in your experience, how important is the presentation stage?

typically the presentation is the final stage in the interview from what i've seen, im curious how important you think this stage is in a company's decision to move forward?

do you have to get an A+ or since you're already so deep in the process, a decent score will get the job done?

thank you
- someone who is relatively early in their career & still learning 
🤝 Interviewing/Offer
📳 SaaS
☁️ Software Tech
13
CuriousFox
WR Officer
7
🦊
I've never given a presentation for an interview.
Sunbunny31
Politicker
5
Sr Sales Executive 🐰
It's become a checkbox item for many large companies, so all candidates are treated the same.
CuriousFox
WR Officer
3
🦊
Interesting 🤔
Sunbunny31
Politicker
3
Sr Sales Executive 🐰
Last company I was at, there was a lot of grumbling that some reps got internal roles with just a quick conversation, while others were given a full process to go through, so HR/hiring made the decision that every candidate got exactly the same process - and made it so both internal and external candidates had to follow the same path as well. That included the mock presentation stage. First and only time I've had to do it.
SADNESSLieutenant
Politicker
2
Officer of ♥️
same
cashmachine
Politicker
1
AE (Account Executive)
i’m surprised. but good for you!
Kosta_Konfucius
Politicker
7
Sales Rep
I would say the presentations re-affirms their thoughts. If they thought you were good they will probably think you have a great presentation. If they think you aren’t ready for an AE role, they will probably will continue to think that.

First impressions really matter, that’s why it’s key to do well in the early stages
TennisandSales
Politicker
4
Head Of Sales
i wouldnt say you HAVE to get an A+ but if you dont then there is always a reason NOT to hire you.

in my experience ive felt like ive had the position in the bag by the time i get to the presentations stage, but I approach it like i dont and that I need to nail it.

because this is their first chance to see what you would be like with a prospect.
Pachacuti
Politicker
4
They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy
I interviewed with a company last week and part of it was presenting on myself. In my previous job I was asked to give a sales presentation on anything - so I choose a successful presentation I had recently made to a prospect.

They are looking for your poise, conversation flow, how you get them engaged in your presentation (ask them questions!), and how you handle their questions/objections.

If you can't give your prospective employer a decent sales presentation, how can you hope to give a client one?
Sunbunny31
Politicker
3
Sr Sales Executive 🐰
Here's my thinking: by the time you get to this stage, they have most likely made up their minds. You are unlikely to get the job because of the presentation, but you can lose it if you botch this step. So take it as seriously as you can and get the hiring manager(s) to coach you as much as possible for what they're looking for, and do your prep.
Diablo
Politicker
2
Sr. AE
Wow, I will certainly fail - I have never given any presentation as a part of my interview process
Pachacuti
Politicker
1
They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy
What was that? Can you repeat what you said? I have trouble hearing people who have no confidence in themselves.
Sunbunny31
Politicker
1
Sr Sales Executive 🐰
But you have given presentations as part of your job, yes?

Same thing - and you're selling, so you should have it!
Diablo
Politicker
0
Sr. AE
Haha 100%. Failing to add one emoji screws up the real meaning of what wanted to be conveyed. Bad messaging at my end, apology😉
cashmachine
Politicker
0
AE (Account Executive)
don’t condemn yourself
punishedlad
Tycoon
2
Business Development Team Lead
In my experience, presentations/mock calls in interviews are mostly to establish that you can talk conversationally with a prospect, carry forward a narrative, and not drop the ball when unexpected questions come up. So yeah, pretty important, but if you're working in sales these should all be skills you have/are working on.
activity
Politicker
1
VP, Business Development
They are just looking to make sure you can present and see how you handle stress.
IYNFYL
Politicker
1
Enterprise SaaS AE
My opinion they really want to understand how your sales process is with asking good questions and next steps. I've done a few of them and panicked at first because I didn't know the product, but when I took a step back and saw it was just to see how you carry a conversation it made me feel better.
antiASKHOLE
Tycoon
1
Bravado's Resident Asshole
I have had to do mock role plays, but that's it.
ChumpChange
Politicker
1
Channel Manager
My company has a presentation exercise as the final interview. This is where we can CLEARLY see the stark differences between candidates that BS very well during Q&A interviews versus those that have the actual skillset needed to present a compelling sales presentation. I was pretty against it at first but now I can see how useful it can be. Please keep in mind this is only used for hiring senior or manager-level roles. BDR/AE are not subjected to this.
CadenceCombat
Tycoon
0
Account Executive
Very important
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