In interviewing over 250 people for sales positions in the last 10 years I have been keen to note the interview habits of the most accomplished salespeople.  It wont surprise you to know that the best candidates flip the process of interviewing and drive the conversation to get the answers they need when evaluating your company.   Top performers know what they need to succeed and they work the interview process filling out their success matrix.

So here are 10 traits you should embody to win your next sales job.

Trait #1.              Have a Success Matrix.  By far the best and clearest indicator of a salesperson’s ability to succeed reveals itself in the quality of their questions during the interview.  Success Matrix questions demonstrate that you know what you need in place to succeed.  Can I be successful in this job?  Only if the following things are in place because I have learned that without them in place I will not succeed.  Sample questions-

·       What is the revenue for this territory for the last 3 years?  Why did the last person leave this territory?

·       Who is the #1 competitor that you lose too and what is being done to address any gaps?

·       How long is the average sales cycle?  What is the current renewal rate?  How many customers have multi-year contracts? 

·       Do you pay commission on support renewals?

·       What is the sales manager’s style?  (Micro manager, Hands-off, Coach, Forecast jockey.)

·       What is your average close rate?  What is the average follow-on revenue for install accounts?

·       When you lose a deal, why do you lose? 

·       What is the barrier to entry for another company to offer a similar solution to yours?

·       What mechanisms are in place to protect the Intellectual property of this company?  (Patents, trademarks)

·       What did the highest paid rep earn last year?  How much did their quota increase this year?

Trait #2.              Ask Situational questions-  These questions arise as a response to something that they learn during the interview. Example-  You mentioned that the company recently hired a bunch of support engineers, “Has there been an uptick in trouble tickets?”

Train # 3.            Communicate prior to the interview-     Reaching out to the interviewers before your scheduled interview shows a high level of confidence.  Asking if there is anything specific that they should prepare and possibly presenting a few topics that they hope to discuss distinguishes this candidate as above average.   Asking the appropriate dress code and asking for a list of folks that will be on the agenda are also good signs of someone who knows how to avoid common mistakes.

Trait # 4.             Prepare-             A good candidate has done more than just look at your linkedin profile.  They have researched people at the company who currently have the job they seek.   They have looked for online reviews of the company at Glassdoor and looked for technical reviews from Gartner or Forrester to see where the solution rates.  Exceptional candidates will also review the financial health of the company and research the funders, amount of debt and any planned discussion of future fund raising or IPOs.

Trait #5.              Treat every employee as part of the evaluation process-    Good candidates treat the HR and administrative staffs as a vital part of the interview experience.  They recognize that the process of setting up the meeting, exchanging emails, returning phone calls, sharing documents and coordinating the onsite visit all give valuable insight into what this person will be like to work with in the future.

Trait #6.              Don’t sit down.    If you are ushered into an office or conference room and asked to wait there for the interviewer, don’t sit down.  Standing shows an eagerness.  This trait helped me get my first job in technology.  The hiring manager told me that he liked that I was not seated in his office when he entered for our meeting and that was why he hired me. 

Trait #7.              Lean in.               Your body language drives a lot of non-verbal communication to the interviewer.  Be aware of your seated posture and be conscious of your willingness to make eye contact.

Trait #7a.            Play Ping-Pong.   Good interviewees read the cadence of the conversation and know when to cut answers short and when to re-engage the interviewer with a question.   These discussions should not be one-sided.  A candidate that reads the interview flow well, will also read your customers well and recognize when they should speak and when to listen.

Trait #8.              Teach.                 Great candidates have strong opinions and they are willing to share their views.  A candidate once shared with me how much value he saw in the Challenger Sales method and he asked if I was familiar with the concept.  He attributed reading this book to launching his sales success.  In hindsight, I wished I had hired him because I subsequently read the book and believe it is the best method for selling today’s complex IT Solutions.  #onethatgotaway

Trait #9.              Know your greatest accomplishment.   Great salespeople have accomplishments outside of work that demonstrate the same skills they use to succeed at work.  Asking a candidate to share their greatest accomplishment gives you a window into how they plan, research and execute a long-term plan.  These are exactly the same skills you need to see in their territory plan.   This trait also shows GRIT which has been shown as a great pre-cursor of success in sales.  (For more information about GRIT, https://angeladuckworth.com/research/ ) 

Trait # 10.           Ask an uncomfortable question.             Showing the courage to ask a hard question demonstrates high self-confidence and it should give the interviewer a preview of how you will represent the company in the field.  Example-  “What was the pressure like for you after your region missed earnings last quarter.”  If the hiring manager does not respond well, you have gained a valuable insight into what it may be like to work with that person and how they manage conflict. 

In summary- Good interviewees demonstrate all of the traits that they will need to succeed in your sales role.  Having a well-defined Success Matrix™, listening, preparing and a willingness to ask hard questions all indicate a high performer.  If you feel like you were interviewed by the candidate, I recommend hiring that person. 

Casey Murray is President of The Virtual CRO company.  www.thevirtualcro.com