TennisandSales

Head Of Sales

Acclaimed Answer

make sure you have good stories for interviews

Idk if ive posted about this but its been brought up in comments so i thought it make it a post:

when ever you are interviewing you NEED to have good stories about a few key things:

Your career path up to this point.

explaining that you have a goal in mind and ever career move you have made has brought you closer to that goal is a really positive thing. Make sure you can tell that story.

Why you left you last job:

This needs to be more than "quota's were getting higher and i didnt like the direction of the company".
make sure you really think about a positive way to spin it. What other factors are there that effected your decision? Reasons that have received positive feedback for me: senior leadership not conducting business in an ethical way, company being acquired and sold multiple times = no solid direction, feeling like you have learned everything you can and want to keep progressing/learning to become the best you can be.

"Tell me about your self"

1 fact about your upbringing
1 -2 facts about your career
1 personal fact about your self
the more you nail this story the better impression you will make on the person your talking too.
BONUS POINTS: if you can cater this story depending on who you are talking to.
If you were talking to me and you mentioned how much you love tennis, good move, then talk to the VP and talk about how much you love the NFL, great move!

These stories need to be 30 second to 1;30 long,

again bonus points if you end them in a way that invites the interviewer to ask questions.

EDIT:

If you were laid off:

Ive never been laid off so i cant speak from personal experience here BUT here is how i would handle it.

be as honest as you can
speaking negatively about the company might not be the best idea
focus on how you are excited about continuing the momentum you were building at your next org.

(id love to hear from ppl who were laid off and how they handled that conversation in interviews going forward!)

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braintank

Politicker

13

Enterprise Account Executive

Great content!

Also have stories ready for:
• Deal you are most proud of, why?
• Deal you lost, what'd you learn?
• Difficult negotiation, what'd you do?

Sunbunny31

Politicker

3

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

Great add - because they'll be asked.

TennisandSales

Politicker

1

Head Of Sales

yes i was going to add deal stories here but i figured id make a separate post about those because there are a few more details i think are important.

but those are probably some of the most important questions to nail.

Sunbunny31

Politicker

1

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

I'm here for the two part series. :)

Sunbunny31

Politicker

5

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

Fantastic post. Being prepared is key, and these are excellent topics.

GreenSide

Politicker

2

Sales manager

Too many people don’t practice their answers ahead of time. You can spin 90% of interview questions into whatever answer you want. I had 5-6 stories I would tell based on the question asked and I knew those stories inside and out, down to tone, laughs, pace, etc.

Lambda

Tycoon

2

Sales Consultant

Can't understate the

Why you left the last job part of this post
It can be tricky, especially if you were let go. If you quit, its pretty easy to say why.
I have found being upfront about it with a spin as to why you were let go
(Culture fit, managerial disagreements (With an explanation, unrealistic quotas, etc)
Respond with class but reality

TennisandSales

Politicker

0

Head Of Sales

OH ok so great point on if you were let go then its for sure a different approach i forgot to add that thanks for the comment!

updating now.

Nairobi

Politicker

2

AE

Fantastic post!! I wish I could triple-upvote this lol Storytelling in interviews is EVERYTHING-- I think that's also one of the most underrated skills

Before every interview, I come up with stories that will resonate with the interviewer based on my research about the company and the interviewer.

TennisandSales

Politicker

0

Head Of Sales

niiiice!yes this is super key too.

SaaSguy

Tycoon

1

Account Executive

The same way we dont skimp on the pain when we sell products, we needs to sell ourselves in an interview! Dont be afraid to talk yourself up.

Rizzdawg

Politicker

1

Am

Good stuff

Justatitle

Big Shot

1

Account Executive

This is great, the only additional point I would make is that when you are telling your story at the beginning, know where they want it to start by asking and have it down to a maximum of 2 minutes, be concise and ensure you are not rambling. It's a test to see if you can be clear and concise in a short period of time while also getting a point across.

Diablo

Politicker

1

Sr. AE

Great post as always 🎾

ChickenWings

Opinionated

1

Tom Callahan's Son

How do I bookmark this post? <br><br>When faced with almost any experience, I often find myself asking “how would I speak about this in an interview”.

You’re building what you’ll answer to later, now. It may help to keep note along the way.

TennisandSales

Politicker

1

Head Of Sales

great way to view that!!! i would for sure encourage ppl to keep some sort of working document that you can add this type of stuff too.

ChickenWings

Opinionated

1

Tom Callahan's Son

True.

Good moral compass, too.

If you can’t justify an attitude or action in a future interview, you probably need to think about your next step.

Pachacuti

Politicker

1

They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy

With all the interviewing going on now, all this is a very good reminder.

If you can’t sell yourself, how can you sell their solution?

TennisandSales

Politicker

0

Head Of Sales

100%! i think thats also why it can be hard for hiring managers to find good talent because sales ppl can be REALLY good at selling them self haha

TheQueenofDiamonds

Politicker

0

Account Executive

Think about asking great questions too 😜

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