How to Leverage Sales Skills in an Interview
Have you ever thought about the fact that a job interview is comparable to a sales call? You follow similar approaches with the same goal: to close the deal. If you are a sales professional (and even if you’re not; we’ll show you how!), you can leverage sales skills in an interview to ensure you wow the committee and secure an offer.
Put your sales professional hat on and get ready for those offers to come rolling in.
Do Your Research
Any sales professional worth the title would never go into a sales call without first doing extensive research. You can leverage sales skills in an interview by researching the company, position, and people who’ll be interviewing you. You’ll also want to understand the company’s products or services and its target market and competitors, as well as the industry as a whole. Being prepared with this information demonstrates your enthusiasm for the position and allows you to answer interview questions with an eye toward the company’s goals and values.
Some specifics you’ll want to uncover in your research include:
- The company’s mission, vision, and values.
- Its future goals as an organization and perhaps for its employees.
- The hiring manager and that person’s goals in hiring a new team member.
- Some pain points the company and/or hiring manager are currently experiencing.
Places to conduct your research include:
The company’s website
Always start at the source. What draws your attention when you land on the website? What does the company say about itself? And, getting down to basics, what does the company do? Is there a disconnect between what it says it does and what you know about the company? Does the website discuss mission, vision, and values? Are team members highlighted? What does the “about” page of the site say?
You’ll learn a considerable amount about not only the company but how it views itself in the marketplace and among the competition. Plus, you’ll see how it values its employees—or if it does at all.
LinkedIn is a treasure trove of information when it comes to researching companies and the people who work at them. Even if you don’t know who will be in your interview committee, you can often make some educated guesses by looking at who works at the company. If the company website doesn’t provide a lot of insight into the team, LinkedIn usually can. Plus, you’ll learn how long people have been in their roles and what their past career history looks like, which can help you prepare and have good comments and questions specifically for them in your interview.
Social media sites
Yes, LinkedIn is a social media site, but it’s typically more formal than Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. Does the company have a presence on these other platforms? It may show a little more personality on Facebook, which will let you in on what it’s really like to work there.
Google Search
When all else fails, head to Google. An internet search can often tell you a lot about a company. Has it been in the news? Are there any press releases? A publicly traded company should have financials available online, which can tell you about the health of the company moving forward. You may also come across reviews and ratings, which can shed light on how consumers perceive the company and its products and services.
Focus on Features and Benefits
If you were selling a product or service, you’d home in on that item’s features and benefits. You can transform and leverage sales skills in an interview to focus on the complementary components of experience and accomplishments. There’s a saying in sales: “Features tell, but benefits sell.” The same can be said of your experience as it relates to a potential new job: “Experiences tell, but accomplishments sell.”
Your experience is simply what you did. You’ll field several questions about the specifics of what you’ve done and what you know how to do while you’re meeting with potential employers.
Accomplishments are how you added value. These are the times you solved problems, including when you overcame challenges by generating revenue, reducing costs, improving productivity or efficiency, and making stakeholders happy. Start to think about some stories to answer those “Tell me about a time when…” questions you’re sure to be asked. By illustrating your accomplishments from previous roles, you’ll better highlight how you can bring those talents forward for the benefit of this new company.
Remember Your ABCs: Always Be Closing
If an interview is like a sales call, then you’ll want to follow the cardinal rule of sales: Always be closing. Your goal is to sell yourself to the hiring manager or interview committee by highlighting your experience, accomplishments, and personality. From the first interview until you receive an offer, you should always be aiming to close the deal, aka secure the offer.
How do you do that? First, avoid being pushy. No one likes to be pushed into a corner with questions such as, “How did I do?” and “When can I start?” Instead, choose these options:
Be confident
Salespeople ask for the sale. As a job seeker, you should ask for the job. Tell the interviewer that you’re a great fit and how much value you believe you’ll add to the team and the company.
Be prepared to talk salary and benefits
If you want the job, you need to talk money. Salespeople expect to, so you should as well when you leverage sales skills in an interview. Know your worth and have your number (or range) ready.
Get ready to negotiate
More than 70% of employers expect to negotiate salary and benefits, so don’t be too eager to accept the first number you’re offered. In sales, pricing is a kind of dance, and everything is negotiable. Take the same approach in your interview.
Maintain your enthusiasm
No matter if it’s your first phone screen or an in-person panel interview, stay engaged and enthusiastic. Before you end the meeting, summarize your qualifications for the position, restate your interest in moving forward, ask about the next steps, and address any concerns the team has about your candidacy. You never know where opportunity will strike, and even if this position doesn’t work out, there may be other options down the line, so leave everyone better for having met you.
Follow Up
Top-notch sales professionals know that it can take several follow-ups before a prospect says yes. One study asserts that 80% of sales require five follow-ups after that initial sales call. That’s not to say that job seekers need to follow up five times, but many aren’t following up at all. This is a huge way to leverage sales skills in an interview setting: Differentiate yourself by following up.
The best way to touch base after an interview is with a thank-you note. Handwritten cards are best, but if that’s not possible because the work environment is remote, an email is a good back-up option. In your note, be sure to thank the interviewer for spending time to meet with you, restate your interest in the position and company, highlight your qualifications (whether you discussed them in the meeting or not), share your availability to answer any questions, and state that you’re looking forward to the next steps.
Send your thank-you notes immediately after every interview. The best approach is to send one individually to each person you meet. If you haven’t heard anything in a week or two, follow up again. The goal is not to be a pest, but you want to ensure they know you’re interested in the position. It’s a fine balance, which the best sales professionals know.
Turn “No” into “Yes”
According to HubSpot, 80% of prospects say no four times before they say yes. That’s not to say that you need to apply for the same role four times, but you certainly can leverage sales skills in an interview and successfully transform a potential “no” into a “yes.”
One way to move forward in the interview process is to overcome objections. Sales professionals do this all the time, and it’s one way they are able to get a yes more often. You can use the same approach by asking a pivotal question in the interview: “Is there anything I’ve shared with you that would make you hesitant to move forward with me as a candidate?”
It’s ballsy, yes, but it can help you bring any concerns to the forefront. If you have the skills or experience they want, discuss those things right there and then. On the other hand, if you lack what they’re looking for, don’t try to sugar coat it. Instead, address it head on: “I understand that’s something that you’re looking for in this role, but I feel I have many other skills and talents that will help me excel at this company. Is there anything I can do to reassure you of my fit and commitment to our joint success?”
Above all, stay positive. Don’t get defensive when an interviewer mentions their concerns. If you want to turn their “no” into a “yes,” you need to remain confident and enthusiastic.
Resume and Career Services Helps You Leverage Sales Skills in an Interview
It can be challenging to maneuver the interview process, especially if you’ve been out of the game for several years. At Resume and Career Services, we are all about educating you so that you feel empowered to create success from the first interview until you secure several offers. Our most exclusive offering, the Career Advocate Program, walks you through an eight-week coaching program that provides you with the skills you need to ace the interview—and then some! Before you know it, you too can leverage sales skills in an interview, even if you’ve never had a role in sales.
Learn more about all our programs here.