Use Solution Selling to Ace the Interview

In sales, whenever a product or service needs to be customized – like purchasing a complex piece of equipment – sales reps use a process called solution selling to understand their customer’s needs. This process involves asking questions to uncover the actual requirements, why a change or upgrade is needed, the current problems and pains to be resolved, and what a good solution would look like. The sales rep then tailors a solution to meet these needs. This is a fundamentally different process than transactional selling, where the rep can only add a few accessories or modify the price, like when buying a new car. 

Here's the problem I have with the hiring processes most companies use: they are trying to fill a poorly defined job using imperfect screening and assessment tools, and hope to find a perfect candidate.

Candidates need to understand that most recruiters use a transactional process to fill positions, using traditional job descriptions listing skills, academics, and required experience to screen and select candidates. A savvy candidate who doesn't exactly fit the criteria can overcome the odds and gain an advantage by using solution selling. The idea is to reposition the job to one you’re better able to fit. Following are some ideas on how to pull this off, but observe the cautionary advice in point 4. 

1)   Ask these types of solution selling questions early in the interview:

• Why is the job open?
• What are some of the big challenges the person hired will need to address?
• What are some problems that need fixing?
• How does the job fit with the company strategy?
• What’s the most important thing the person hired needs to do in the first 3-6 months to be considered successful?

Note: David Ruane suggested this technique as a lead in to ask these questions -  "As well as answering your questions, I'd like to understand how my experience and skillset can bring value to this role, would you mind if I ask some questions upfront which will help me assess this?"

2)   Once you understand the 2-3 big things the person needs to accomplish, you then need to position yourself as the solution. The idea behind this is that there are many qualified people who can successfully do this work, but get excluded because they don’t perfectly fit the traditional skills and experience type of job description. To overcome this you’ll need to give examples of your accomplishments that most directly relate to these accomplishment.

3)   As you describe your accomplishments use the following two-minute SAFW format – Say A Few Words:

• S: make an opening Statement
• A: Amplify the statement
• F: provide a Few examples and details as specific proof
• W: conclude with a Wrap-up sentence

As part of your answer, don’t talk for less than one minute or more than three. If it’s too short no one will believe you, and if you’re too long, you’ll be considered insensitive and boring.

4)   CAUTION: This advice will only work if you’ve done something comparable. It will backfire if you try to fake it. Equally important, you need to prepare your answers ahead of time. The short way to do this is to prepare an SAFW response for everyone of your strengths. The examples are the most important part of this. Make sure you have a lots of different examples you can choose from that best fit the company’s needs, and practice, practice, practice giving the two-minute SAFW response. My new book will have more advice on how to do this, but this will be a good way to get started.

The problem I have with the hiring processes most companies use is they are trying to fill a poorly defined job using imperfect screening and assessment tools, and hope to find a perfect candidate. To overcome this flawed process, candidates need to take matters into their own hands if they want to be evaluated properly. Solution selling might help you get the job you deserve. Even asking the questions will brand you as assertive, and if you ask the questions diplomatically you’ll be labeled as a person with good interpersonal skills. Best of all: if you’ve accomplished most of the things required, you’ll become a serious contender for the open job. They might even redefine the job a bit to better fit your capabilities. Collectively, this is how you perfectly fit a round peg into a square hole. 

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Lou Adler is the Amazon best-selling author of Hire With Your Head (Wiley, 2007) and the award-winning Nightingale-Conant audio program, Talent Rules!  His new book, The Essential Guide for Hiring and Getting Hired, will be published in December 2012.