Conducting The Sales Interview, Are You Ready?

Be Prepared for Your Sales Interview

This article is about the sales interview, but as I write this post, we have just finished March. For college basketball, that means March Madness. When you look back at the four coaches in this year’s men’s Final Four you will notice that none were new to the Big Dance. Each has brought multiple teams from different schools to this prestigious level of the tournament – and the four teams have a combined 18 to 20 legitimate pro prospects.

So what does this have to do with your sales interviews? As I’ve said in the past, managers are only as good as the people they recruit. The biggest part of your job is hiring the right people for the team. How well you perform is directly related to how well you recruit – which includes selling the job and conducting insightful interviews. If you haven’t had a chance, read my post, “The Sales Interview Telephone Screening,” which discusses the first part of the sales interview process.

If you’re gearing up to conduct sales interviews, you should already have:

Developed a clear understanding of what (and who) you’re looking for;
Created a description of how this salesperson will function within your organization;
Reviewed all resumes, eliminating obvious non-fits;
Conducted a well-planned telephone screening of the remaining applicants;
Determined a short list of the best candidates for the position.

Building a Sales Interview Team

As they say, it takes a village to raise a child. Great basketball coaches don’t do all their recruiting alone and you shouldn’t either. Develop a sales interview team of trusted coworkers.

Look to your sales team. Who are your high performers? They know what it takes to be successful, so use them to help identify someone with similar capabilities. Generally, I give my interview team two objectives. One: Would you like to see this person as a member of your team? And two: Is this a person you can help make successful?

Don’t forget your manager. If you report to a manager, get him or her involved in the sales interview process. Some managers I’ve worked with liked being involved. Others didn’t, but it’s a good practice to invite them and ask for their input.

Involve other department heads. Your company relies on all its separate parts to create that dynamic whole, so feedback from other areas of the organization can be surprisingly insightful.

Once you’ve recruited your team, schedule a sales interview coaching session. In the session, you’ll want to:

Go over the detailed job description;
Describe what you’re looking for in the salesperson and ask for input from your team;
Discuss the questions you used in the telephone screening process, as well as the candidates’ answers;
Brainstorm together to develop interview questions for each team member, as well as yourself;
Offer suggestions on how to take notes on the candidates’ responses.

Now you’re ready to schedule the interviews.

SMW 005 Sales Recruiting – Hire The Right Sales Person Part Two

Has Your Sales Planning Allowed You to Build Your Sales Team for Success?

Hiring Sales People? Know What You Are Looking For

Creating a Sales Job Description That Fits Your Needs

Hiring Salespeople as Employees or Independent Contractors

The Sales Interview – Telephone Screening

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SALES MANAGEMENT COACHING & CONSULTING: I’m available for one-on-one sales management coaching and consulting. If you would like help in taking your sales program to the next level, let me know. I’m sure that with my experence, I can provide you with the help and guidence you are looking for your sales. Let me know How I Can Help. I’d love to work with you.

Conducting The Sales Interview, Are You Ready?4 min read

Be Prepared for Your Sales Interview

Building a Sales Interview Team

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