Black Sales Journal

This post is not meant to be an answer-all on interviews, but a simple notation of some sure fire questions that you will probably be asked.  The idea is to realize that most interviewers have not been formally trained, but will ask some questions either as a true test, or just because they are expected to ask them.  Don’t get caught without the good answers on these.

____________

The Black sales professional is subject to the same questions that others will face.  If you have been through several interviews, you are basically hearing the same questions over and over.  It is not that there is a lack of ingenuity on the part of the interviewers.  The interview process is a combination of observing the physical presence of the applicant, noting the reaction to your questions, and noting the quality of the answers to those questions.  The interviewer is attempting to envision you as a sales professional representing his organization.  That is the real test.

I am not going to cover the multitude of questions that you can be asked on an interview.  I will talk about some of the usual questions that you have heard before, and a quick general example of how they can be handled.

First Do Your Homework

Before you do anything else, do your research!  Know the company, and the duties of the job without reservation.  The web makes for an excellent resource for you to do this.

Check the organization’s web site to get an idea of their approach to diversity.  In larger corporations, they will have a diversity mission shown on their site, or at least their view of their diversity efforts.  This does not give you an edge, yet tells you this organizations investment in diversity and what you are up against.

7 Questions You Will Answer

I am going to cover 7 questions you will answer in the next job interview.  They may state them in a slightly different way, yet they are seeking the same information.

As commonplace as these questions sound, practice them and go in prepared to answer to them:

#1.  Why are you leaving your current job?

Do not ever criticize you previous employer or manager!  Whether the facts are true or not, this is a guaranteed way to not get a second interview.  Stay north of this issue by talking about challenges, larger product lines, better territories and products, etc.  This positive part of the interview might be the first question you get, so this chance to speak positively is important.

#2.  Tell me something about yourself?

As you practice this know the job you are applying for including the skills necessary to do it.  Know and practice your “elevator speech” on yourself. You are giving a brief synopsis of your social, educational, and employment background.  You will add to this some quality statements that set you apart from many others.  State clearly items that describe your drive, ambition, and desire to be successful. Example: “ I am a sales professional trained in professional sales while at ABC products.  I believe in hard work and the benefits of preparation.  My successful sales career has benefited from my study at ABC University with Marketing as my field of study…” Your statement should last no more than 1.5 minutes, and is always better followed by saying “…is there anything in my professional or educational history that I may clarify for you?”

#3.  Why should we hire you over the other candidates?  What makes you different?

Since you don’t know the other candidates, and don’t necessarily know, so spend your energy on the second question.  Talk about your results orientation, your ambition and drive, your record of accomplishment, and your vision for what you might do in a better territory, with a better product, or better support.  This question hinges on your ability to verbalize why you are better.  Practice your statement and delivery.  Example: “I have a wealth of relevant experience and education.  Most importantly, I have verifiable accomplishments in this same territory selling a product that, I believe, is inferior to yours.  I know the industry, and the customers, I just need the right product.”

#4.  What qualifications do you have which would make you successful in this business?

You are the expert on yourself and you have studied the job description and the company.  Your answers here should be designed to let you list the qualities which make you’re a good candidate.  You know the qualifications that will make you successful, now you need to be able to prioritize them and deliver a flawless speech that links together your qualifications and the position.  Example:  “ I believe my technical background coupled with my quantitative skills gives me great chance of success as a technical sales representative for ABC equipment.   I have a degree in mechanical engineering, and have had an a career selling technical products to the same clients that your organization depends on.”

#5.  What are your strengths and weaknesses?

Most interviewers ask it because they just think they should.  Some ask it because you might tell them you are an impatient being that could be prone to slapping a fellow employee.  I think that if it is asked, it should be on the basis of the interviewer trying to determine your ability to self-assess and even be critical.  This one deserves more practice than many of the others questions.  You don’t want to be known as a perfectionist, nor someone uncomfortable with detail, you want to always appear well adjusted in your activities and reactions.  Example: “One of my strengths is that I am persistent, with prospects and customers.  One of my weaknesses is that I always believe that there is a possibility of the sale even when I get rejected repeatedly.  I often, in the face of low odds, continue the solicitation.”  This one takes the sales mentality and gets strength and a weakness from the same essence.

#6.  If this position gets filled, would you take another job in our organization?

This is a basic, unadulterated trap. Don’t fall into it.  A true sales professional might want to be a sales executive, sales representative, or sales manager, yet does not want to be a purchasing person or a human resource professional.  The answer, if you want to be a sales professional is no.  I asked this question in the past, and was able to determine that the candidate wanted a job, not a sales career!

# 7.  Where do you see yourself in five years?

This question is designed to find out your career orientation.  Don’t let it be a trap.  Be prepared to answer in a way that stresses that you want to be successful as a sales professional.  You want to talk about what success might look like, and you might mention that at some point down the line you might consider sales management.  They want to know your intentions.  Example:  “I see myself being a successful sales professional with a profitable, well developed territory.  I would like to be your sales leader in revenue and product sales.”

As stated before, practice is important.  Landing that new sales position will involve more questions than these, yet you can be assured these will be asked.  Practice will give you the confidence that you need to answer these, and other questions confidently.  Good Luck.

Please feel free to give us comments.

Terminations – No one wants to think about it, yet it happens.  It does not end your quest to support your family and to move forward so think about it as what it is… a part of life.  How you handle it will be the key to what happens in your next position.

_________

Terminations happen in all occupations.  Most of what is said here in this journal applies to more than the sales profession, but the situation of a job not working out transcends sales as an occupation.

Once a termination does happen, your future is not terminated, just the relationship with that employer.  You will be seeking gainful employment in a sales position again, and your level of comfort dealing with the termination of employment from your last employer will certainly be tested, and sometimes spotlighted.

The question is simple:  Should you hide a termination from a prospective Employer?  The Answer is simple: No!

The Truth Will Set You Free

If you have read Black Sales Journal, you will remember one of my favorite suggestions:“Always tell the truth!” The key in this situation is not to focus on it.

Terminations happen and there is nothing pleasing about them.  What you don’t want to do is to relive bitterness and the trauma of a termination while you are in an interview looking for a fresh start.  One simple reason to tell the truth is that it is easier to remember.  The other is that you need to start this new relationship off on the firm footing of the truth.  In the world of sales professionals, many have had terminations for legitimate reasons, even though they endeavored to make it work.  Terminations do happen.

This is the information age and that gives prospective employers an ability to “uncover” you previous work history cheaply and fairly easy.  Note, that finding your history does not mean that a prospective employer would be uncovering the facts and details of what happened such as what your reasons for leaving.  Any hiring manager knows that a sales job followed by a prolonged absence of several months may well denote that a job action took place.

If you have been let go from your previous job because of performance issues, you need to be prepared to discuss reasonable reasons why you parted company.

Your resume needs to match up with any job history investigation that an employer can conduct.  The prospective employer checks this information through a service, such as Equifax, or other services, and certainly with any on-line information that you might post such as LinkedIn.

Consistency eliminates questions and doubts.

What Should You Say?

There are sales jobs (and any other jobs) that just do not work out.  Your objective is to be able to tell the story in a cogent fashion.  There should be no accusations or disparaging remarks, but a clear story of why selling widgets for ABC Company in Columbus, Ohio did not work and resulted in you leaving after fifteen months.

Cover the issue of what the problem was.  Whether that was pricing, marketing support, sales support, a problematic territory, or a product that was inferior.  Do it in a professional manner, and always cite what actions you took to improve your fate.  If you do not have a solid and believable story, it may appear that you just cannot sell.

If you are a sales professional selling widgets and in your last job you were terminated because you did not meet your quota/goals, you need to own up to the fact that you were terminated.  I give below an example:

“I was let go because of not meeting the quarterly sales targets in two consecutive quarter.”  You can then give clarification of the most important issues (an example)… “I had difficulty meeting the goals as we promised delivery dates that were 4 weeks to a month longer than our other competitors.”

Places You Should Never Go!

You never want to go into an interview saying that your previous employer (or any employer you have had) is prejudice or discriminatory, even if you believe it to be true.   This is a sure way not to get a second interview and a possible hire.

The “well” will be poisoned if you make statements that allude to disparate treatment, as a prospective employer will immediately put themselves in the position of the previous employers.  Remember, they do not know you!

Instead, compliment the best aspects of the previous employer as difficult as it may seem.  If it is true a compliment such as: “There is no organization that does training like ABC Corporation”, shows your respect for the company.

.Additionally, there should be no disparaging comments about your previous manager.  You are on fair ground if you cite the fact that you did not have much support, but disparaging comments are out of bounds.

Compensate For the Weak Areas

If you have been terminated for not reaching goals, you will do well to have some support from your former co-workers.  You should get letters of recommendation citing your accomplishments.

We have covered before in Black Sales Journal, that you need to fully be prepared when you go to the interview including customer testimonials and all of your sales numbers.  Don’t share proprietary information which would jeopardize your past employer’s customers or information, but do be prepared to support your effort and accomplishments.  A customer testimonial helps to illustrate your affinity for customers and the sales process but you still may have some work to do to show that you effectively prospect.  Cover all of the bases and give yourself a chance to win.

You should provide good focus on your strong points and accomplishments as well as tout your specialties.  You need to be prepared to talk about your weak points that caused you the termination.  They may not apply to the new job, and thus lose relevance, but something like door-to-door prospecting might still be a part of the job, and you need to be prepared to show how you are going to change things.

Above all, you need to walk or run the road to continuous improvement, and be prepared to enunciate this also.  Your ability to tune-up your sales career (Black Sales Journal 8/15/2011 – Tuning Up Your Sales Career) may have some relevance to a prospective employer, but it is for you.

Thanks for reading, and your comments are always welcome