Having good sales strategies are essential to performing well as a salesperson. Yet being able to sell yourself during job interviews is an important first step in achieving that end. But unlike most other job interviews where you merely need to assert your ability to fill the position, some sales interviewers may ask potential employees to demonstrate their sales abilities. In an article by Alison Doyle, the author asserts that sales position interviewers are interested not only what you answer, but how.
The author first suggests thorough preparation for the interview. For example, you ought to be prepared to answer the question, “What makes you a good salesperson?” Having confidence in yourself with body language and more will convince the employer you are not only able to sell yourself, but their products as well. Doyle also notes that thorough research on the company goes a long way in preparation as well.
Next, Doyle recommends that before an interview, you prepare by linking experiences and successes to specific sales skills such as cold calling, networking, negotiation, and others. Providing examples or anecdotes will illustrate your skills in a more apparent fashion. Doyle recommends using the STAR technique, in which “you describe a past sales Situation where your Task was to sell to a challenging client. You then describe the Action you took and conclude with the Result of this action.”
Finally, Doyle recommends honing in on certain character and professional traits that are desirable for salespeople. For example, ambition, client education, and commitment to excellent customer service.
Through these methods, Doyle guarantees that potential salespeople will find renewed confidence not only in their interview processes, but in their sales careers as well.
BoweryJE22
I like how you point out that preparation is very important before going into a sales situation. I also thought the STAR technique was pretty neat!
Selling myself to others is such a challenge, because I’m always aware of creating a balance between selling too much of myself versus not selling enough of myself. I like the framework that Doyle provides for selling yourself, because I think it’s so often a very ambiguous concept!