Looking to get into sales? Good idea. A sales career has many benefits, including competitive pay, a fun environment, limitless opportunities, and continuous learning. But before you can start benefiting from a sales career, you have to impress during your interview in order to get the job in the first place.

These days, an increasing number of sales organizations are including a mock sales call during the interview process. Gone are the days of stuffy, formal interviews for sales. Now, employers want to know that you can deliver. They want to ensure that their candidates know how to sell effectively and efficiently before taking the chance and hiring them on permanently. They also use the mock call to better understand your unique selling methods and your personality traits outside of the traditional, stale interview setting.

Perfecting the mock sales call can give you an edge over your competition and help you land your dream career in sales.

1. Treat the Mock Sales Call like a Real Sales Opportunity

You might feel silly selling an imaginary product to a fake prospect, but make sure to take the mock sales call seriously during your interview. Pretend like it’s real, stay within the context of the situation until the exercise is complete, and avoid using humor, laughing, or acting in a way that you wouldn’t act on a real cold call.

2. Remember to Qualify the Caller

You want to ensure that your interviewers know you’ll qualify your callers so you don’t waste your time on prospects who aren’t interested or ready to buy. So on the mock sales call, do a needs analysis and ask basic qualifying questions, such as asking about the timeline, the structure of the decision making process, and the challenges and pain points the buyer may have.

3. Prepare for Objections

Just like you’d be prepared for objections on a real cold call, make sure you know how to respond to common objections that you could see buyers having with the fake product or service you’re selling. Your interviewer is going to throw in some objections to see how you react and you don’t want to be caught like a deer in the headlights.

4. Keep Body Language, Voice, and Tone in Mind

You know that when you’re on a sales call, the person on the other end of the line can tell when you’re smiling. You probably also know that when you use your hands to speak your voice changes, which recipients notice. You know that the tone in your voice, the speed at which you talk, and the volume of your voice can make a difference between a warm invite and a hang up. Remember to keep all of these things in mind during the mock sales call in your interview.

5. Ask for the Close and Mention a Follow-Up

Many new sales people get nervous in sales calls and don’t ask for the close directly. Your interviewers are going to want to see that you have the confidence to straight-up ask for the sale or at least get a commitment for the next step if you know the sale at this point is unrealistic. As soon as the conversation flows to this point naturally, ask for an in-person meeting, a demonstration, or a presentation to move the opportunity to the next step in the sales process. Remember to also ask for an email address or mailing information to show that you’ll be following up.

Perfecting the mock sales call can help you impress your interviewers and land the job you’ve applied for. Prepare ahead of time and use these tips to make sure you can showcase your selling skills and ace your next sales interview.