Phrases That Every Sales Interviewer Wants To Hear

I’ve seen all types of both positive and negative sales interviewing tactics, blunders and poorly written follow-up e-mails. However, whether many of these interviewing aspects are positive or negative is entirely subjective. An interview answer that feels off to one recruiting party may seem like the perfect answer to the other.

Pinpointing some of these positive phrases and making sure the interviewer likes what you have to say can be quite difficult. Even so, regardless of who the person is sitting across the table, the following should working like a charm:

"I am not so concerned about the base salary right now. Instead, I want to look into the future and align myself with a company that is progressive in nature and that will set me up to be able to sell effectively and to the point that I am happy with my income."

"I consider myself somebody who has a strong hunter mentality, but who can seamlessly sell and manage existing accounts quite effectively and competitively with most other sales professionals in the field."

"I understand that my purpose in being recruited by your organization is to sell enough to where the company as well as my career begins to grow in tandem."

What if you have bounced around from job to job lately? The answer is to be upfront regarding the situation. Being candid is your only friend here.

"I do understand that I’ve had a little bit of a shaky background the past few years, in terms of stability. I think that’s because I wasn’t cautious enough about the sales job I took. However, after doing research on your organization I do feel that it is the right company for me. I have been looking for a company that encompasses the traits that make up both your job description and overall organization."

Interviewing for a sales job position is more complex than a technical position because many of the persuasion factors that do not include the speaking aspect of the interview are put into play. In the end, sales interviewers want to see job applicants who, among other things, can drive new business for their company, who are going to be reliable and who are going to remain with that organization for the years to come.

Susanna Michael