{"id":26612,"date":"2014-04-10T12:04:42","date_gmt":"2014-04-10T19:04:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.smartrecruiters.com\/blog\/?p=26612"},"modified":"2017-10-17T10:12:45","modified_gmt":"2017-10-17T17:12:45","slug":"interview-tips-to-make-killer-sales-hires","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.smartrecruiters.com\/blog\/interview-tips-to-make-killer-sales-hires\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview Tips to Make Killer Sales Hires"},"content":{"rendered":"

“Everyone lives by selling something.” –\u00a0<\/i>Robert Louis Stevenson.<\/b><\/p>\n

Running a recruitment company, KAS Placement<\/a>, I\u2019m often asked by business development professionals as to my thoughts on interviewing for a sales, sales management, or account management job.<\/p>\n

Frequently, I get variations on three of the same inquiries, the answers to which collectively provide crucial insight into how to approach interviewing from a fresh and original perspective.
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Sales Interview Tips<\/h2>\n

Question #1:<\/strong>\u00a0“How many questions should I ask, which ones should I ask and when do I ask them?” Essentially, employers want to make sure they are asking the right questions.<\/p>\n

Answer:<\/strong> In sales, moreso than in any other profession, it\u2019s not about what you ask during an interview, rather it\u2019s about how you come across when you ask it.<\/p>\n

When I\u2019m interviewing potential applicants, sometimes they ask intelligent questions, but their body language<\/a> and tone of voice tell me that they are skeptical, unfocused, disinterested or simply not engaged. In other instances, their questions are so unoriginal that it almost seems like they cut and pasted them from an internet article.<\/p>\n

It sounds harsh, but the result is that I don\u2019t pass them on to my clients and they don\u2019t get to interview. Companies pay my recruiting firm<\/a> a lot of money, partly to weed job seekers who do not come across as genuine in their interest and appropriately confident in their capability for the position at hand.<\/p>\n

Asking questions you’ve put at least some thought into, in a manner that is engaged and open-minded, will steer you clear of speed bumps 9 times out of 10.<\/p>\n

A strong interviewer asks questions throughout the interview, as they become pertinent to the conversation. This shows that they are diligent listeners, understand complex situations and are engaged in the job we\u2019re hired to recruit for.<\/p>\n

They make it pleasurable to speak with them. It sounds like a common sense interview tip<\/a>, but don\u2019t bore me by asking questions simply because it\u2019s customary to ask questions.\u00a0Top talent<\/a>\u00a0bases their questions on extensive research that they\u2019ve done about the company and the industry.<\/p>\n

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Question #2:<\/strong>\u00a0Candidate ask me, “Who’s interviewing me? Why should I work for them?” Essentially candidates want to know what company they would be getting into, and employers want me, as a recruiting firm, to represent their employer brand<\/a> effectively.<\/p>\n

Answer:\u00a0<\/strong>Here are two specific questions I ask the\u00a0employer’s\u00a0hiring team, and how I judge the validity of their answers:<\/p>\n

1. \u201cIf I were to meet one of your friends or colleagues at an event and they didn\u2019t know you were interviewing at my company, what do you think they would say about you?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s put it this way, if their answer is, \u201cBob would say I\u2019m a great guy, a great employee and I\u2019m great at what I do,\u201d it\u2019s a red flag. In the real world, people simply don\u2019t speak that way. Instead, I look for thoughtful answers such as, \u201cIt depends who you ask. If it were my former boss whom I made a lot of money for it would be positive. If you asked a client I\u2019d sure hope that they would describe me as hard working and as someone with integrity.\u201d<\/p>\n

2. \u201cDescribe a time that you failed?<\/a>\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

I like to hear heartfelt stories that are honest. Rarely, do I judge an interviewer based on their mistake. Everyone fails in business at some point. Not everyone is secure enough to admit it. I particularly like the people who had the wind knocked out of them, proved they were resilient, got back on their game, and are ready to hire.<\/p>\n

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Question #3:\u00a0<\/strong>“What should I look for in a candidate’s elevator pitch?”<\/p>\n

Answer:\u00a0<\/strong>I look for people who don\u2019t oversell themselves, but don\u2019t undersell their abilities. Something they say has to be original and interesting enough for me to want to speak to them further. In general, gravitate toward the genuine and the positive.<\/p>\n

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My three sales interview tips are how to ask questions “right,” how to decode what the hiring company’s really looking for, and how to make the most of the time you have in the interview. As with much of life, there are no hard and fast rules that will get you through each interview with flying colors.<\/p>\n

The most effective sales people can see things from other people\u2019s viewpoints. Personally, I look for passionate, hard working, reliable and autonomous individuals. Essentially, employers want someone who can execute so the team can focus on their respective jobs. In closing, I recommend that hiring managers<\/a> ask candidates a version of,\u00a0\u201cWhat do you think I want in an employee?\u201d <\/em>The closer the candidate is, the more I respect their talent.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"ken<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Ken Sundheim<\/a><\/em>\u00a0is the CEO of\u00a0KAS Placement Sales Recruiters<\/a>, a New York City based executive search firm. On the topic of job search, interviewing and recruitment, Ken has been published on Forbes, Chicago Tribune, Huffington Post, Business Insider, Monster, Career Builder, Recruiter.com and Yahoo! Photo Credit<\/em>\u00a0SlideShareCDN<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em>Read More about Sales Recruitment:<\/p>\n