Interview question - What Risk Do You See Once You Join?

Folks, how would you answer this interview q?


this is the prospective employer asking on what risks a candidate sees on joining, for executing their sales plan.


i would list recession (specific to current global econ climate), product maturity (i.e. it is less mature than what is told during interviews) ....


open to suggestions.

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8
TennisandSales
Politicker
1
Head Of Sales
hmm this is super interesting. they could be evaluating how YOU evaluate them to see if they agree with you. if they agree, your in. they they dont, you are probs out.

also they could be doing this to educate them selves on potential blind spots they have of the company. Is this an email? or in person?

if in person I would respond and say " i have a few that come to mind but im curious on why you are asking me this?" before you give your answer.

BUT

If any of my last jobs asked me this I would be honest with a few things that im sure they would agree with.
antiASKHOLE
Tycoon
1
Bravado's Resident Asshole
Could be a loaded question, however if set up and executed properly, it could go really well.
Sunbunny31
Politicker
1
Sr Sales Executive ๐Ÿฐ
Interesting question.

It sounds like something that is asked during quarterly reviews with your sales management, some variation on "what could get in the way of you being able to meet your target"? Some sales managers use that as a way to get more resources, so they're looking for answers like "if pre-sales support from SE/SC is missing". It could be a way to see if you're evaluating how you know you will be successful and what could get in the way of that (that they can help fix).
NotCreativeEnough
Big Shot
1
Professional Day Ruiner
I'm always honest in response and have always received good feedback from it.

For example - I recently took an interview with a company (and later received an offer), and they asked that same question. I used the recession concern like you mentioned, and brought up that it was a concern because they're a series B company. Which while super exciting, is also concerning in a world where VC's are tightening their belts and not investing as much. I also voiced a concern that it sounded like they are very metric driven and want every employee to use their process. I have a process that works very well for me and I've always been a top performer leveraging it. So I brought that one up as well because, to be frank, I have no interest in using their process. I'm happy to learn it, and am open to trying it, but I wanted to be sure I had the leeway to do things my way as well.

Being open with them about my concerns got me an answer from them to help solve those concerns.

On the series B part, that's when they opened up that they are actually profitable already, and on top of that are currently in negotiations for their series C so they can grow even faster. And in regards to the process, they informed me that they have such a rigid process in place for people who are newer/less experienced. And that in the end they give employees the freedom to work however they choose as long as they're hitting their number.

In the end, I didn't accept the offer for numerous reasons. But being open about my concerns when they asked me that question got me good answers from them and helped ease those concerns. And the interviewer responded well to those concerns as well.
DungeonsNDemos
Big Shot
0
Rolling 20's all day
I like it, but only ask if you're going to fairly hear them. It feels like the same kind of question when your girlfriend asks"does this dress make me look fat?"
Kosta_Konfucius
Politicker
0
Sales Rep
I immediately thought of you are leaving a stable job where you like your team/product/territory. Itโ€™s a big risk to leave for the unknown where you could potentially not be a fit culture wise or the product they sell isnโ€™t as good of a fit
KendallRoy
Politicker
0
AM
Assuming I want the job and the risks arenโ€™t red flags, format Iโ€™d use is acknowledge the risk, and then lay out my plan to address and mitigate the risk.
MROPINION
Good Citizen
-1
MANAGER
I DONT KNOW
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