Salespeople can really talk the talk.\u00a0 That\u2019s good.\u00a0 That\u2019s what they\u2019re supposed to do.\u00a0 If you\u2019re not careful though, their natural ability to talk anyone into what they want can lead to their taking over the interview\u2026 sometimes without you, the interviewer, even realizing it.<\/p>\n
When a salesperson wants something, they will, quite literally, go into sales overdrive, bombarding you with their charm and confidence, throwing figures out into the air in response to questions, and working their way into your good graces so that you just end up liking<\/em> them. \u00a0This isn\u2019t that surprising \u2013 they are<\/em> in sales \u2013 but be careful that their patter doesn\u2019t suck you in so far you can\u2019t tell whether they, well, suck.\u00a0 You need to discover what they will truly be like doing sales for your business. Just because they\u2019re good at talking their way through an interview doesn\u2019t mean they can pull off results. Be aware of their skills and maintain control of the interview.<\/p>\n To avoid a hiring\/firing cycle because the last salesperson was a bag of hot air, follow these tips:<\/p>\n To avoid becoming enamored by charming windbags, stick with a pre-determined list of criteria. These criteria need to be based in sales numbers and quotas as well as whether they\u2019ll play well with the rest of their team. And make sure you get past performance data from the candidates to back up their stories.<\/p>\n Consider the selling culture of your organization. Is your culture a hard-sell, cold-call, numbers-focused center?\u00a0 Or does your product require long-term relationship building in a sensitive environment?\u00a0 A sales person may have been able to move product in one environment but perhaps he or she did it in an aggressive and pushy way that was normal for that industry.\u00a0 Perhaps you need someone with a lot of force who gets a kick out of running through the names on a list. Build your questions around your company\u2019s style to ensure a good fit.<\/p>\n What are the skills interviewers should be assessing in a sales candidate? Here\u2019s a list that will help you begin:<\/p>\n Customer Orientation<\/em><\/p>\n How well does the salesperson deal with customers?\u00a0 It\u2019s easy to throw numbers of closed contracts out, but your questions should get to the core of how they closed those contracts & whether the customers stuck around.\u00a0 Were the customers fully satisfied?\u00a0 Did they come back for repeat business?\u00a0 Was there ever a time the salesperson put the customer\u2019s needs over the business\u2019s preferences?<\/p>\n Communication<\/em><\/p>\n Communication will either build or break a relationship, and not just with prospects or clients.\u00a0 Being able to communicate effectively with other members of the team will increase your salesperson\u2019s ability to bring customer what they customer need.\u00a0 Ask specific questions about how they communicate \u2013 including what their favorite communication processes are.<\/p>\n Sales & Negotiation<\/em><\/p>\n Ask questions that will really get to the core of how a salesperson operates.\u00a0 Move away from numbers & figures and ask about the smaller occurrences that are part of a sales person\u2019s daily agenda.\u00a0 How did they convince a resistant person to buy their product?\u00a0 How did they contact someone difficult to reach?\u00a0 How did they come to agreement on a price when the two parties were very far apart?<\/p>\n Tenacity and Resilience<\/em><\/p>\n All salespeople expect to be told \u201cno\u201d sometimes.\u00a0 Often they are told \u201cno\u201d many<\/em> times! Great salespeople are tenacious and resilient.\u00a0 Delve into how they handled a specific setback.\u00a0 Discuss failures & things they tried that didn\u2019t work.\u00a0 How do they handle talking about the parts of the job that suck? A person\u2019s response to failure speaks volumes.<\/p>\n Finally, ask the salesperson to provide you with a specific example of how they went about building and implementing a sales plan.<\/p>\n Many questions lead the interviewee to answer in a certain way, asking for an example about best or specific behaviors.\u00a0 When you ask the interviewee for an example of how they implemented a sales plan, don\u2019t provide any hints or specifics.\u00a0 Let them choose any example they like and let them highlight the \u201cimportant\u201d parts.\u00a0 Their choices of what to tell & how to tell it will tell you a lot.<\/p>\n A salesperson\u2019s favorite trick is to take over the conversation in a way that time runs out and you won\u2019t get a chance to truly grill them. This leaves you with a great impression of their schmoozing ability.\u00a0 Unfortunately, it will also leave you without any data or understanding of how they measure up against other candidates. Use your list of requirements & keep an eye on the time as you move through the interview. Be polite and firm (and smile!) as you interrupt and move them on. Make sure they think you \u201cgot\u201d what they were saying, and it will go more smoothly than you expect.<\/p>\n With some practice & preparation you can control an interview to get the data you need. With that, you can make an informed decision, even with a very good salesperson across from you. It takes a little thought, but you can definitely avoid the hot air!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Salespeople can really talk the talk. That\u2019s good. That\u2019s what they\u2019re supposed to do. If you\u2019re not careful though, their natural ability to talk anyone into what they want can lead to their taking over the interview\u2026 sometimes without you, the interviewer, even realizing it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":8976,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[99,112],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nClearly Rank the Interviewee on Non-Charismatic & Cultural Criteria<\/h3>\n
Define the Competencies and Traits You Need<\/h3>\n
Ask for Specific Examples of Building\/ Executing a Sales Plan<\/h3>\n
Interrupt!<\/h3>\n