5 Ways to Ace Your Interview

More often than not, Sales Development Representatives (SDR's) have little to no work experience. So how do we as SDR Managers and Sales Leaders determine who is going to be able to handle the heat of this demanding role? I’ve hired several dozen SDR’s over the course of my career, and I’ve found that success is directly correlated to 5 main components during the interview process.

1. Do your research.

Just as any good sales person prepares for a discovery call, you should prepare for your interview. Be familiar with the product and the industry. Outreach (like most companies in this space) has a ton of blogs, eBooks, videos out there. Do some background work on everyone you'll be interviewing with. Know what's going on in our company and ask questions about recent events. This goes hand and hand with being proactively curious (see #3). “What does your company do?” is not a good question. “I noticed you just received your Series C funding of $30M. That’s great! How will Outreach use that capital to grow?” is much better. Here are some things you should be looking for - you should be able to ask some intelligent questions based on what you find:

• Google Outreach.io. Switch to the News tab. Read.
• Have we won any awards?
• Have we hosted any events?
• Check out Crunchbase.
• Check out Glassdoor - especially the notes on the interview process.
• Who are our main competitors?
• Who are our investors?
• What do our customers say about us?
• What are the company’s core values?
• Who are the leaders in the company? What are their backgrounds?
• Do you have any connection within the company?
• Check out each person you’re interviewing with on LinkedIn. Was she recently promoted? 
• Where has she lived, worked, and went to school?
• Was she recently promoted? 
• Has she written a blog? (If you mention something she wrote, this is super flattering. It will also give you a better understanding of what’s important to her.) 
• **LinkedIn has made stalking your interviewer really easy, plus it’s good practice for when you’re prospecting :).
• Memorize the website. Okay, that’s a little dramatic, but you should be really familiar with it. Websites will also help you get a feel for what’s important to the company.
• What type of companies do we work with? 
• What case studies are available for you to review?
• If you go as far as to request a demo, be very honest about the purpose of your call. We’ve had a few people act like a potential buyer and “trick” our Marketing Development Reps into scheduling a demo with one of our Account Executives. BIG no-no.

2. Be professional.

For an in-person interview:

• Arrive about 20-30 minutes before your scheduled appointment to be sure you have plenty of time to wade through traffic and figure out the parking situation. You should walk into the office about 10-15 minutes before the interview. Arriving much earlier than that can be difficult on the hiring manager. 
• Put your phone away, better yet, turn it off - even in the waiting area. You need to be present. 
• Engage in a positive interaction with everyone you meet, you don’t know who could have a say in whether or not you get the position. 
• Know the name of the person you’re meeting with. Be confident and prepared, not digging through your notes in the lobby last minute. 
• A good rule of thumb is to dress one notch up from what the employees wear to work on a daily basis. Not sure what to wear? Always err on the side of overdressing. 
• Bring 3-5 copies of your resume (Pro Tip: print on resume paper). For the love of God, limit it to one page. This will allow you to focus only on the highlights of your career. If it’s longer than that, I’m not reading it. I plan on posting a blog on resume tips in the near future, so stay tuned.

If your interview is on the phone or video communication platform:

• On the phone, be sure you’re in a place with great cell phone reception. It’s always good to confirm with the interviewer that she is able to hear you clearly. There’s nothing more aggravating than a phone interview that’s cutting in and out. 
• Stand up when you're talking, and don't underestimate the power of smiling.
• Make sure you understand if the interviewer is calling you or if you’ll be calling into a conferencing system like Zoom Video or GoToMeeting. Download the software before the interview, and do so with plenty of time in advance. 
• If you’re on video, be sure you have an excellent internet connection. Dress as you would for an in-person interview (at least from the waist and up). Make sure you’re in a clean and clear space - I don’t want to see your messy bedroom or your cat jumping around in the background.

Be concise with your answers. This may be one of the most common mistakes made in interviews. If you catch yourself rambling, flip it into a question and stay conversational. Practice answering commonly asked questions out loud. Have a few stories in mind to tell that show how you demonstrate desirable traits like competitiveness, resourcefulness, teamwork, tenacity, and drive. 

One of my biggest pet peeves is when a candidate trash talks about their current or previous employer. Even if it wasn’t a great experience - you can say,

“I learned a lot in my current role and overcame many obstacles along the way, and now I’m excited to take on my next challenge in my career.” 

Be honest - always - but don’t shoot yourself in the foot. Chris Corcoran told me, “If you go to a top-notch restaurant you can have ‘rare filet mignon,’ or you can have ‘bleeding dead cow.' Both are true, but the former is much more appetizing." On those lines, I’ll throw you my favorite Sandler Sales rule: Never Answer An Unasked Question. Let that one soak in for a minute.

3. Be proactively curious.

If you ask some killer questions throughout the interview, you'll be able to nail the close (see #4). You should conduct a discovery call and really dig into what is important to the person you're speaking with and focus on your strengths that align with what she is looking for. It’s good to have some questions in mind before the interview begins, but even better to ask questions based on the direction of the conversation. When the interviewer is walking you through the position or explaining the goals of the company, you should ask:

• Can you tell me more about that?
• How does that work?
• Why is it structured that way?
• Summarize what she told you and then confirm that you understand correctly.

Show that you genuinely are interested in the operation and how you can be successful in the role. Be as conversational as possible with your questions though, rather than running through a checklist - you don’t want to turn the interview into a one-sided interrogation. Also, keep in mind that each question has two main objections: 1. Secure the information you need to determine if you want to pursue the opportunity 2. Earn the right for the interviewer to move you forward in the interview process. Here are some ideas:

• How can I perform on a daily basis to exceed your expectations?
• What challenges do new hires encounter and how do top performers quickly overcome these?
• What will the company do to help prepare me to be successful in this role?
• When you think about your top performers, what are they doing differently from the middle of the pack?
• How has this position evolved over the past year?
• For employees that perform well in this role, what options are available to grow within the company?
• How does Outreach differentiate from its competitors?
• What are your growth plans for the next year?
• I noticed that you came from KiteDesk, what brought you to Outreach?
• How is the company different than how you thought it would be?
• How would you describe the company culture?

Ask engaging and informed questions - for me, you can not ask enough questions. But - it's what you do with the answers that will determine your success in the interview process (and in a sales call).

4. CLOSE. 

This is where you can really set yourself apart from other candidates. Take the information that you've learned from conducting research and being proactively curious and use that information to earn the next step of the interview process. If you can’t close an interview, you can’t close a sale. The entire interview process is essentially a series of discovery calls. Your goal is to learn about the position and the company, the hiring manager is determining if you’re going to be able to help his/her team achieve its goals, and both of you are striving to decide whether or not it’s a good fit. At the end of the day, if a company’s strategic goals are met and challenges are solved by a solution you provided, you have to ask for the sale. Similarly, if your career goals are aligned with the opportunity at a company, you have to ask for the job.

"I’ve enjoyed learning more about Outreach and I’m intrigued by the opportunity to join your team. Based on our conversation today, what hesitations do you have about moving me forward in the interview process?"

This question will allow you to address any potential concerns and gives you the opportunity to put in your final word. Once you confirm that you’ll be moving forward in the interview process, determine what the next step is, and do your best to lock it down. “There’s only so much we can measure on an initial phone call, let’s schedule some time to meet in person. Do you have your calendar in front of you?” Or for an in-person interview - “I’ve been energized by every step of this interview process. Now that I have a better understanding of what it takes to be successful in this role, I’m confident I will crush it as an SDR at Outreach. If you give me a shot, I'll prove it to you.”

5. Follow Up.

It’s critical to reach out to each person you speak with after the interview, so make sure you grab a business card or at least have an email address. Thank her for her time, reference something you spoke about in the interview, reaffirm why you're a good fit for the position and why you're interested in the company. Hand-written notes can also go a long way. Here’s an example:

Hi Julianne,

I appreciate you taking the time to meet with me this morning. I enjoyed learning more about Outreach and the opportunity to join your Sales Development team in Tampa. It’s really interesting that your entire team was picked up by the industry leader, and your enthusiasm for working at Outreach is inspiring.

You mentioned that your top performer, Tim, is successful because of his ability to maintain a positive attitude when things get tough and never take his foot off the gas when things are going well. Given my background in athletics, I understand how to take a challenge and convert it into my next victory. Because I am resilient, competitive, and have a burning desire to succeed, I’m confident I will be your next Tim.

Outreach originally caught my eye because of your hyper growth in such an innovative space in the market. I’m eager to join a team that empowers its employees to really move the needle for not only Outreach, but for sales leaders everywhere.

Thank you again for your consideration, and I am looking forward to the next step in the interview process.

Thanks,

Sam

(Bonus) Be bold.

Danny Cahill told me, “If you’re going to sing, sing boldly.” Interviewing is much like cold calling, so bring some swagger. You have to be confident, direct, and find ways to stand out from the rest of the pack. I typically hire SDR’s early in their career, and it’s tricky to determine which of them will be successful without much past experience to reference. All I have is a sheet of paper and about two hours of conversation with you total, so you have to make it count. The biggest differentiators are how you prepare (research), the way you present yourself (professionalism), questions you ask (curiosity), your display of skills (closing), and your ability to close the loop (follow up).

Sales Development Reps require thick skin, and the interview process is a great way to test your boundaries. In order to impress me, you have to bring it.

Here's a picture of Adele singing boldly. Be like Adele.