You’re looking for a new sales job. You’ve gotten past the phone interview for a sales job you really want and now it’s time for the face to face interview with the Vice President of Sales. You really should prepare for the interview. This post isn’t about what they are going to ask you in an interview like many posts you’ll see. This is about what you are going to ask them and how it will make you stand out from the other sales people applying for this job. Remember there are great questions and dumb questions, but there is nothing worse than no questions at all. The interviewer’s last question to you is frequently the most important one. That’s when the interviewer smiles and says: “Now, do you have questions for us?” Your response at this point often determines if you continue as a job seeker or transform into a job getter. Think about it; wouldn’t it be better to understand what the employers goals are and determine how realistic their objectives are and then be able to deliver on those. Take this opportunity to use this as a brainstorming session with your potential new boss and talk about ideas, strategy, vision, goals, deliverables, challenges, and opportunities. Let them know how you can help them be successful and meet their goals,challenges, etc. Here are 10 questions that will get you started and help you stand out from your competition:
- Can you tell me what the goals of this position are? Has the company been successful in delivering on these goals?
- What have been the 3 biggest challenges to reaching the goals the organization has been struggling with?
- Besides reaching the goals, how will success in this role be measured one year from now? What will have been accomplished?
- How do we stack up against the competition, do we know our win rate against them?
- What is the quota attainment distribution? Is everyone making quota or a just a few bringing in most of the revenue?
- Do you currently have a structured sales process in place? Can you share it with me?
- How much do you expect your current market to grow in the next 1-3 years?
- Can you tell me about the product roadmap and how prepared are you to deliver on it?
- What’s the average sale cycle length, has it been getting longer, shorter, or stayed the same?
- Do you have a sales team strategy and would you mind sharing?
Now go “kill” that job interview and get the new job that you really want!