Sales tips, leadership communication skills insight and more from Steve Giglio, sales training professional for more than 25 years.

Job Interviewing Tips: Just Like a Sales Call

Coaching my niece in succeeding with her job search is an important mission and one I take quite seriously. As I coached her, I realized how similar her job interview is to a sales call. Think about it; you have to establish a climate of interest and enthusiasm, ask insightful questions and present yourself (i.e. what you are selling) as the solution. In my 20+ years of leadership development, I often coach people through a job transition as they prepare to interview. Here are a few of my key interviewing strategies.

Learn Their Goals

With both a sales call and a job interview, it’s critical that you know what the company’s issues are so that you can present your solutions. In the case of an interview, YOU are the solution. When speaking with your potential employer, discern what your interviewer’s major goal is for the position by asking questions such as:

  • What is essential for the organization this year?
  • What is mission critical for this position to make that happen?
  • How would you define success in this position?

Discover the Challenges

Every job, and every customer, has challenges. When applying for a job, you need to be confident that your skills can help the company overcome those challenges. Otherwise, why would they hire you? Just like with a sales call, if you don’t know what challenges the company is facing, how can you possibly know if you are the right person to find a solution? Find out what “keeps them up at night” by asking these questions:

  • What challenges is the company facing?
  • What solutions have you tried without success?
  • What must the organization achieve by year end to overcome them?
  • What do you see as the biggest challenge for this position?

Demonstrate Understanding, Then Solutions

In an interview, it’s important that you demonstrate you understand the company and it’s key issues. When you restate what you’ve learned in the interview, it shows that you have been listening and comprehending what you have been told. This is when you start selling yourself as someone who can help.  Don’t rush to provide your solutions before you make sure you understand the problems. Present yourself and skills too soon and, you could find yourself talking about skills that don’t apply to the company’s situation. Play the stated goals and challenges back to your interviewer to prove you’ve heard them and are tuned in to their plight. You then get to tailor your comments about your solutions directly in line with what your interviewer most desires for the position.

By the close of business that day, send your thank you email to your potential employer, repeating their goals and challenges to further illustrate your alignment with them. Then remind them of your conversation about your solutions and your confidence in how you can help move their company forward.

Try it and let me know how it goes! I wish you great success!

Networking: Two Critical Things to Remember

Last week, I wrote about the importance networking has in developing relationships and communication skills. The point was that you should embrace networking events, not avoid them.

But once you are in the thick of one, what then? If you remember to do just TWO things, you will discover the true benefits of effective networking.  Read more

Selling: Is It Art or Science?

My answer? Yes.

But, if I had to choose one or the other…selling is a science. But I will acknowledge that possessing artful selling skills is very important.
Read more

Using Video for Training

Let’s go to the video tape!  Those of you in New York will recall this famous, often-used line by long time sportscaster Warner Wolf. I realize most of my clients would prefer to be chased by a wolf than be videotaped.
However, I must say that after 25 years of videotaping and coaching executives there is no medium like it!

Read more

Five Steps of Persuasion

Persuasion is a good thing…in fact, it’s a great thing! However, that’s true only provided that you are persuading the right person or organization to accept an idea that will forward their business agenda along with yours. If you are doing it just so you can be right, then you are using this power the wrong way and, it’s unlikely to work. 

Read more

Find Your Seat at the Table

Taking your seat at the table in business can be daunting.

There are naysayers, skeptics, and executives who feel their voice is the only voice required at that table. Read more

Client Management, It’s Not About Being Right… It’s About Being Followed

In business, much of our time is devoted to maintaining and growing our client/customer base. It’s essential to any company’s long-term prosperity. But managing the clients we already have is just as critical. And in those cases, it is more important that you are followed, rather than being right. Read more

I’d Love To Make My Mark…I’m Just Too Busy

Does that sound familiar? Making your mark as a leader is important. It establishes your credibility while inspiring your teams to follow your lead.
Teams want/need a leader who has a vision, is vocal about it and knows how to operationalize their spoken vision. It’s that simple, it’s just not that easy to accomplish.  Read more

Interview Like a Consultant

Jobs change…they come, they go, they get eliminated, they get created…like business roulette! Mission critical for all of us is to stay on top of the wave. If we miss it, we’ve got to find the next one…fast!

Get Ready for the Head Change

When that job change comes, do your best to interview like a consultant. Prepare yourself for the “head” and “spirit” change required to interview like a consultant who will prepare a scope of work for the job for which you are interviewing. It will change your entire interviewing style.

We live in a world of break-neck changes in business. Challenges occur daily with not much time to establish a plan-to-cure. But, a person’s alacrity is contagious, so is their readiness to engage in the heart of an issue. Its the same with an interview.

Vet the Issue, Then Consult as You Interview

When you comport yourself as a consultant ready to vet the issue that your prospective employer has, you transform your delivery style from cautious optimism to determined confidence.

I’m not putting forth that you interact with an air of superiority or know-it-allness. On the contrary, I am recommending that you understand the challenge your employer has as though you were selected to resolve it and are meeting to complete your sizing of the job in order to offer a scope of work with a 100 day, six month and year plan-to-cure.

Try it and let me know how it goes. 

Lead People to Look Inside, not Out

Every time you observe a Direct’ s client interaction, realize it’s an opportunity for you to coach and develop. Too often we’ll forget to debrief a Direct on what they did well and what they can strengthen. If you coach them correctly, they may lead you to new ways to help them develop. Read more