Sales Interview Essay

Introduction

When an employer from any activity domain has shown interest in a candidate, it means that the candidate’s professional profile had prevailed in front of at least dozens of others. It means that the letter of intent and the resume that have been presented have matched the criteria for the job offered by the employer and that it passed to the second stage of evaluation of the candidate.
In most of the times, a following stage is represented by an interview of the employer with the candidate. The exact purpose of an interview is to determine whether the candidate indeed is qualified and meets the needs of the employer. Bearing in mind that the perfect candidate is almost never the ideal employee, the employer will seek to determine by the end of the interview meeting, whether the alleged candidate is the most able person to answer as many of the requirements of the post on which it candidates, as possible.
The interview’s role is to extort from the candidate as many information as possible, to get to know the potential employee personally and professionally, to test their limits, to identify and exploit their strengths. An employer will assess a candidate’s character, work experience, life experience, relationships, as well as their ability to adapt to certain situations. (McDermott, 2014)
Confirmation of the employer’s assumptions with the post means, for the candidate getting the desired job, whereas refutation is equivalent with failing to obtain that particular job.
As each and every job requires some sort of an interview process in order to determine the most able candidate for the job, so is the case in hiring a good salesperson. Maybe the most suitable sales interviews are being conducted face to face, following a structured framework, in which each and every applicant is being asked the same set of questions, which are being scored with a consistent rating process. Having a common set of information about the applicants upon which to compare after all the interviews have been conducted, allows the employers to avoid prejudice and all interviewees are ensured a fair chance. Many companies choose to screen several times the candidates with different interviewers to discover additional facets of the applicant’s attitude or skill as well as to develop a more well-rounded opinion on the applicant from diverse perspectives. (McDermott, 2014) Ultimately, the employer will hire only those candidates who have the necessary qualifications and skills, and who best fit within the company’s culture and ethos. As salespersons have a specific set of personality attributes, the employer should be attentive to the following features: the ideal candidate for the job should be a good listener and have a primal desire in helping people. A good salesperson needs to be honest and trustworthy, yet, still be able to quickly perceive what the customer truly wants. They also need to be persistent. Among other attributes, the above mentioned are the first ones an employer should look for in a candidate for a sales position. Further on, in this paper, a set of the most suitable interview questions for the sales position shall be presented, in company to their expected answers.
Q1. Why do you want to work in Sales? –The Candidate should refer to their previous experience, should be enthusiastic and explain the drivers that have brought him to this point.
Q2. What motivates you to sell? – Highlighting the positive attributes as a salesperson, using this question to expose their good character, their achievements as well as their best performance on the job may be the best answer a candidate could give to this question.
Q3. How do you generate leads? - Exemplifying with referrals from current customers should constitute the best answer given to the employee. (Asher, 2012)
Q4. What kind of goals motivate you the best? - The interviewee should be and should show enthusiasm about setting goals and targets and make sure the recruiter understands that.
Q5. Why did you leave your last job? – The candidate should be very attentive on how they respond to the question because much can be found about the personality of a candidate based on it. The candidate should present their past work experience in a good light and praise the opportunities of the position for which they apply may provide for them.
Q6. What was the most significant professional accomplishment? – The candidate should be attentive to relate something that is profoundly ethical as well as a great achievement and learning experience. (Asher, 2012)
Q7. What types of products or services have you sold and how? – The candidate should show the employer that they have sold solutions to the clients, not just products and services.
Q8. What do you think about our company and the industry it activates in? – The candidate should have done a thorough previous research and be able to give a complex response. (Asher, 2012)
Q9. How do you overcome buyer objections? – The candidate could explain the method of selling based on value and not on price, method which works best in those cases.
Q10. How do you know when a buyer is ready to close the deal? How do you close the deal? – The candidate should be able to profile the buyer and the situation in which they are ready to close the deal, as well as to present at least three different closing techniques.

Conclusion

Sales are one of the most important functions in any corporation, be it for-profit or non-profit. In case sales don’t take place in a company, then there is no cash flowing; sales are like the blood of the company, keeping it alive as it flows. Under such circumstances, it is understandable that hiring a good salesperson is the most critical decision an employer could make. (Sweeney, n.d.)
Such as the employer has to prepare the most appropriate recruiting and testing methods for the job candidate, the potential employee should also be prepared both mentally and physically to answer the interview questions. Though a salesperson candidate should practice answering questions before the interview, they should also work on their attitude. Sales interviews are about who the candidate as a person really is and how they communicate and persuade in a job interview. Displaying an outgoing, positive attitude and providing the recruiter smart answers to the interview conducted may be the key for obtaining the desired job in sales.

References

Asher, J. (2012). Top Ten Sales Interview Questions (and Expected Responses). Cpsa.com. Retrieved 17 March 2015, from http://www.cpsa.com/knowledgecentre/SRCArticleRead.aspx?articleID=431
Everydayinterviewtips.com,. (2014). Sales Interview Questions and Answers | Everyday Interview Tips. Retrieved 17 March 2015, from http://www.everydayinterviewtips.com/questions-and-answers/sales-job-interviews/
McDermott, J. (2014). Sales Interview Questions and Answers « InterviewGold Job Interview Blog. Interviewgold.com. Retrieved 17 March 2015, from http://www.interviewgold.com/advice/sales-interview-questions-and-answers/
Sweeney, J. Secrets to Sales Job Interview Questions. Jobbankusa.com. Retrieved 17 March 2015, from http://www.jobbankusa.com/interviews/articles_tips/secrets_to_sales_job_interview_questions.html