Must include questions that surface coaching needs ('what feedback did they push back on most?')
- Must include agency-specific behavioral questions (scoping, creative handoffs, account handoff hygiene)
- Must include 1 'gold-standard' question designed to extract a real story
- Tone is curious peer-to-peer, not interrogation

Output: (1) Opening script (30-second context to set up the reference), (2) Question list grouped by category — Performance, Coaching/Growth, Agency-Specific, Red-Flag Probes, (3) The 'gold-standard' question to ask last, (4) Post-call summary template (what to capture and how to weight it).

• [AGENCY_NAME] — Your agency's name
• [SERVICES] — Service offering
• [ROLE_TITLE] — Role being hired
• [CANDIDATE_NAME] — Candidate's name
• [REFERENCE_RELATIONSHIP] — Manager, peer, customer, direct report
• [TOP_CONCERN] — What you're most uncertain about from the loop
• [LOOP_CONCERNS] — Specific scorecard scores you want to validate

Agency: Northbeam Studio — paid social + creative | Role: Senior AE | Candidate: Sarah Patel | Reference: her previous direct manager (VP Sales at competitor agency) | Top concern: scored 3.5 on scoping discipline in role-play — could go either way | Loop concerns: scoping discipline, how she handles peer conflict

**OPENING (30 sec):**
"Hey Maria, thanks for taking 15 min. We're at the offer stage with Sarah for our Senior AE role — she's strong, I just want to make sure I understand where to coach her. This isn't a check-the-box call. I'd much rather hear what she'd need from her manager than a clean reference."

**PERFORMANCE**
1. Where did Sarah rank among AEs you've managed in the last 5 years?
2. What was the deal type she closed best? Worst?
3. What was her attainment trend over time — getting stronger or plateauing?

**COACHING / GROWTH**
4. What feedback did she push back on the most?
5. What would her next manager need to do differently to get her to the next level?

**AGENCY-SPECIFIC**
6. When she scoped retainers, where did she over- or under-promise?
7. How did she handle creative reviews when the client didn't love the work?
8. How clean was her handoff to the AM team?

**RED-FLAG PROBES**
9. Walk me through a moment where Sarah was hard to manage.
10. Was there ever a quarter you were worried about her?

**GOLD-STANDARD (ask last):**
"If I called you a year from now and Sarah hadn't worked out, what would be the most likely reason?"

**SUMMARY TEMPLATE:** Capture verbatim quotes for any concern. Weight the 'pre-mortem' answer heavily.

• Always ask 'rank vs other AEs' — forces specificity instead of 'great team player'
• The pre-mortem question at the end is where the real signal lives — pause and let them think
• Capture verbatim quotes for any concern — paraphrasing loses nuance you'll need at debrief