One of the most important tasks facing interviewers is the need to probe candidate responses effectively. The candidate across the table is wearing a filter designed to make him seem as desirable as possible. Of course, our job is to penetrate that filter. To do so, we need to probe deeper into the candidate’s responses to our initial questions. For example, consider this exchange: INTERVIEWER: “Tell me about a situation you have faced that required strong organizational skills.” CANDIDATE: “Oh, just last week, we had a presentation to a big prospect . . . there was a lot of preparation

Tips for Getting to the Truth in Interviews Drive is composed of three non-teachable—after adulthood—characteristics: Need for Achievement, Competitiveness and Optimism. These traits, when combined, allow a salesperson to sustain high performance over time in an environment of extreme competition and rejection . . . things that eventually grind down non-Driven salespeople.  Drive: The Most Important Innate Characteristic in Salespeople, But, Easy to Fake in a Job Interview was last modified: November 21st, 2013 by Dr. Chris Croner

Relationship skills are critical for high-performing salespeople, whether they are in account acquisition or account maintenance roles.  Many companies look for candidates who can start producing very quickly.  Whether they are cold calling a new account or managing a demanding current client, the best salespeople are skilled at making emotional connections that last a lifetime.  One of the most important aspects of doing so is dealing with difficult customers.  To gauge a candidate’s ability to do so, we can ask one key question . . . Can My Candidate Handle Difficult Customers? was last modified: October 31st, 2013 by Dr.

Every hiring manager has encountered that one sales candidate who was confident, charming and surely a perfect fit for the position during the interview, only later to turn out to be a poor performer on the job. Predicting how a candidate will perform once hired, based only on a simple in-person interview is no easy task, even for the most experienced hiring managers. After all, as they say in the entertainment world, “Every actor can give one great performance.” The same is true for an interview. So how can we increase our chances of hiring a salesperson who will perform