Sales manager interview: how to conduct and pass correctly?

Sales Manager - an indispensable employee in any organization. His knowledge, temperament, charisma and ability to speak beautifully are the key to the financial well-being and prosperity of the company, because it is he who makes money for the enterprise.

Job Sales Manager must have certain personal qualities, knowledge and talents: beautifully and competently offer a product or service, be able to convince a potential buyer to open their wallet and give their money, have the talent of a speaker, know psychology, strive for career growth, be ambitious, want to earn as much money as possible.

The personal salary of a sales manager directly depends on his activity, competence and natural talents. Usually it consists of a small fixed salary and the percentage determined by the employer for each transaction concluded by the manager. A sales manager must be proactive and stress resistant. It is activity that allows a specialist of this level to look for new ways and opportunities for making money, while not paying attention to the negative that can be obtained from a potential client.

In order to properly conduct an interview with the applicant for the vacancy of a sales manager, the employer (personnel manager) must draw up a plan to check how suitable the candidate is for this job. A list of pre-prepared questions will make it easier for a recruiter to hold a meeting.

To identify how suitable a candidate for a sales manager is for this job, the employer uses various “tools”: visually assesses the appearance, determines the psychotype of the applicant, his manner of dealing with strangers, self-confidence, answers to asked questions. Sometimes the employer conducts group interviews when several candidates for one place are present at the meeting at the same time. This method allows you to compare applicants with each other and identify which of them is better suited to this position. It depends on how the interview is conducted, whether the applicant will get this job or not.

The optimal interview structure consists of certain points and questions.

• First, the recruiter must:
  • Introduce yourself (name, patronymic and position);
  • specify how much time the applicant has;
  • provide the applicant with information about the structure of the interview.
• Offer the applicant self-presentation: who I am, what I have achieved, what I am striving for.
• Through questions and answers:
  • identify skills, motivation and aspirations;
  • specify the desired salary.
• Answers to the candidate's questions:
  • talk about the vacancy, the requirements for it;
  • answer other questions of the applicant.
• End of interview:
  • the recruiter must know how he will choose the candidate, who will make the final decision;
  • inform the candidate when the answer will be;
  • leave contacts in case of unforeseen situations.

To find out how suitable the candidate is for the position of sales manager, the recruiter must ask certain questions, gradually moving from general to personal. There is a standard list of questions for the applicant for this position.

• Why did you come to us, to our organization?
• On a scale of zero to ten, rate your knowledge.
• What salary are you interested in?
• What salary in figures do you plan to receive in a few years?
• What should be your working day?
• How do you plan to attract potential customers?
• What was your most successful perfect deal?
• What do you do if a potential buyer does not want to continue the conversation and flatly refuses to buy a product or service?
• Are you ready to fulfill the approved sales plan?
• How will you build your working day subject to increased workload? Set priorities.
• Do you have an existing customer base?
• What should a sales manager look like at a business meeting?
• From your practice, which deal was the hardest for you?
• In your opinion, what is the main factor affecting a successful sale?
• Why did you leave your previous job? Causes?
• What are your strengths and weaknesses as an individual and as a salesperson?
• What characteristics did your former work colleagues give you?
• Why exactly should you get this vacancy?
• If the decision is positive, where do you start your first working day?

When selecting employees for the company, the personnel manager uses various tools: classic interviews, psychological testing, case interviews. A case is a simulated or real problematic situation that causes discussion, requiring analysis and various solutions.Cases are also called a situational interview, which allows you to identify the candidate’s ability to think outside the box, correctly build logical chains - conclusions and conclusions, effectively solve a specific problem.

Ready case interviews are conditionally divided into several categories that check:

• the applicant has certain skills;
• values, attitudes, motivation;
• the candidate’s behavior model, his personal qualities, character.

Each case consists of a specific situation and offers the applicant to find the best way out of it.

In order to successfully pass an interview when applying for a job, the applicant must carefully prepare for a meeting with a potential employer, prepare answers to possible questions, and analyze his appearance and behavior. Preliminary preparation will help the candidate to stay confident, answer the questions posed clearly and distinctly, not to get nervous, not to panic. In order to prepare well for the interview and not fail, the applicant must:

• get detailed information about the company (what it does, how many years it has been working in the market, address of the interview);
• analyze your appearance, find out if the company has a dress code, choose the right clothes and accessories (the best option is a business style of clothing: white top, dark bottom);
• analyze your resume (how accurately it reflects the knowledge and personality of the applicant), be prepared to quickly answer any question on the content of the resume.

To successfully pass the interview, you need:

• Do not be late for a meeting, but do not arrive too early, the best option is to come to the office 10 minutes before the start of the interview, so that there is time to look around, calm down, and if necessary, remove outer clothing;
• don't show that you really need this job and you are interested in it;
• do not fool, do not flatter, do not give compliments to a potential employer - it is better to show a polite, friendly attitude;
• answer provocative questions boldly, without embarrassment (so the recruiter checks the reaction of the future employee), do not be stupid, do not get lost, do not switch to an increased tone of conversation, do not be rude, and most importantly - do not be silent;
• Ask your employer questions regarding your work schedule. job responsibilities, workflow organization;
• no need to be interested in the employer about his personal life, family;
• do not ask about the possibility of being late or leaving work before the end of the working day.

There are several issues that you must ask the potential employer.

• Why did the vacancy form Is it temporary or permanent, for what reasons did the previous manager leave this position?
• What keeps a recruiter in this company, why does he work here? Here you can get some useful information for yourself.
• What job responsibilities for this vacancy, what tasks will need to be addressed in the first place?
• What are the sales successes of the company over the past 3-5 years? The answer to this question will allow the candidate to identify how successful the company is, whether it plans to expand, introduce new products and services.
• What is the next step for the employer? Many candidates for a vacancy during an interview are stressed, fall into a stupor and do not ask this very important question, but you just need to ask for a position.

The applicant for the position of sales manager should be ready to answer the employer's questions regarding education, experience in sales, the number of successful transactions and their amount in rubles, as well as what his / her marital status is at the moment, personal preferences in life, hobbies and hobbies .

No need to talk about your failures and disappointments in life - this is not interesting to anyone. Try to turn the dialogue with the recruiter into an interesting and objective story about yourself.

• “Tell us about your experience in sales, about your education?”. He graduated with a degree in Accounting and Audit, currently receiving additional education in the field of sales, studying remotely.
• “Who do you see yourself in a few years?” I am a successful seller, I have my own wholesale company. Or I became the head of the financial and economic department.
• “If the client is not in good spirits, annoyed and unwilling to listen to you, what will you do?” I will be calm and polite, and despite the negative, I will continue to advise the client on goods and services.
• "Tell me, what is your strength and weakness?" I am purposeful, active, ambitious - this is my strength. Weakness is stubbornness, self-righteousness.

The result of the interview may be different depending on the situation:

• You may be immediately denied employment if the employer already understands that the candidate is not suitable for this position;
• Ask to wait for a call or email;
• they promise to hire - in this case, you don’t need to show too much your enthusiasm and joy, because everything can change quickly.

To make a positive impression on the employer and get a job, tune in to success and victory before each interview. With any answer, stay calm and polite, conduct a dialogue confidently and competently.