CoorsKing
WR Officer
4
Retired King of the Coors Knights
Did they give you a use case to base off of or is this literally a "tell me why <company you are interviewing for> is better than <competition>"?

That is a pretty low bar for an AE interview, seems like rather lazy management.ย 

Tips:
- Look up gartner/forrester/G2 reviews for both them and competition
- Go to their website and search "<company> & <competition>"
- Build a business case on why it would be a better fit for them. If you go in and try to just pitch feature comparisons, they will shred you.
- Make sure you ask questions in your pitch - pick a few questions that trap them into why your product is better (based on the 3rd party research papers you read)
- Make sure you end with an ask, most of the time it is "I would like to set up some time to dive into this deeper and include one of our technical resources. What are some times next week that work for you?"
- Learn a customer reference off their website that supports your pitch

Some common objections they may throw at you:
- Well the competition does that to, so why is your feature better (this is why you try to avoid features)
- Well they are cheaper (have a strong business case here)
- Well they said <xyz> about your product and that it can't do <xyz>. Can you do that?
AlwaysBWinning
Good Citizen
0
SDR
This is amazing, Appreciate this so much!ย 
BmajoR
Arsonist
3
Account Executive
I'm tempted to say keep looking because management that's responsible for hiring that encourages direct competitor selling is a red flag in my opinion.ย 

For example, I sell against 4 other companies that do damn near the same thing. Not once do I mention their names. Instead, I demo the strengths of our product where I know those companies have shortcomings. I don't sit there and say "Company A can't do this, look at how much better we are because we CAN do this"

Have they provided you with any materials on either company to prepare from?
AlwaysBWinning
Good Citizen
1
SDR
Thanks for the insights! I clarified exactly what they asked of me in the post below again much appreciatedย 
CuriousFox
WR Officer
1
๐ŸฆŠ
Dang so helpful back in the day ๐ŸŽ‰
BmajoR
Arsonist
1
Account Executive
Somewhere along the way, I lost my way.ย 
CuriousFox
WR Officer
1
๐ŸฆŠ
Bullshit. You found it. ๐Ÿฆก๐Ÿงฟ
RealEstateVeep
Politicker
3
VP of Real Estate
Ditch it. Iโ€™ve actually won accounts because Iโ€™ve admitted that other brokers are good shops. No need to disparage competitors or say we are better than X because we are Y.
mitts2
Politicker
1
Account Executive
Agree with most of the comments here about suspect management and a questionable prompt. That said, if you go through the motions, here is my 2 cents.

I can't stress enough asking questions throughout the call. The last thing you want to have happen is you talking the whole time and then getting peppered with questions. You are not in control of the call if that happens.ย 

Ask what the team cares about. Why now? What challenges are you trying to solve? In an ideal world, what does the solution look like? What does success look like?ย 

Anything to get them talking about themselves. If / when it gets competitive... ask more questions. What do you like about X tool? What do you not like? What do you wish you had access to?ย 

Questions are your best friend here. This is all ammo for you to pitch your own product and relate it specifically to the clients challenges. Good luck.
AlwaysBWinning
Good Citizen
0
SDR
Amazing insights! Thanksย 
Kinonez
Celebrated Contributor
1
War Room Enthusiast
Id go to G2 to see a couple of reviews, Have a reason or reasons why the company you are pitching for the clear winner.

Look for anything this company does that no one does, features that no one offers that they do.ย 

Tipically theay ask this to see how you would address thiw to a prospect, so they have to end on top!
AlwaysBWinning
Good Citizen
0
SDR
Thanks for all the amazing insights, to be more specific they didn't say, bash competitors, They said prepare to them a 10-15 min presentation on their company and pitch for them. The goal of the exercise is to sell them on why they should buy their software as opposed to one of their competitors. (of my choosing) They will also leave time for conversation after..ย 
So how should I structure this ? should it be a case of demo or disco or right to selling?

Typically has anyone had this type of interview?ย 
how did you handle it

Much appreciated with all the insights hereย 
GALACTIC
Politicker
0
Account Executive
This is far to late to be of use to you, but to echo some of the other folks here - Telling isn't Selling. It feels uncomfortable at first, but you really need to get the client talking, then sit back and listen.
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