Hiring 'the best' employees has to be the single most important and most challenging responsibilities facing media sales management today. It sets you and your company up for maximum performance in an ever-changing competitive environment. Hiring this special person take experience, time and lots of listening skills (and the openness to learn from your past mistakes!). Studies show that 40% of all hires are considered poor hires after the glow of the new, well-polished interviewee wears off and the poor work habits kick in. You can help prevent a hiring mistake by keeping a few key points in mind:

Start off with the basics: establish what qualities and skill-sets you are looking for in a candidate (job description). Set an uncluttered amount of time aside to do your interview and allow no interruptions so you can give the candidate all your attention.
It's a courtship! An excellent way of seeing what you'll be hiring in a future hire is to establish a business relationship that you can cultivate over time. Investing time in a new relationship prior to making the hire can provide a lot of valuable information about a future hire.
Actively listen to what your candidates are saying and (more importantly) what they are NOT saying. Should you be looking to fill a sports manager's position, ask the candidate: "What do you do on your weekends (other than working)"? and just listen. I want to hear that they watch or attend sporting events verses gardening or tinkering with their cars. Hopefully your future sports manager spends their weekends doing something sports related.
People drop clues. It's up to you to pick them up and listen to them. If someone is looking for a "comfortable" place to work with "work/life" balance and your company is in ramp-up mode, then this might not be the best choice in a candidate.
Check your own sources. the number one question that I like to ask sources when I'm calling for references is "would you hire this person (or rehire them) if you had an opening?" That will tell you volumes about what the reference on the other end of the phone truly thinks of the candidates. I prefer calling people from my own network to confidentially back check candidates verses calling their 'hip-pocket references'.
Keep your mind open and do not jump to any conclusions of who you will hire until you've seen every candidate. More times than not, I think I've got it all mapped out of who I'm going to hire and wham a new last minute candidate surfaces that would make a very interesting hire. What you do not want to do is ever give the indication that you will offer the job to anyone, no matter how perfect you think they are for the job until after you've checked your sources/references and you've seen all of your candidates.
The candidate's follow up is key. You never want to "sell" anyone into taking a job. Not following up after the interview says one or two things: either they are not interested in the job or they don't have the professionalism you're looking for.
Look for honesty and integrity. This hire represents you and your company. No matter how qualified the candidate is, if you sense for a single moment that you're getting "sales-speak" and not an open and honest dialog, then move on. This person is not the right choice. Asking the candidate what their weaknesses are can be an enlightening question. It's not IF you're going to find out what the candidate's weaknesses are it's WHEN. I respect a candidate that is forthright and speaks honestly about what their true weaknesses are versus the ones that are trying to blow smoke.
Don't feel like you have to rush to hire someone. Take your time and make the right decision because you will end up paying for that mistake down the road.
Don't get cocky! Like clockwork, if I take any short cuts or don't conduct a thorough reference search (of my contacts, not necessarily theirs) wham...I've ended up making a bad hire. It never fails. Great hires don't fall from the sky and land on your doorstep. Like the saying goes: "if something seems too good to be true" it's usually is just that...not true.
"I have several great choices. Which one do I choose?" The answer is right inside of you. I write the reasons why I should hire the person and the reasons why not for each of the finalists. Your instincts will guide you if you are 100% honest with yourself and you listen for all those "clues".