7 years ago
February 21, 2017

5 Things Needed to Be Prepared for Your Sales Job Interview

There are several things you need to be prepared for your sales job interview.

Claire McConnachie Recruiter
Claire McConnachie

Being in the perfect sales job can be very rewarding both personally and financially. The first step to landing that perfect job is doing great during the sales job interview. The sales job interview is the opportunity to sell yourself. Oddly enough, many sales professionals have a tough time selling themselves to prospective employers. Fortunately, with a little preparation and practice you can shine during your sales job interview.

There are several things you need to be prepared for your sales job interview.

  1. Past sales experience. During your sales job interview, be prepared to talk about what you have done in the past particularly your successes. Do a self assessment and talk about why you have been successful and what you do specifically to continue to be successful. Give examples of how you handled difficult clients, problems, and issues that could have potentially hindered your success. Companies are looking for success. During your sales job interview you need to show how your sales experience is relevant to what they are looking for and how you can translate your success at one company into success at their company.
  2. Achievements. Be specific during your sales job interview. Be prepared to talk numbers. The interviewer is going to want to learn about you and the kind of person that you are. But they also want to know essential details about what you have accomplished. This is part of the self assessment you will do prior to the interview. Look at your numbers. Talk about areas where you have increased sales, closed deals, increased client contacts,saved on expenses or any other measurable achievements you have had. There is no questioning good numbers. Know the facts about what you have achieved and present that information during your sales job interview.
  3. Fully updated resume. Be sure that prior to the sales job interview that you have revised and updated your resume to include all of your recent information. Don’t inflate numbers or accomplishments. Make sure that your resume is an accurate depiction and description of who you are and what you have done.
  4. Prepare an elevator pitch about yourself. An elevator pitch, like a sound bite, allows you to quickly and succinctly sum up skills and successes in about 30 seconds. The goal of the elevator pitch is to capture the attention of the interviewer. Make sure you know what the company is looking for and include that information in your pitch in a way that shows that you are the person they need to meet their goals.
  5. Summary about your past companies in 30 seconds. During your sales job interview talk about your previous companies and the experience that you have gained at each. Keep it short and to the point. If the position that you are interviewing for is in a different industry, point out how your current experience will translate to the new company and their industry.

Nothing feels better than getting the job that you’ve dreamed about. Make sure that you have done everything that you need to prior to the interview. Being prepared with an updated resume, a great elevator pitch and a plan to succeed will help you to do the best sales job interview that you are capable of doing.

Claire McConnachie Recruiter

Claire McConnachie

Claire has 4+ years of experience in sales and recruitment. As a Director of Client Services, her main objective is to connect great people to great companies by building strong relationships with both top clients and candidates in the sales industry. She specializes in sales roles of all seniority levels for both enterprise and start-up clients North American wide. When Claire isn't networking with top talent, she enjoys being outdoors, traveling and spending time with friends & family.

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