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BestCase

Account Executive

Valued Contributor
Praised Answer
Fire Starter
+1

Project Presentation as part of hiring process?

High level context: laid off end of November. Have applied to over 300 SaaS jobs. Have had 50+ interviews, 15+ second interviews, but no offers and feels like it's getting harder and harder to earn interviews with incredible talent laid off in the last 30 days.


I've had 3 interviews with a SaaS company in an adjacent industry to the one I've worked for 10+ years. They're a Series A startup with aprox. 100 employees. Interviews have been positive (although I do have concerns with culture.) I'm not feeling completely desperate but want to give every option consideration. However, after 3 interviews (hiring manager, AE w/ Sales Engineer, and finally CRO) I've been asked to complete a project presentation assignment.


They expect it should take me 2-4 hours to prepare and then expect me to present for 45 minutes to a panel.


Pick two target organizations. For each organization, present your full-cycle sales process. Explain step-by-step how you'd go about prospecting, outreach, delivering the value proposition, and sending an order form. Also, please explain how you would approach each week and day from a time allocation perspective to ensure you hit your goals. Lastly, please explain why you chose the two organizations you selected. We’re expecting 8-10 slides via Google Slides and a 45 minute presentation.


Does this feel a little burdensome to anyone else? I've been in sales for 15+ years and have never come across this type of prompt. I don't want to appear ungrateful but the vibe I get is that they want me to help them define their sales process for free?

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18 comments

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CuriousFox
WR Officer
5
🦊
I don't work for free.
Kosta_Konfucius
Politicker
3
Sales Rep
This seems very overkill for an interview especially for an IC role. I would say the optimist in me, is saying they have a verythorough interview process.
But I have heard stories of this is how companies get free "consulting"
Sunbunny31
Politicker
1
Sr Sales Executive 🐰
It does seem burdensome, and as Kosta points out, we've seen reps put the work in and discover it's being used as a business plan.
You can use search here to find other posts about similar scenarios.
That said, it's a buyer's market right now, so this might be a necessary hurdle to get to an offer. Other than this request, does this seem like a place you'd like to work? Any red flags?

BestCase
Valued Contributor
2
Account Executive
The only red flag is that the CRO told me that it's not a 9-5 job and he doesn't have a lot of patience for warm/fuzzy work-life balance talk. He wants people there to work and that take it seriously -- and will make sure they are paid handsomely for doing so.
alonzoharris
Politicker
2
Partner Manager
If I got an offer, I would take it but continue applying. I definitely wouldn’t want to work for someone like that too long
Sunbunny31
Politicker
1
Sr Sales Executive 🐰
We both know it's common in sales to be flexible with time and effort - some weeks have significantly more hours required to meet milestones with customers than others, but this sounds like he's all about more time rather than flexible time. May not be that big of a deal; he might be responding to concerns about people who aren't willing to be a bit flexible in their time. Not sure why that needs to be said for a strategic role for an experienced person, though.
BestCase
Valued Contributor
2
Account Executive
The flip side of this is that he made it very clear he expects an experienced rep to not need hand-holding or micro-management. This is a green flag to me.

My previous sales leader required us to fill our daily calendar in 15m blocks every evening and would review them with us every morning to make sure we were being "efficient." I hated that.
Sunbunny31
Politicker
1
Sr Sales Executive 🐰
Are you kidding? For a rep with more than a decade of experience? That's over the top.
Sounds like the new CRO wants someone who knows what they're doing and is willing to not be rigid with their job hours. Pretty standard for strategic.
countingmyinterest
Politicker
0
Account Executive
Sounds like the CRO of Link Squares
HappyGilmore
Politicker
1
Account Executive
I received a similar prompt in an interview with an organization and this seems to be slight overkill for the presentation stage. Other orgs I've interviewed with recently in their presentation stage its a role play of some sorts with a scenario I'm familiar with, nothing along the lines of this outline.
Diablo
Politicker
1
Sr. AE
This is cruel, I am sure it will take more than the time you mentioned, rather I will use the time to do something else.
TennisandSales
Politicker
1
Head Of Sales
DAMN yeah that seems SUPER excessive.

its for sure a red flag for me.
ChumpChange
Politicker
1
Channel Manager
Holy Shieeet! This is just for an IC sales gig. This seems like drastic overkill. I can understand for a leadership spot but for an IC strictly sales this seems to be a bit much. My company requires these mini projects and they're no longer than 4 slides and 20 minutes. Also, they're only for leadership-level candidates.
HVACexpert
Politicker
1
sales engineer
Wow. Definitely has a “gatekeeper” feel, obviously if you do it you’re serious about joining. I worry more about them not hiring you but then using your presentation to execute on your plan without you?? As an employer though I kind of like it, let’s see what you got!
Justatitle
Big Shot
1
Account Executive
I had to do this for a role I was interviewing for with little to no guidance and it was a disaster. I'm not sure why companies do this but my attitude towards it for you is to give it your best but don't suffer over it. This process sounds really stupid
salespal
Good Citizen
1
Account Executive
Interviewers are putting everyone through the meat grinder. It's exhausting. You've had three interviews already how is that not enough? These long winded panel presentations seem like a waste of time for everyone involved.
DungeonsNDemos
Big Shot
0
Rolling 20's all day
My current company had me do a mock call, but no free work for them. I'd be insanely careful what I agree to in the interview process.
WheelofCheese
Opinionated
0
Sales Executive
No company should expect a major presentation from you pre-hire. Giant red flag IMO. There’s certainly nothing wrong with inquiring about your sales process. That’s often a standard question. This, however, definitely seems excessive and a bit suspect. Free consulting was brought up earlier.. there could very well be some validity to that.

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