First and foremost, think of the SaaS sales interview process as having two main purposes. The first is to establish basic trust with the interviewer and the second is to give the interviewer a few clear ideas about what you can bring to the company.
Before the Interview
Prepare strong examples to demonstrate your sales capability, these examples should include:
- How you have overcome adversity or resolved problems.
- How you meet the strengths they are looking for – listed in the job advertisement
Prepare specific questions for the interviewer, here are some examples:
- What would constitute success in this job?
- How would you know that it has been achieved?
- How do you see this new product range evolving?
- How does a good employee typically progress within this company?
- What’s your vision for the team over the next 6 – 12 months?
- Can you give me an example of a previous success in your team?
- How was the employee rewarded?
- Do you have any concerns over my ability / skills to do this job?
During the interview
The most important thing to do is to engage, build rapport and trust with the interviewer. Remember, if you’re going to demonstrate that you can build trust with the company’s clients, you need to be able to build trust with your interviewer.
Make sure to talk to your track record of performance. This could include hunting net new logos, high level of discipline in sales execution and activity, time you have invested in honing into your craft and becoming a great sales professional, how you have proved yourself as resourceful and self starting.
A few final reminders
- Don’t focus on product features, price matching or discounting, instead speak about the value the software drives and how you would present this value proposition.
- Don’t talk too much – listen to questions attentively and drill down where appropriate
- Be clear on your numbers and metrics – how much of your selling was to net new vs. new into an installed base, percentage achievement against targets etc.
- Prove that you can be successful in the company you are applying to. Is it an early stage growth environment? Talk about how you have sold in a less supported context, developed a sales playbook etc
- Clearly articulate what has driven your success. Show you are reflective and focused on learning and improving.
The questions will of course vary towards the role you are applying for. Get in touch with someone from the Salient team to explore roles and different interview questions you could face in the process.