Sales Role Plays in the Interview

Experienced salespeople have lots of experience selling products/services to prospects and customers and should have no trouble making a short presentation when asked to do so in a sales interview. Right?

Guess again. When interviewing sales candidates, sales managers may ask candidates do role play where the candidate takes on the role of a sales representative and makes a "presentation" to a buyer (the sales manager or lead interviewer). The interviewer may want to “test” a candidate on his/her consultative selling skills and how well they understand the process. If the company sells intangibles, a candidate may be asked to sell an intangible item (e.g. printing services). If the company sells products, a candidate may be asked to sell a tangible item (e.g. a truck). Usually the interviewer will give the candidate 5-10 minutes to prepare. The item to be sold is of minimal importance as the interviewer is looking for the process used by a candidate while on a sales call.

Candidates are usually evaluated on the following criteria:

Communication Skills

• Listening skills. Is the candidate a marginal, evaluative or active listener? Does candidate take point-form notes to demonstrate active listening?
• Questioning technique. Does the candidate use a technique to determine needs and get the buyer’s participation in the decision-making process? Does the candidate ask open, clarifying, expanding and closed questions?
• Feature/benefits feedback. Does he/she constantly solicit feedback from the customer and relate it back to customer benefits?
• Needs determination. How well has he/she discovered the customer’s need and has the candidate related the company’s competitive advantage to the customer?
• Observation skill. Has he/she been able to observe and take advantages of any opportunities offered by the “buyer” to close the sale?

Presentation Skills

• Structure. Did the presentation follow a logical sequence? Were summaries used effectively? Did the presentation include an introduction, options, analysis, summary and conclusion?
• Feature/Benefits. Was a relationship established between features and customer needs to prove or underline the benefits of the company’s product or service?
• Customer Involvement. Did the candidate get the customer involved in the buying decision? In the presentation?
• Creativity. How much creativity did the candidate invest in his/her presentation? Did the candidate use props or the product as part of the presentation?

Confirmation and Commitment

• Transition. Has the “sales representative” moved steadily towards the next step in the sales process and/or completing the sale?
• Summary. Have the needs, features and benefits been summarized by the candidate in a way that favours the seller’s competitive advantage?

© Sales Institute, Canadian Professional Sales Association, 2005.