Alex Newmann’s Post

Hey Sales People looking for jobs and going through interviews, if you are not following up after, you are hurting your chances dramatically. When I interview someone and get no follow up, I assume this is how they will run sales cycles and I rarely move them forward. Bad follow up can be equally detrimental. Don't send follow up like this: Hi Lou, It was great meeting you today. I am very excited about the role and think I will be a great fit. Please let me know if you have any additional questions. Do follow up like this: *Reference specific items that were discussed in the interview and how your unique skill set will help to accomplish the goals discussed. *Touch on what you will do to achieve success in the role. A great question to ask in an interview is, "What would a successful person in this role have achieved a year from now?" Then tailor your email around that answer leaning into how you would do it. For example: Hi Lou, Your goals of growing the sales led revenue to 70% of the net new revenue for the org is extremely aggressive. But with the right people on the team I think it's very doable. We discussed how imperative self sourced opportunities would be to accomplish this. In my current role, I have self sourced 50% of my pipeline and contributed $560,000 in revenue from these efforts. I do this by heavy emphasis on multi-threading into accounts, managing sales cycles effectively, and getting ahead of any gotchas that may delay or kill deals, like the deal I closed with Acme we discussed in detail during our interview. My skillset would be a great fit for your aggressive goals and I am very excited about this opportunity. Please let me know if you'd like me to share references to validate anything we discussed today. Looking forward to hearing on next steps. Talk soon, Treat your interviews like you would a sales process: 1) Deep discovery 2) Tie your solution (you) to solving problems 3) Follow up with intent 4) Get ahead of next steps and what you need to do I hope this helps! #interviewing for #salesjobs

😬 Why Relying on Interviews Alone For Sales Pros Might Cost You 😬 Do you ever feel like interviews alone might not tell the whole story when hiring a sales professional? Here's the deal: Some of the best candidates out there may have aced one too many interviews, leaving them polished, but not necessarily the perfect fit for your team. Excessive interviews may signal a lack of commitment to any one company for the long haul. That’s a major red flag for us when we are vetting sales pros for our remote sales network. And it’s why we put all sales pros through a 5-step process before admitting them to our network, which includes an audio, video and written communication assessment. Moreover, we ensure their commitment to upholding specific standards and values by signing a relationship agreement – our baseline expectation for every closer we match with a client. Often when entrepreneurs and business owners hire directly from their network (online or offline), they hire based on an interview alone. This is dangerous territory, as they could decide based on emotion or a single point of connection. The next time you consider hiring a sales professional, consider designing a recruitment process to assess the character traits which are most important to you. Not just follow the same traditional method of hiring that you've always used. I guarantee you'll end up with a much better match and more importantly, the exceptional sales results that you are looking for 📈

Are you looking for a new role but getting the same “No” The one about them finding “another candidate with more experience”? Well, what can you learn from this? If you get this before the interview stage = you don’t have the experience So, how can you get it? Practice it or demonstrate it. We work with business development roles so a common experience required is cold calling. If you don’t have it you could: - Cold call the hiring manager - Speak with call coaches/trainers - do some practice for/with them - Find another entry level role in a different industry to get transferrable experience Getting this feedback after an interview = you didn’t demonstrate your understanding of the role well enough When I speak with candidates that who repeatedly hear this feedback it often isn’t anything to do with their experience. The role asks for 12 months of SDR experience. And they have 12 months of SDR experience. Instead, it’s about their understanding of what / why the job role requires + how they’re explaining this. Are you able to clearly articulate: - How you built a prospect list - Who you targeted. And why.  - The most effective channel you used. And why. Hiring managers want experience to reduce their risk of hire. Make it easy for them to understand. Use this feedback to improve and you’ll nail an interview. #salesjobsearch #salesinterview #sdrhiring #salescareer

75+ interviews in tech sales and I’ve learned the best negotiation chip to land the highest offer is absolutely knocking their socks off during the interview process in such a way that they can’t fathom losing you to another company. How do you do this? > Here are 3 ways 👇 1. Sharing a documented territory plan ✅ Interviewer: “how will you hit the ground running in your patch?” Candidate: “I’ve actually built out a plan on how I’d attack the territory in the first 90+ days. Mind if I share?” Share your screen and boom 👇 Outline what you’ll do in the - first 30-days - activity in the first 90 days - plan to exceed quota in the first year Even if they don’t ask. Quantify all of it. In my last role I interviewed 50+ candidates. Only 1 walked me through a territory plan. Show it, walk through it and you will stand out. 2. Walk them through a deal win in less than 3-min ✅ (when asked about a deal you closed) - strategic prospecting technique to find the opp - running effective discovery to uncover the problem - questions you asked to understand the impact - multithreaded to see who else cares about solving - how you quantified the pain and impact on org - uncovered risk early and what you did to proactively mitigate - drove exec alignment early and often through cycle - how you engaged internal x-functional teammates - metrics each stakeholders measured on and how it’s affected - building a business case that focused on the cost of inaction - mutual action plan to take control of the deal to closure 3. Asking questions most candidates won’t ✅ Questions are the most underrated part of your interview. You can really make yourself stand out. “How many AEs hit their number last quarter? For those that didn’t, what do you think they could’ve done differently?” “Competitor X has a strong presence in the market, especially with its recent acquisition. What do you feel is your top competitive differentiator?” Don’t stop there… share YOUR PoV. Talk about 1 competitive differentiator based on your research of their company and how they are different from the competition. Show them you’ve done your homework. ………………………. Stand out from everyone else. That’s how you can negotiate a great offer.

The most compelling way to stand out and win the interview game "Tell me about your results in your current role?", I asked him. I was intervieweding him for a Sales Mgr job. "In my current role, my sales strategy includes working with our customers to meet their monthly target and also managing them to ensure....". On and on he went describing his job. For almost 15 minutes without any numbers. He was an excellent communicator. But a poor sales man. Or mediocre at communicating his sales expertise. I had to ask him what his numbers were before he said anything about his sales achievement. I've had other interesting experiences interviewing or coaching sales professionals. If you are a sales professional, and you have to be prompted for your numbers during an interview, you have already lost the game. A sales champion LEADS with numbers. Because sales is a numbers game, more than any other profession. If your numbers are not at your fingertips, are you sure you are really in sales? Stand out from others. Communicate your results with numbers. From your CV to the interview. Because you are selling yourself in an interview. And there's no better way to sell yourself than with numbers. Especially when you LEAD WITH NUMBERS. Most professionals don't take the time to think through their achievements. And quantify it in numbers. The market place only pays for proven skills. And your results are the best proof of your skills and years of experience. And the more context you provide in numbers, the better. For instance, instead of saying, "I achieved 700m in sales last year that exceeded my sales target by 25%", you can provide additional context like, "and my result reprepresented 40% of the total revenue of the company and contributed 30% to the company's revenue growth of last year". All you did was provide additional context in NUMBERS for the same result you delivered. And it painted a better and more compelling picture. And this applies to all professionals. Your overall career benefits when you become better in communicating your achievement in numbers (eg during performance reviews). It can easily become your secret career superpower, not only in your current organisation. But also outside it. At the end of the day, everyone in the market place is playing a numbers game. Business is a numbers game (the numbers you bring in, pay out and retain aka sales, expenses and profit). And those who are the MOST FLUENT in the language of NUMBERS win the most. They also tend to make the most money (entrepreneurs and employees). What other ways would you add for quantifying performance and communicating results? To your career success! # careersuccess PS: I'm recruiting a Sales Champion for an investment banking/asset management client. Must know how to do the art of asking, persuading and collecting from HNIs. Role is Lagos based. If you are one or know one, DM me or reach out to me on [email protected].

Interviewing sales candidates next week? The good ones will slip through your fingers if you fail to: 👉 Show genuine interest in the person and their life, what inspires them and what future they want. 👉 Properly explain the position, the day in the life, the challenges and the rewards. 👉 Demonstrate emotional intelligence. 👉 Ensure the candidate gets plenty of opportunities to interview you (this decision is equally important to the candidate). 👉 Procrastinate because you listen to your ego and the voices in your head telling you, you're going to look so bad if you get this wrong. 👉 Have an avatar in your head of what this perfect person looks and sounds like. 👉 Have values listed about how you you look after people, and then leave candidates dangling and waiting days for feedback. 👉 Stop thinking your job is the best they're going to get. We know, based on ten years of meeting thousands of candidates, that many hiring managers are not trained at interviewing, and as such winging it, or robotically sticking to the twenty questions they downloaded from Google. It's one of the most important things a manager needs to be good at, given a business has nothing without the right people. Creating a positive and engaging interview experience is vital, because you won't be that candidate's only interview this coming week and the competition is fierce. Lastly, don't ask questions if you don't genuinely care about the answer. It's robotic and there's no sincerity. We're always happy to offer help and support with how to conduct great interviews, and our kettle's always on 😊 #recruiting #jobinterviews #interviewing

A job interview has striking similarities to a sales process. It really pays to stop and think about that if you are applying for a new sales role. Think about it: - There's the initial inquiry (Application). - There's the discovery meeting (Interview 1). - There's the buying committee (Interview 2). - The demo stage (Interview 3/Presentation). - The contract negotiation (The offer stage). And there is so much more in between that will contrast very closely to a sales journey. So why is this important to think about? A good hiring manager will create a hiring journey that will closely mimic a buying journey. This way they get to see, feel, and experience what it may be like for their customers when they buy from you. The hiring manager is the buyer, you are the seller, and the product you're selling is YOU. But to be honest, a lot of sellers that I see interview don't make this connection. They don't behave as if they are the AE in the middle of the sales process. Here are a few just a few elements of a sales journey you can take into a hiring process: - Upfront contracts. - Setting the agenda. - Using a disco framework to have a great line of questions. - Pre-handling objections. - Sending follow-ups and added value. - Setting next steps before meetings end. - Ask for the business (closing). Gun salespeople do this daily in their jobs. The interview process is a great opportunity to, not just tell the hiring manager that you know what you're doing... But to show them.

Hey Sales Leaders !!!!! Next time you interview someone for a sales job try this . 1. If the interview is at 4:00 pm block your diary out for 15 minutes prior. If you cant create the 15 minute prep time then you should not block the interview at all . You should block 75 minutes for the interview . 15 minutes prep . 45 minutes interview time . 15 minutes of consolidation admin, organising further interviews and note making. YOU ARE NOT too busy . if you think you are you are just being LAZY and superficial. 2. If the interview is a video call then make sure you use the 15 minutes to a) Clear your mind of the mental clutter from the previous meeting . b) Read the candidates CV.....PROPERLY.....and prepare questions and then read their linkedin profile. c) Prepare YOUR pitch of YOUR company . d) Read the detailed job spec that you personally wrote that highlights the skills and behaviours required to perform successfully in the job based on your analysis of top performers in the business ( LOL - like you've EVER done that but its nice to dream ! ) if the meeting is face to face a) Prepare the room . i) NO desks in between you please - candidate chair at 5 O'clock to put them at ease. ii) check the room. - make sure its right . iii) go to a) above Remember that when you hire you are changing your destiny a bit and the destiny and life of the person on the other end of the teams call A LOT ! . its a responsibility - own it . #sales #saleshiring #salespeople #itsales

🌟 𝐄𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐀𝐬𝐤 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬 Whether you're an interviewer aiming to uncover the best candidate, or a candidate wanting to shine, the right questions can make all the difference. Here are some pivotal questions to consider: 1. "Can you describe the sales cycle from prospecting to closing?" This reveals the candidate's understanding of the entire sales process and their experience at each stage. 2. "How do you handle rejection and stay motivated?" Sales roles involve a fair share of rejection; resilience is key. 3. "What strategies do you use to research and approach new prospects?" This showcases their initiative and how they leverage information to achieve sales goals. 4. "Could you share a past experience where you turned a challenging situation into a successful sale?" This highlights their problem-solving skills and tenacity. 5. "How do you keep up with industry trends and integrate them into your selling approach?" Staying current is crucial in sales; it speaks to a candidate’s dedication to their craft. These questions not only help assess the technical skills and fit of potential hires but also reflect the depth of your own understanding of what makes a successful sales professional. 💬 What are your go-to questions in a sales interview? Share your insights below! ------------------------------------ Contact me to learn how we can help refine your interview process and secure the best talent for your organization. #SalesLeadership #RecruitingExcellence #SalesInterviews #HiringTips #CareerDevelopment

🚀 Are You Ready to Ace Your Next Sales Interview? 🚀 In the fast-paced world of sales, securing the right talent is crucial for success. As a recruitment agency specializing in the tech industry, we’ve seen firsthand what sets top-performing sales professionals apart. Here are some insider tips to help you shine in your next sales interview: Know the Product Inside Out: Understand the features, benefits, and unique selling points of the product you’re selling. Demonstrating deep knowledge shows your passion and expertise. Showcase Your Success Stories: Be ready with concrete examples of how you’ve closed deals, overcome objections, and built lasting customer relationships. Numbers speak louder than words! Ask the Right Questions: Engage your interviewer with insightful questions about the company’s challenges, sales processes, and team dynamics. This shows your genuine interest and strategic thinking. Demonstrate Your Communication Skills: Sales is all about communication. Be clear, concise, and compelling in your responses. Remember, confidence is key! Cultural Fit Matters: Aligning with the company’s values and culture is just as important as your sales skills. Highlight how you can contribute to the team’s success and fit into their work environment. If you’re a sales professional looking for your next big opportunity or a company seeking top talent, let’s connect! Together, we can drive success and innovation in the tech industry. 🌟 #SalesInterview #TechRecruitment #HiringTips #SalesCareers #JobSearch #CareerAdvice