"Closer Q - I'm a longtime reader / first time blogger to your site. I saw your great Q & A of interview questions to ask a potential employer. I'm wonder if you have a list of questions a Sales manager would ask a sales candidate?" Anonymous
Anonymous, great follow up question to my post on July 16th on questions to ask when being interviewed. I have not put together a list of question to ask interviewees, however, I will share my interviewing strategy as a hiring sales manager.
First, I take into consideration ‘Thin Slicing’ or better known as ‘First Impressions’ from Malcolm Gladwell ‘Blink: The Power of Thinking of Without Thinking’. ‘Blink’ reviews the power of first impressions and then filtering them through your biases and history. I don’t make a hiring decision based on my first impression but it does weigh in my final decision.
Second, I review their resume in detail starting with their current position first. When going through the jobs, I ask the standard questions of: what they like and don’t like; ask about their boss; ask about making quota and territory; and I focus on and drill down why they are leaving their current job. This is the most important question I ask. I try to determine if the response makes sense. When moving to the next job on their resume, my first question is “Why did you leave company X to join company Y.” Jack Welch in his book Winning also focuses on why they left companies. Lastly, I look at the resume as a whole to determine if the person is job hopper (less than three years at multiple companies). I am looking for long term (north of five years) hires.
Third, ask if they could have any job, what would that job be and why. I get some really interesting responses on this one. I get professional fisherman to school teacher to CEO. Some people give the answer of the job they are interviewing for, which I really push back on why. I am trying to get sense for them as a person and will they fit our sales culture.
For candidates that I really like, I tell them how hard the job is with my company. That they will have to make 50 plus cold calls a day and we will be tracking them; that our solutions are sophisticated and take significant effort to learn; that we are in an ultra-competitive market and there are no easy sales; that we have a top sales team and it will take hard work and smarts to stand out.
Lastly, before hiring any candidate, I personally call their references. I have fired several sales people who post hiring I determined their best skill was interviewing.
As a sales manager, my most valuable asset to my success is my sales team. As a company, our most important assets are our people. I saw Ross Perot speak earlier this year at a conference and he reiterated the importance of developing employees. He talked about not punishing employees for making honest mistakes and to reward employees for taking risks. Getting quality people starts with the interviewing process.
Good Interviewing. Let us know your how your next interview goes! Reader Feedback, please click the ‘comments’ below to give ‘Anonymous’ additional information on 'Interviewing’ and I want your feedback on my response. Shaun Priest aka CloserQ.
Anonymous, great follow up question to my post on July 16th on questions to ask when being interviewed. I have not put together a list of question to ask interviewees, however, I will share my interviewing strategy as a hiring sales manager.
First, I take into consideration ‘Thin Slicing’ or better known as ‘First Impressions’ from Malcolm Gladwell ‘Blink: The Power of Thinking of Without Thinking’. ‘Blink’ reviews the power of first impressions and then filtering them through your biases and history. I don’t make a hiring decision based on my first impression but it does weigh in my final decision.
Second, I review their resume in detail starting with their current position first. When going through the jobs, I ask the standard questions of: what they like and don’t like; ask about their boss; ask about making quota and territory; and I focus on and drill down why they are leaving their current job. This is the most important question I ask. I try to determine if the response makes sense. When moving to the next job on their resume, my first question is “Why did you leave company X to join company Y.” Jack Welch in his book Winning also focuses on why they left companies. Lastly, I look at the resume as a whole to determine if the person is job hopper (less than three years at multiple companies). I am looking for long term (north of five years) hires.
Third, ask if they could have any job, what would that job be and why. I get some really interesting responses on this one. I get professional fisherman to school teacher to CEO. Some people give the answer of the job they are interviewing for, which I really push back on why. I am trying to get sense for them as a person and will they fit our sales culture.
For candidates that I really like, I tell them how hard the job is with my company. That they will have to make 50 plus cold calls a day and we will be tracking them; that our solutions are sophisticated and take significant effort to learn; that we are in an ultra-competitive market and there are no easy sales; that we have a top sales team and it will take hard work and smarts to stand out.
Lastly, before hiring any candidate, I personally call their references. I have fired several sales people who post hiring I determined their best skill was interviewing.
As a sales manager, my most valuable asset to my success is my sales team. As a company, our most important assets are our people. I saw Ross Perot speak earlier this year at a conference and he reiterated the importance of developing employees. He talked about not punishing employees for making honest mistakes and to reward employees for taking risks. Getting quality people starts with the interviewing process.
Good Interviewing. Let us know your how your next interview goes! Reader Feedback, please click the ‘comments’ below to give ‘Anonymous’ additional information on 'Interviewing’ and I want your feedback on my response. Shaun Priest aka CloserQ.
Comments
But with a quota achieved or surpassed comes a responsibility from my company. I want freedom to plan my day as needed if I am making my numbers. If I want to play golf on a Friday afternoon, so be it. Take my family out the an early ballgame, no problem. With achievement comes priviledge, and I can throw the 7-5 nonsense out the door.
In reality, it takes a lot of hard and smart work to make a quota. Even though I value the freedom, it doesn't mean I don't have to work hard to get to it.
In an interview I had about two years ago, a sales manager told me he expected his salespoeple to work everyday until 5 pm, no matter when they started or what their numbers were. I immediately told him I would be a poor fit for his company, and did not suscribe to his belief system whatsoever. About a week later, he still called me back and offered me the job! I once again told him I was a poor fit and was not interested. He actually took it as an insult and was rude to me in getting off the phone.
Saying what you think others want to hear is a bad habit for salespeople in dealing with prospects and potential employers.