Quote: (11-18-2015 07:16 PM)ChrisPitts Wrote:
Quote: (11-18-2015 06:32 PM)colblionel Wrote:
Quote: (11-18-2015 06:29 PM)ChrisPitts Wrote:
What type of sales is the position for? What will you be selling?
B2B inside software sales selling cyber security to companies.
entry level position.
Straight out of college so the guy knows I don't know shit.
I have been in IT sales my entire career so far and if I were the one doing the hiring, here would be what I look for:
1) Type A Personality - The best salesmen I've known are all your typical Type A personality. They are go-getters, self-motivators, no bullshit type of people. They are not reactionary, but will always try to be proactive, staying one step ahead of any deal they are working. At the end of the day, they are making the most calls, having the most productive conversations, and closing the bigger deals than their peers. The question now becomes: how to show that off to your hiring manager in your interview? Pick stories or previous work experience that show how competitive you are. Even if this is your first real job out of college, tell them about previous jobs you had that gave you any experience with sales. If you played sports in school, emphasize that. Tell them you like to be number one in anything you do. A hiring manager is going to want someone competitive who will strive to be on the top of calling and revenue goals, which leads me to my next point:
2) Motivated by Money - I had an interview with a veteran sales manager one time who asked me what my biggest motivator was. This also happened to be my first real job interview out of school, and I stammered through the answer, "Well you know, I motivated by doing well and providing for my family... motivated by keeping a roof over my head and living a comfortable life..." At this point, he stopped me and said that the best answer to this question that a salesman can ever give is to say that you are motivated by money. Because let's face it: no one gets into sales for the work. It can be long hours, facing lots of rejection, and not getting paid well if you don't hit commission targets. People get into sales for the ability to make lots of money, and the best salesmen always make the most money. When you show that you are motivated by money, you show that hiring manager that you are going to be chasing the big deals that are going to be putting a lot of commission in both yours and the company's pockets. If this question would come up in one of your interviews, I would definitely mention this. If it doesn't, I would find a way to subtly mention it in the interview so the hiring manager knows you have your priorities straight and have what it takes to be a successful salesman.
3) Great math skills - Another thing that I've noticed from the best salesmen I've known is great basic math skills. This job will require you to figure out sale prices/margins/gross profit on the fly, and many times you will not have a calculator at your side. If you weren't great at math in school (because let's face it, you aren't applying for a mathematician job right now), you should find a way to learn basic math skills. Being able to quickly calculate 10 or 15 percent uplifts to your base costs. Knowing a rough estimate off the top of your head what profit percentage your deal is when you pay 190 bucks for base costs on software, but you sell for 250. (About 33% profit margin in this). Being able to quickly calculate your sale price in your head, while knowing that you need to keep at least 15% margin on the deal to stay in the black. All very important and even if you don't have the ability to do right now, you will learn as you do the job and will only serve you well in your sales career.
4) Confidence, that borderlines on arrogance - This may seem a bit silly, but the best salesmen are almost all cocky bastards, myself included. Once you know your craft, and know what you are selling, it's hard not to get this way. You know your industry, you know your solution, and you know your competition, and that enables you to slide into a "trusted adviser" role with all of your customers. And that trusted adviser role is what will keep your commission checks following in healthy. What this means is you need to talk and act like you know what you are doing (and yes, doing this during times when you may not completely know what you are doing). You will need to act and show that you have a handle on your own deals and everything is flowing exactly according to your plan. There is nothing that will enrage my VP of Sales at my current position more than seeing one of my peer salesmen describe a deal and a) not know everything there is to know about it or b) doesn't have a strategy plan to win it or c) seems un-confident or unsure of themselves on how to win it. And you can see why that would piss him off, too. He hired you for a reason, to go out and chase deals and bring in money for the company and for yourself. And when you don't have that confidence, or that Type A personality, you are in the wrong place, at the wrong job, and you are very likely to fail at the position. Now, with all that being said, you will want to be able to communicate that during the interview. Almost every interview I've ever been in have asked me for my plan, or how I envision my life to go, where I see myself in 5, 10 years, etc. Being that I am a Type A person, I will always tell them that I want to climb a ladder and eventually be at the very top of an organization, and that I can't stand to be in any place but first place. You can insert this level of confidence in your speaking with the hiring manager at many different questions during the interview, but you get the gist.
That should about do it, what I would look for if I was hiring someone. I would say place the most emphasis on the first part, which is having that go-getter type A personality. That will get you the job, and is the marking of all great salesmen.
I will say this, IT sales is a great field to be in and it's also where all the money is. Once you make your bones in sales and develop a book of sustainable business, the sky is the limit, and you can take it in any career direction. You could go more technical with the software (or hardware) and get into that path, perhaps becoming a technical account manager or eventual product manager depending on the company. If you have great organizational skills, you can easily become an operations manager. If you are great in sales, you may go to an eventual sales leadership position, such as manager at first, or then VP of Sales. Another nice thing is that VP of Sales are usually the first candidates that are looked at for C level positions when those openings are available. Reason being is that type A personality will really take you a far way.
Hope this helps you and if you would have any questions, please feel free to PM me or ask more!
+1 thank you was looking for something like this.