Days or weeks beforehand, begin role-playing the topics you will be asked to cover during an interview. Some of the best salespeople I know make a point about role-playing selling scenarios before they “perform” them for a customer — or an interviewer.
At some point in your interview, you will be asked to sell your interviewer something. It could be a pen, a wallet or yourself. In selling, unlike many other things in life, there is a right way and a wrong way to do it. Through this exercise, your interviewer is trying to determine whether or not you have been trained in the art. If you stumble here, you won’t get the job. This may sound challenging, but it’s a learned skill. Once you’ve got some coaching, it’s a breeze, even fun.
One of the best books on this form of selling is Spin Selling by Neil Rackham. It’s a favorite of one of the best salespeople I’ve ever met, my friend Brett Butler, the president of Document Consulting Services Inc., a premier Xerox sales agency in El Segundo, California. Brett is a master among masters; the Xerox sales training program is the gold standard, and the company trains many people who go on to successful sales careers in every other industry.
A highly-trained salesperson, as Brett explains it, goes through seven steps in order to effectively sell anything.
These are:
1. Fact Find
2. Probe
3. Agree
4. Influence
5. Recommend
6. Close
7. Follow-up
It’s a cliche but good selling is truly an art. Great sales people relish this part of the job. In a sense, they are performers. Take the time to practice, to role-play, your performances before the interview, even if it is only with an imaginary interviewer. Don’t “rehearse” on a district manager or you’re likely to flub your lines and blow the audition.
Nice writing style. Looking forward to reading more from you.
Chris Moran
By: Chris Moran on April 9, 2008
at 11:15 pm
[...] The Blog of Tom Ruff added an interesting post on The medical and pharmaceutical sales interview: How to sellHere’s a small excerpt [...]
By: Media Districts Entertainment Blog » The medical and pharmaceutical sales interview: How to sell on April 10, 2008
at 12:10 am
[...] unknown wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptDays or weeks beforehand, begin role-playing the topics you will be asked to cover during an interview. Some of the best salespeople I know make a point about role-playing selling scenarios before they “perform” them for a customer — or … [...]
By: The medical and pharmaceutical sales interview: How to sell | Pharmaceutical Solutions on April 10, 2008
at 5:35 am
[...] http://tomruff.wordpress.com/2008/04/09/the-medical-and-pharmaceutical-sales-interview-how-to-sell/One of the best books on this form of selling is Spin Selling by Neil Rackham. It’sa favorite of one of the best salespeople I’ve ever met, my friend Brett Butler, the president of Document Consulting Services Inc., a premier Xerox … [...]
By: The 411 on Books Salespersons » Blog Archive » Fast Thursday links on April 11, 2008
at 12:35 am
Hi Tom,
I was hoping to chat with you. I work with HealthCareReps.com and we need some help: we need an interview skills coach. I was wondering if you could suggest someone. My Phone is 863.248.6105. (FL)
By: Mark Bartz on February 12, 2009
at 3:08 pm
I was trained with Neil Reckham SPIN selling and have used it extensively during my years of ’sales-reping’. But as other tools, SPIN selling can be effectively applied to certain sales situation especially the one that requires multiple contact and long term relationship
By: Nezrul Hisyam on April 4, 2009
at 3:35 am