This morning I conducted an interview that was underwhelming to say the least. Very nice guy, great background, solid credentials. Vanilla. Here’s why I wanted to hire him in spite of that…
1. He suited up – Mentally and physically he was sharp dressed. Well spoken. Good communicator. Thoughtful.
2. He prepared – In his binder (no it wasn’t full of women;-) was a copy of my Linked In profile, I was very clear when I set the interview up of who I was interviewing for and he tracked down me, my background, and was prepared. He had also thoroughly researched my client and knew where they were strong and where they were not.
3. He engaged – he was nervous, he hasn’t really interviewed for years and was very rusty. What he was not rusty with was making eye contact, firm handshake, asking questions.
4. He didn’t quit with no – into the interview about 15 minutes I knew he wasn’t the guy for my client. So what, he knew I knew a ton of other people. Then he really went to work with uncovering which other individuals I knew of who were hiring someone who looked just like him.
5. He made it easy for me to help him – he asked what he should do to prepare for his next interview, so he would wow the interviewer. He’ll get better with practice, and I feel good about helping him.
6. He followed through – I indicated a client who had need of someone who did look just like him, he asked for his name, best method of contact and within 2 hours of our meeting had reached out. Grass didn’t grow under his feet before he was moving. He didn’t take a day, two days or a week.
7. He was grateful – In spite of not moving to the next step, he sent me an email thanking me for my time, letting me know he had already implemented my advice on adjusting his approach and was excited about the opportunities in his job search and much less intimidated.
So you’re not searching for a job, what can you learn from this?
Each and every one of these steps will differentiate you in your approach to find a client. I have interviewed sales pros who were very talented, that I passed on because they didn’t follow up and follow through, prepare for the interview, really work for the opportunity. Give me an average producer who will say what they’ll do and do what they’ll say and I’ll show you next year’s star.
Oh and remember – your job doesn’t begin until you get the no. That’s when you really go to work with helping people recognize what you can bring to the table and deal with the objections to get to the real deal.
Have a wonderful day!
Good Selling!