What You Need To Know Ahead Of Your Sales Interview

So, you've landed an interview for that sales position you've been eyeing. Any interview can be nerve-wracking but with sales, there are certain things you should know about what an employer is looking for.

Here’s 4 things to keep in mind ahead of your sales interview:

What WILL THE INTERVIEW BE ABOUT?

Yes, there will be questions about the job, your skills, but they will often remain quite basic. What it often comes down to at this stage is, that the interviewer wants to get a feel for your interpersonal skills - something that’s especially important within a sales environment.

The Hiring Manager will be thinking: can you build rapport? Can you get across what your points effectively? Can you communicate effectively?

ANSWER THOUGHTFULLY

Let the interviewer lead you through the conversation. It can be tempting to speak too much without listening and twist questions so you can say what you want to say.

You may want to showcase your sales ability by speaking a lot, but sales is about overall communication and a large part of that communicating is actively listening. If you can’t listen in an interview, a Hiring Manager won’t be confident that you will listen to clients in order to build long standing relationships.

So listen carefully, think and respond with well chosen words. Show them that you are easy to talk to, easy to get along with, that you can think on your feet.

Do you need to prepare?

Yes. Don’t try to wing it.

• Read up on the company

• Be prepared to talk through your CV

• Find out as much as you can about the person you’ll be speaking with

Preparing for an interview will show your passion and set you apart from the rest of the competition.

ASK GOOD QUESTIONS

An interviewer is likely to ask you if you have any questions - never pass up this opportunity.

The same way you prepare for the rest of the interview, prepare to ask some thoughtful questions. or may not ask you in the end “if you have any questions at this stage” – but even if not, you can ask if you can ask some questions. For example, you could ask about:

• The environment

• The team structure

• Targets

See here for ‘10 Questions To Ask An Employer In An Interview’.

- Written by Lauren Whiteman

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