Here are my four top tips on how to handle yourself in your next sales job interview.

1) Testing Some companies will use some very sophisticated testing strategies before hiring any new salespeople.  You must be prepared to handle any situation that will be presented to you.  This can cover psychological, personality or skill tests.  Some companies may be able find out the same type of information by offering you a selling scenario as a test, to handle that situation.

2) Always answer difficult questions instead of avoiding them.  In a normal conversation we all can avoid answering unwelcome questions by simply saying it’s none of your business.  However in a sales interview this sort of response will hurt your chances big time.  Interviewers will not be fooled if you dodge a genuine question even though they apparently let you get away with it.  Don’t think it’s a victory that you have evaded the question. Some interviewers will check it out another way or to simply trash your application as you seem to be concealing something.

3) Wait for the interviewers to offer information about salary commission training and company benefits. Usually the person doing interviewing is only interested in what you can do for their company so limit your questions to that topic.  Try to ask about what you will be given from the company until after you are offered the job. Never volunteer negative information and start babbling. It’s very common saying amongst interviewers that applicants will volunteer the most amazing details about themselves and thus totally ruined their chances before they’ve even started.  The bad reference you give yourself is the worst reference you can ever have.  Most applicants are tense and to release that tension they will start babbling and start volunteering information that is detrimental in earning a position with that company a skilled interviewer knows they can eliminate a lot of applicants were just listening in a friendly way that encourages the applicant to start babbling.

4) Be prepared to sell yourself strongly. If you sell yourself well in the interview you are showing the interviewer how well you would be able sell their product or service.  And in any sales situation it’s possible to lose the sale by being too pushy.  So do not be pushy.  But keep in mind you are applying for a sales position so you shouldn’t appear to be a wallflower.  It can sometimes be better to be too aggressive than being too timid.  You just have to be tactful.

These are my four top tips for winning a sales position.  Use these to benefit and good luck with your sales career.

By: Darren Blair