If you're applying for several sales jobs, you may be tempted to spend more time focusing on your resume than practicing your interviewing skills. Although your resume is important, you must take time to prepare for each meeting with a recruiter. Most sales professionals know about things like dressing for success and using a firm handshake, but you should also focus on these two key techniques to improve your interview skills.
The first technique is to think of the interview as another sales pitch. If you think about it, convincing an interviewer you're right for the job requires the same skills as convincing prospects to buy your company's products and services. You wouldn't approach prospects without understanding their needs, so don't go into sales job interviews without doing a little research about the company and the interviewer. Visit the company website to learn about the current management team and find as much information about the company's products as you can.
Once you know the name of the person who will be interviewing you, search LinkedIn and other social media sites to find out if you have anything in common. Getting high-level sales jobs depends in part on your ability to put interviewers at ease and build relationships. If you discover you belong to the same organization as your interviewer, use that information to break the ice and show off a little bit of your personality. If you and the recruiter volunteer for the same nonprofit, you can bond over your commitment to an important cause.
The second technique is practicing your answers to sales job interview questions. Many recruiters use the same basic questions for most sales jobs, so you should be able to find some of the questions ahead of time. Ask a friend or colleague to act as an interviewer while you assume the role of an applicant. Have the other person make notes about how you can improve your answers. Working through some of the most common sales job interview questions helps you increase your confidence and come off as a true professional during your interview.
If you're getting ready to interview for a sales job, it's important to prepare for each scheduled interview. If you think of the interview as a sales pitch, you can arm yourself with pertinent information about the company and the interviewer. Practicing your answers to common interview questions makes it easier to land the best sales jobs throughout your career. Ask your friends to help you with practice interviews so that you can use their feedback to improve your interviewing skills.
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