“Your future depends on many things, but mostly it depends on you.”
- Frank Tyger

To sell your product, you must first sell someone TO sell it, your sales person. Before selling the product, you must sell the job.

Who writes, or places the newspaper ad, or distributes recruiting flyers, or places the “Help Wanted” sign on the sales counter doesn’t likely matter. Applicants respond equally. Great recruiters get results by using their determined mindset and enthusiastic professionalism in recruiting interviews.

“People slam doors in your face, dogs bark at you, and little ole’ ladies chase you down the street with umbrellas. Could you withstand the mental anguish a job like this would impose on you?” Mr. Days had finally stopped talking. His eyes focused on mine. I had eight weeks to scramble together enough money to enter the University of Florida. My summer job of delivering telegrams on my bike had been cut to weekend hours because they hired a guy with a motorcycle.

“Yes,” I replied, wondering if I should say more. The pause probably lasted only a few seconds, but it seemed like a lifetime. I needed the job.

“Fine,” Mr. Days replied. “Show up for training Monday.”

I sold just enough encyclopedias that summer to pay my school fees. Of course, the irony of the situation was that I had seen direct sales as merely temporary employment until a college degree qualified me for a real job. Little did I know that, at eighteen, I had begun my life’s work in sales business.

The hiring interview is a sales presentation. We sell jobs as opportunity. Let’s review the essential elements of a successful sales job interview.

Set the stage —— Your waiting room and your interview room, probably your sales manager’s office, is a stage. When walking into your office, ask yourself, “How would I feel walking into this office if I were a job applicant?” Set your stage properly.

Application paperwork —— Use two lawful forms. Print the application on good paper. Second, use a nondiscriminatory sales personality test, which both gets valuable information, and upgrades your image. Google offers a listing of 370,000 such tests. My www.Malaghan.net has one for free. Also, decide how relaxed you want your applicants while filling out the forms and taking the test. Schedule time for both filling out the forms and analyzing the test. Provide a sturdy chair, pens, logo imprinted if you have them.

The tools —— You don’t try to sell your product or service with just a smile and a good rap talk? At the barest minimum, you use a sales binder and samples to support your presentation. Do the same when hiring. A stack of leads on your desk the applicants can see, says you plainly have “too many.” Parade your prospecting tools such as magazine ads soliciting leads, take-one boxes, response flyers, and others. Review your company brochure.

Warm up the applicant —— This is the start of a sales talk! The more the applicant relaxes, the easier it is to later focus on your message with an open mind.

Review the application and personality test —— Relax your applicants. For applicants without sales experience, ask the expected, “Joan, tell me about yourself?” or “Bob, what did you like best about your last job?” Next, review the personality test. Build your credibility by pointing out the applicant’s sales strengths, as revealed in the assessment. After each step, transition the applicant and engage in conversation, or ask leading questions to reach the next step. “Anita, do you believe you are a person who can be trained and get along easily with most people?”

Sell the company and product —— Every company has a “founder’s story.” Polish yours to a punchy sixty-second version. Dramatize how your product helps people. Imagine the job applicant is a sales prospect. Once the applicant covets ownership, he or she is half way to wanting to sell it. “Ted, what do you like best about the product you just saw?”

Sell the prospecting system —— Address the ”How do I find customers?” concerns by showing your prospecting systems. Show that your company has solved the problem of finding qualified prospects. “Sheila, can you see how our sales people have a steady and secure supply of qualified leads?”

Sell the training —— Applicants wonder, “How am I ever going to learn all this?” Show them the training outline. Plainly state that your time-tested training works for people without previous knowledge of the product, or previous sales experience. Plainly, adjust your hiring interview for applicants with sales experience. “Tony, what do you think of our approach to training?”

Sell the management opportunity —— Most applicants don’t want just a sales job. Improve your hiring prospects by showing your training program for management development. Emphasize that you need new managers NOW to take advantage of the enormous selling opportunities. “Maria, what do you think of our company’s management opportunities?”

Sell the income opportunity —— Never fudge on pay. If you pay full commission, explain how it works and give the applicant a smart-looking handout explaining the system. If you pay a salary or a draw, fully disclose the qualifications. You don’t want any person on your sales team who thinks great income opportunities come from “showing up for work” rather than sales results. “Jack, do you have any questions about our compensation plan?”

Close —— “Jane, choosing a job and a career are critical decisions. We’ve only spoken for a short time, I can’t adequately judge your suitability for this opportunity so rapidly. You can’t be sure yet if this business is right for you. Right now, I feel very positive about your prospects to be successful in our company.” Then I would move on to either 10A or 10B .

10A Training close —— “What I would like to do is to invite you to attend our first day of training starting ______. This training is an extension of this interview process as well as initial training. You will learn our product’s benefits, understand our lead-generating programs, and will observe a sales presentation. After that day, I will be better able to tell you if I think you can be truly successful in our industry and you will know if this is the right job for you.” “Francis, does this make sense to you?”

10B Sales demonstration close —— “I would like invite you to accompany me on a sales call. After the sales presentation, we can talk about what you saw. I will better able to tell you if I think you can be truly successful in our industry, and you will know if this job is right for you.” “William, does this make sense to you?”

Conclude by handing the applicant your company brochure with the compensation schedule. Confirm the time and date for either the start of training or the field observation exercise.

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