How to CRUSH a sales interview and land the job you want!

So ready for a new job huh? Ready to take your career to the next level, you’ve “out grown”, the role your in right now huh…

Time to line up some interviews.

You’ve cleaned up the resume, written a great cover letter, are working with a recruiter, have the perfect outfit picked and feel absolutely ready to crush it.

I mean hey, you’re a sales person, probably pretty confident, sales is what you do, so an interview is your chance to really show of your sales skills…

Then why do so many sales people interview so poorly?!

The difference between crushing an interview and bombing it is the difference between landing a good sales job or a GREAT sales job which can mean the difference between making $60k and year sitting in a boiler room pit and $175k+ a year, with great perks, a fun culture, and a ton of growth in front of you.

So what gives?

If you had to make a sales presentation, you only got one shot, and if you closed it, you’d be paid $100,000s… wouldn’t you give it your all?!

Well that’s what a job interview is guys!

But so many of you just wing it, or try to rely on charm alone…

Well heads up, that’s not going to cut it. You are going to get outsold by someone else for that job and they are going to take that $100,000 check right out of your hands.

But if you follow these steps you will be far an away the interview that sticks in their minds.

As the Head of Sales at SnackNation I have interviewed 100s of sales people just in the last 12 months alone as we scaled our team from 1 to 30 reps in under a year. Going from $300k a year to $4 million… It’s been a fun ride.

But one of my, and many of my fellow sales leaders toughest challenge, is finding great talent.

Sadly it continues to SHOCK me how poorly even high earning sales people interview. It actually boggles my mind, that high performing sales people can interview so badly, considering they are supposed to be selling me on how well they can sell.

I’m sure I have missed out on some reps that could have been great, but because they did such a poor job interviewing, I couldn’t justify taking the risk .

Having crushed a few sales interviews myself, and now being responsible for building a sales team, I’ve learned a thing or two on how to crush a sales interview, and how to land that dream gig you’re looking for.

Pay attention, take some notes…here we go.

How to Crush a sales interview.

Ask great questions early and often.

The secret to selling anything is to ask great questions to at least learn on HOW to sell to the person you’re selling to. I know you think that this is the time for them to ask you questions, but it’s just as much your right to ask questions too.

Just like a great sales call you should never answer a question without asking a question back, and you should take a very similar approach in the interview. Great questions YOU should ask as early and often as possible in the interview.

What are you looking for in a rep?
What has made your top reps the top reps
What is your management/leadership style
What has been the biggest reasons a rep has struggled in the role

If you want to call yourself a great sales person, you should be able to not only ask these questions, but also then USE the answers you get to better tailor your responses through out the interview.

If at the very beginning of the interview you find out that the biggest qualities they are looking for are coachability and organization… MAYBE , just maybe… you should be bringing up examples of you being coached, seeking out coaching, and how you organize your day… Just saying.

By asking great questions not only does it show me that you would ask a prospect great questions, but it also allow me to see if you can think quickly and make your answers fit what I’m looking for.

Do your research and be prepared.

Would you walk into a sales presentation not knowing ANYTHING about the prospect, their business, or their product? Then why do so many sales reps do that for a sales interview.

When I ask a potential hire what they have learned about me or the company so far, it gives me a very clear look into how you’d prepare for a sales call with a prospect.

More often than not, all I really get is “I checked out the website” or ”I looked you up on linkedIn” but nothing substantial.

To be properly prepared you must research EVERYTHING.

You should have downloaded all the companies whitepapers, looked up not only your interviewers on linkedIN, but also the founders/C level executives. There is so much information out there now a days there is no excuse at all not to come in and know the company as well as you can.

When I first interviewed at HUMAN (a pretty funny story by the way, I’ll write on that later) by the time I interviewed with them I knew as much as I could. I even found the 1 complaint they had on Better Business! That’s the level of research you need to do.

You need to know as much as you possibly can about them as a company and as individuals before sitting down with them.

All star tip – Opt into their sales process! Find out how they are reaching out to people, maybe even talk to other reps there right now to find out what it would take to get a job there.

Remember this is about landing your dream sales job, are you really just going to go in blind?

Things you need to know at the very least before walking into the interview or very early in the interview

What their product is and what the main benefits.
Who you’re interviewing with and their backgrounds
Who their target customer is

Bring Proof and Know your numbers

I was the top rep on my team… SHOW ME.

I was ranked in the top 5 every month for a year… SHOW ME

You broke the record for new sales? What was the record, and how much did you beat it by… on yeah and SHOW ME.

I was awarded “Rookie of the Year”… Whoopdie Doo… SHOW ME.

If you really want to stand out, bring in proof of your sales dominance. I want to see how much you were closing and how you ranked amongst your team. This is something I routinely ask for now from reps when they make claims like this.

You’d be amazed at how many reps clam up, or say that information would be hard to get, or that they’d have to reach out to their old boss… Really?!

How hard would it be to take a picture of your scoreboard at work that showed you in the top spot? Which by the way you should ALWAYS take a picture of, not only for reflection, but also as you move forward to have that in your application portfolio will leave a huge impression on the people you’re talking to.

Superstars have proof, wanna be’s talk about it. Bring proof and you will already be in the top 1% of people interviewing for a job.

Don’t have proof? Then work your ass off to get some! Or you’ll need to work on a few of these other steps.

You need to know your numbers too, what do sales managers and VP’s care about? Numbers.

I always have to laugh/cringe inside when I ask questions like.

“What was your closing rate?”

And the rep stutters, pauses, and says something like “I think it was around 50%”

Haha really? You THINK it was AROUND 50%? Seriously?

Superstars and sales crushers KNOW THEIR NUMBERS.

Things you need to know and be ready to discuss

How many deals were you closing per month
Sales Cycle
Conversion Rate
Goal/Quota attainment the last 3 months at least.
Meetings/Demo’s per week
Calls per day

When you can confidently discuss your number and then back it with proof you will immediately move yourself into the top 3% of people applying for a job. Because as a sales leader if I can see your numbers, it allows me to have a much better idea of what you could do for me.

Talk about what you’ve done to IMPROVE yourself and grow on your own.

This is a big one guys. How are you developing YOURSELF as a sales rep?

What are you reading?

Who are you following?

What seminars and webinars have you completed?

If you’re always looking to be taught by someone else, you’re always going to run into a ceiling of growth. Once that individual above you runs out of “new” things to tell you, you’ll feel stuck.

If you are reading sales books, doing weekly role plays, and reviewing your own calls. I want to know about it. This is a huge sign of a successful rep, because the best are constantly PRACTICING.

They never stop learning, they never stop seeking out information for themselves. If you take 2 reps with identical personalities and one reads 1 sales book a month and does 1 roleplay a week, and the other rep does not do any of that, who will be a better sales person at the end of the year?

It’s such a no brainer that it will be the one reading and practicing, but so few reps do that. If I know you are trying to grow on your own, how much more will you grow under the right teaching.

Talk about how you improved, talk about how you WEREN’T the best on the team, but then what you did to get there etc.

Knowing a rep is dedicated to constant improvement is a HUGE win in the eyes of a hiring sales manager.

Not sure where to start?

Go grab one of these books and start reading

SNAP Selling by Jill Konrath
Fanatical Prospecting by Jeb Blount
Smart Selling Online and On The Phone by Josaine Feigon
New Sales Simplified by Mike Weinberg

Not only will reading these books just make you a better sales rep in general, it will go a long way to show the company you’re interviewing with how serious you are about being the best you possibly can.

Close the deal

There was a stat that came out not that long ago that said something along the lines that 80% of sales people never actually ask for the close. Sadly it’s very true! It’s something I’ve had to coach my sales teams to do for years.

This is something that almost NEVER happens in the interview process. After it’s all said and done… Looking the person in the eye and saying…

“Can I have this job?” or “What would it take to make hiring me a no brainer?”

You’ve just given the pitch of your life!

You’ve asked great questions, you’ve tailored your responses to match what they are looking for, you’ve shown you’ve done your research, and you’ve backed up your talk with proof…

You have to at least ask for the job you want!

Because also this is your opportunity to find out if there are any hesitations. The same way when you are selling a product, if a prospect said “No, I don’t want this” what’s the first question you’d ask.

“Why?” (I know any of my sales members reading this right now are smiling because they know how much I love that word)

If they say they aren’t sure, or they are evaluating other candidates, this is the time to find out if they have any hesitations, or what they are worried about with you in the role. Because if they don’t have any… Ask for the job again!

It’s no different then closing a product, what do you need to do to close well...

Know the buying criteria aka why they would buy in the first place
Know the Decision Making Process
Handle Objections – Preferably before they even come up
Ask for the $$$

Take the same approach in an interview process and you’ll be shocked at the results you’d see.

Follow Up

Something that I preach to my team is that every step of the process you need to be selling, you can’t ever “just be checking in”. You just got of the phone with the prospect, gave the pitch of your life, and now it’s time for the follow up email.

You need to RE SELL in that follow up email. So many people that interview send something like this “It was great meeting you and I hope to be a part of the team soon. Thank you so much for your time”

Thank you for sending me a pointless email! You need to be reselling me again. What did you learn about me, the company and the role. Re sell me on why you’d be a great fit again.

Because guess what, am I interviewing other people? Yep!

Am I going to remember you even a couple hours later after a 12 hour day, 4 interviews, and who knows what else? Nope.

That email is your opportunity to also show me what type of follow up I could expect from you with a prospect.

If that email is short, value adding, and addresses some of the main reasons you believe you’d be a good fit, based on what you learned about me and my wants, you’re really going to stand out now. Because everyone else is sending the pointless “checking” in email.

Here’s a quick example of a solid follow email you could send. --

“Hey Kevin,

Thanks so much for meeting with me today based on a few of the things we discussed today, I really feel we will be a great fit for each other.

You mentioned how important work ethic was to you, and I want to reassure that the last 2 years of making 100 dials a day and being the first one in/last one out will translate well into the role you’re looking for.

If hired I would absorb the training as fast as I possibly could to ensure that I am learning as much as possible. I want to know what the fastest ramp period has been, because I want to beat it under your guidance.

Lastly – is there anything I could start doing/reading right now that would show you how serious I am about being a successful member of your team?

Thank you again for your time and I’m looking forward to working with you soon.

Bob Jones" --

How many follow up emails do you think they are getting that look like that? Plus you are asking for and willing to take action even before landing the job, that’s a big win for you.

Especially if you continue to take action and complete the steps they ask you to complete. --

There you go, 6 ways to absolutely dominate a sales interview. Remember the difference between a bad, a good, and a great job all come down you or ability to sell yourself in an interview.