fidelcashflow

Account Executive

Mock calls are rough

I appreciate all the savages that have been helping me over the last few months. I've been going through so many interviews and I have nailed every part and go to the final and have gotten 3 rejections after the mock in the last month. prior to that I have closed every interviewer and have had them confirm that I am 100% a fit.

then After the mock, they have said I have just missed the mark. I feel like I do a decent job of disco but clearly not. in general, mock calls suck but they look for something so specific and I've just been missing. I've asked for feedback and most have been pretty generic.

if anyone is willing to help, I would be eternally grateful. 🙏🏼

🤝 Interviewing/Offer

😋 Job Searching

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15 comments

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Sunbunny31

Politicker

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

Can you provide some more details about each of the mock calls? What you were asked to prepare for each, etc.? Assuming that they weren't all identical, that is.
Then if you can shed some light on what you did and your impression of the call itself, questions asked and your responses, that would help pinpoint what's going on.

fidelcashflow

Catalyst

Account Executive

So a few of them were just disco's and one was more of a final presentation to stakeholders. Most recent was a disco/demo on the same call but I did not have to actually show the platform. They gave me slides to use and a lot of insight into what they were looking for. Their process was a little hurried so I just tried to copy them but also add my own flavor.

For the most part I use gap selling and have gotten the prospects to admit that they have a problem and that we have a solution to fix that problem to avoid issues AB&C down the line. price and comp objections came up and they said I nailed those but that my structure was a little off and that I should have done more disco.

My honest impression is that I can definitely do a better job but I feel like it has been good enough for not knowing their product or process. They seem to go in the calls expecting very specific things to happen but I feel like that is impossible. Sorry, it is hard to add everything over a comment on here

Sunbunny31

Politicker

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

I totally understand it's hard to convey what's going on.

The fact that you've had three different kinds of mock calls but all of them end with you "missing the mark" is interesting.

Maybe some of the disco that you should be doing should be up front - before the call. Asking for expectations and if there's anything you should specifically be honing in on prior to jumping on the call. Ask for as much coaching as you can get.

And in general, if the insight has been that they think you need to do more disco - ask more questions. At the beginning of the call or presentation, and also scattered throughout. If they toss something in, ask about it (why is that important to you; how would this affect your process/day to day; is there something else we should be aware of?). Always ask about deadlines/timelines and who needs to be involved in the decision (if you aren't already). I'd have a list of questions to ask all along the way to drive a conversation with them so that you always have more to lean on. Perhaps you are doing these things, but sounds like you need to do just a bit more.

Now, it's also possible they have another candidate in mind as well and you're just coming in 2nd each time - so keep at it. If you're getting to that final round, you are doing a lot right already, so do your best not to get discouraged.

fidelcashflow

Catalyst

Account Executive

I think my biggest struggle is that I don't know if I should approach them in the way that I currently do or completely change it and do it in accordance with their prompts. That is where I fumble. I have my style and ultimately I get to the same spot that someone else would if they used Sandler for example.

Also, I've noticed that I uncover pain but I don't uncover a massive list of pains. I look at the clock and get nervous about time so I focus on what I found and continue from there. I think I need to slow down, talk less, and uncover at least 2 different pains and go from there.

My last mock I went down the funnel and got the prospect to say that they have experienced a certain problem that resulted in certain negative outcomes. I then told them "This is what you are experiencing and this is what we can do to avoid those issues and provide you with these other positive results". They gave me feedback that I was telling them their issue rather than uncovering it but I was like...I just repeated what you told me? Which I uncovered from the disco...so I found that odd.

Sunbunny31

Politicker

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

Maybe it’s how you phrased it more than what you said. Instead of telling them the pain they are experiencing, you can say “it sounds like this is what you are experiencing, am I right? Are there other things that are getting in the way of success?” And dig a little more.
I know time can be an issue - but try to turn that to your advantage. “I see we are coming close to the (top of the hour/end of the scheduled meeting). Assuming that we have a hard stop, is there anything else we should discuss before we set the next steps?” That was you’re showing you’re aware of time, but have the confidence to assume next steps as well as acknowledge they may have something else to share.
Hope this is helpful - again I’m assuming you’re doing many of these things already, and it may just be tweaking.
Remember also you don’t want to solution on the call, which is tricky when you feel compelled to share what you know. You want to uncover pain points and progress them to agreeing to the next call/demo/whatever the relevant next steps are in each scenario. Bonus points for leveraging a customer success story you’ve pulled from their website to use for a compelling reason to progress.

JustGonnaSendIt

Politicker

Burn Towns, Get Money

I take a relatively simple approach to disco that I have found effective.

There are lots of frameworks for this out there, but the one that I find most effective is BANT

Budget
Authority
Need
Timing

Usually Timing is 80% of the game in my world... Aligning with the customer timeline, so you can then use it and shape it is the most powerful tool.

So start out asking what they're trying to solve and why. Ask follow-up questions so you can build a mental map of how this problem is important to the prospect. Don't be afraid to repeat back what you heard, phrased in your own way, to make sure you understand. This is the biggest way you build trust.

Once you understand what you're trying to solve, pivot to 'how do we get this done'

Are there any important timelines on their end? What happens if they miss?
Where is the budget allocated in terms of time to make this happen?
Who can sign off on it? What are their requirements to do so?

It's really about having a conversation to build your own mental map of the deal, so you can then best advocate to your own team on how to serve the customer.

Then always close the next meeting, on the current meeting. Your insight into timing makes this easy. Build backwards from when it needs to be done, thru the list of steps required to get it done, to line up the next meeting.

Diablo

Politicker

Sr. AE

What all do you cover during your disco mock? Is it just the product or also timeline, budget, next steps etc.?

fidelcashflow

Catalyst

Account Executive

Most have been to find out whether or not our solution makes sense to them and to book a next call. We cover functionality, timeline, and clear next steps. not exactly budget as it has not seemed important

ThatNewAE

Big Shot

Account Executive - Mid enterprise

I think (again, based on what I know right now), you might want to dig deep into what setup they have, what processes they have and how they manage things right now.
Then you can get into whether or not the solution makes sense to the customer.

You need to then understand whether or not the customer makes sense to your business.

It's always a two way street.

BlueJays2591

Politicker

Federal Business Dev Director

I hate when they don't give you actual feedback. You gave up your time to interview with them, so they can do you a solid and give you proper feedback.

jefe

Arsonist

🍁

You've got a lot of detailed advice here, hope you found something that'll help.

Best of luck with the next one!

SalesPharaoh

Big Shot

Senior Account Executive

For some reason I hate acting and mock calls also don’t beat yourself up because you are making a call with someone who is an expert in the field. In reality, you speak to people who think that you are the expert so things are more lenient.

TheHypnotist

Executive

Sales Manager

Ask them "Is there any reason you wouldn't hire me right now?" - get to the bottom of things, avoid guesswork, be certain.

WhoDey

Opinionated

VP of Sales

In the comments thread you asked, "should I approach them in the way that I currently do or completely change it and do it in accordance with their prompts?" My gut says...be yourself. Don't try and bait & switch them by showing them a version of you that isn't going to show up to work day in and day out. I've hired people who blew us away during the interview, only to find out later it was all an act. It never works out and we end up parting ways. If the "real you" isn't what they're looking for, it's good that you don't get the job there. Look for a company that is a better match...that's where you'll be most successful.

Mendizo

Opinionated

Sr. Director

Mock calls are always tough, so good job on continuing to show up!

Great comments in here so far. One thing I would say, especially in reading your comment that discovery is where they've given you some feedback, is that you may want to lay out some assumptive facts in order to bridge this. Look, no one expects that in an interview, you will be able to do a full discovery. That could be multiple calls deep with a real customer. So definitely have a structured section for discovery upfront, but I would perhaps tee off with some assumptions you already list on your slide, e.g. "What you have shared with me so far". This allows you to demonstrate that you already know certain things, gives you some more time and slack in the disco portion of the interview, and puts everyone on the same page. Even if they are hardasses and say that you should treat this like your very first interaction with a prospect, well, you can learn a ton about an organization (especially publicly traded ones) before you ever spend a minute talking to them. An AE that comes armed having absorbed public data is already 3 steps ahead of those who don't.

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fidelcashflow

Mock calls are rough

15 comments

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