You're preparing for an IT Sales interview. What do you need to research first?

As a Business Developer preparing for an IT Sales interview, the first things to research include the company's products/services, target market, competitors, industry trends, sales processes, and any recent news or developments related to the company or the IT sales industry. Understanding these aspects will help you demonstrate your knowledge and suitability for the role during the interview.

Preparing for an IT Sales interview requires a blend of technical knowledge, understanding of the market, and sales skills. Understand the company's history, mission, values, products, and services. Research recent news, acquisitions, partnerships, and financial performance to demonstrate your interest and understanding. Stay updated on the latest trends in the IT industry, such as cloud computing, cybersecurity, AI, IoT, etc. Research the company's target market segment(s), including demographics, pain points, and competitors. Understand the unique selling points (USPs) of the company's products/services and how they address customer needs.

For an IT Sales interview, start by researching the company's products, services, and target market. Understand its position in the industry, key competitors, and unique value proposition. Familiarize yourself with recent news, achievements, or changes within the company to show your current knowledge and interest. Dive into the company culture and values, as these are often discussion points during interviews. Additionally, review the job description to align your skills and experiences with what the company is seeking. Preparing questions to ask about the role, team, or company's future plans can also demonstrate your engagement and enthusiasm for the position.

For an IT sales interview, first of all we should reserach about company niche, services, products, target market and their competitors. After that prepare plan and make strategies. Additionally, knowing the industry trends and challenges can help us tailor our responses during the interview.

It is important to match the sales role with a client base you feel comfortable with being uncomfortable with. Going after new clients, expanding into other departments of existing clients, and chasing down competitor's clients can get uncomfortable. But if you are up for that, then great. If the client base of your potential employer is primarily the Public Sector space and that is where your network is, then perfect. But if the client base for the solution you will be selling is not somewhere you even want to venture, good to know this now. I have worked with excellent IT sales people that in a previous life sold products that had nothing to do with technology. But they had the passion to learn and fortitude to not get knocked back.

Researching your potential client base is important. Are you someone that needs to have a continuous steam of wins to keep pumped up? Would you be willing to work on a deal that is 20x the size of your typical smaller wins but takes 2 years to close? Do you like dealing with a small team that can make quick decisions? Or are you okay with networking and navigating through a complex hierarchy of decision makers? Are the people that make the decisions on your potential solution primarily at the C-level or can director level pull the switch? It is important to understand where you and your new solution set fit in the overall scheme of selling. Knowing what makes you tick as a sales person helps you understand if this is a good match.

Be prepared with some questions of your own. Are there technologies coming down the pipe that will impact your potential employer? What plans are in place to handle upcoming regulatory requirements? Are there plans to expand to new verticals or geographies? What are some challenges that haven't been discussed thus far? Active listening during the interview can be a challenge as one is often focused on making sure we are getting our accomplishments across. But take time to understand what the interviewer is saying.