Finding a Sales Role after a Layoff

Layoffs are never easy to deal with, but I want to try to turn this unpleasant experience into a positive for the many sellers dealing with it. Though it may not seem so now, layoffs come with great opportunities if you approach them in the right way.

The Need for Self-Reflection

We should be doing a lot of self-reflection regardless of our employment status, but the impetus to do so increases after a layoff. I have a few key self-evaluation tips that may help you nail down the type of opportunity you want to pursue.

First, ask yourself what you liked most and least about your previous job. Reflect on what gave you energy while working in the role and, conversely, what drained your energy. What did you like most about your manager? What didn’t you like about him or her?

Do not skip this step.?We all deserve to be working in jobs that give us energy. In this period of transition, you have a golden opportunity to go out and get that for yourself. Reflecting on the positives and negatives of your last job will ensure that you go into your next opportunity with eyes wide open. You are establishing the criteria for your next role.

Getting Help

One of the first things people typically do when looking for a job is reach out to their network, and rightly so. You need to put feelers out there and make your presence known. I get many phone calls from people looking for help in their job search. Helping people is one of the things I really love about what I do for a living.

Often, I’m able to help people the most when they are very specific on what they need and want in their next role. It goes back to doing a sufficient amount of self-reflection. Don’t try to abdicate that to someone else. Don’t ask someone to help you with your thinking—do your thinking first! Once you’ve done that, you will be able to articulate what you like, what you don’t like, what you want to do, etc.

People often call me and say, “Hey, do you know so-and-so on LinkedIn?” My response is always the same. “Why are you interested in this company? What do you want me to say to this person?” Make it easy for people to help you. Explain why you are interested in the company, how you are relevant for the role, and what you would like your contact to say to the hiring manager. When given that information, I can help all day long. But it’s best when job seekers participate in their own rescue.

Interviews

What Interviewers Look For

From my own experience of interviewing reps, I would generally look for four qualities:

1. Intellectual curiosity
2. A history of resilience
3. A record of high performance
4. Great listening

I equate intellectual curiosity to a high capacity for great discovery. Such reps are driven by finding out and understanding their customers’ problems. They make it all about the buyer before making it about themselves. They don’t deal at the surface level but go deeper and deeper by virtue of their natural curiosity.

Bad things happen to good people, so resilience is key. To paraphrase a quote that I heard recently, “90% of a person’s true character is revealed in times of adversity.” I would always look for a history of overcoming difficulties as an indication of strong character.

Of course, I need to know that the seller has had a record of success. Do not be shy in highlighting your achievements. You need to be able to articulate how you’ve performed toward some goal or great standard.

Lastly, I was always keen to see how well candidates were listening during the interview. To test an interviewee’s listening capability, I would throw them a bit of a curveball.

“Hey, tell me what I said about XYZ.”

If they had no idea, that was a clear indication that they were hearing me but not listening intently to understand what I was saying. Demonstrate to the interviewer that you are an active listener.?

Preparing for an Interview

I always tell people to treat the interview like a sales process. Begin with discovery. Yes, the company needs to learn about you, but you also need to learn about them, so you’ve got to prepare accordingly.

You should read anything that exists in print about the company. Learn what they are all about. Never go into an interview and ask, “Hey, what do you guys do here?” That’s a massive insult. It also betrays laziness in your preparation for the interview.

You want to spend 50% of your time letting them qualify you and the other 50% of the time qualifying them. Find out if the company has a clear value proposition. Discover their answers to the four essential questions (read about them here). It should be a part of how they communicate to their audiences. Search their website for the answer.

If you cannot find the company’s answers to those questions, that is a red flag on their part. When you’re in the interview process, ask them to walk you through that, but make it clear that you want clarity in spite of the fact that you have done research. For example, you can ask the following questions:

• “Based on your website, I can tell that these are the kinds of problems you solve, but can you do a deep dive for me?”
• “Can you describe the problem in depth for me?”
• “Could you tell me how specifically you solve the problem?
• “How do you solve it differently or better than your competitors?”

By asking these questions, you display your capacity to be a value-based salesperson. Through your conduct, the interviewers will be able to see how you would sell for the company. Be a walking audition for how you intend to sell.

On that subject, here is a crucial action that too many sellers miss: close for the job. You are a salesperson, so behave like one. I’ve never hired anybody that did not ask me for the job.

Proceeding With Resilience

To close, I’d just like to give you some spirit with regards to what you’re going through right now. As I said earlier, bad things happen to good people. No one is exempt from difficulty. Personally, I don’t assume that the valleys won’t come. Instead, I engross myself in trying to build resilience. It’s something that we all should do—we’re going to need it.

I want to share a few incredible books written by former Navy SEALs to help you build resilience. The first is Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins. It’s an awe-inspiring story of a man who has learned to push himself past his mental barriers. Next is a book called Embrace the Suck by Brent Gleeson whom I’ve had the pleasure of meeting. I’ve also had the fortune of meeting Mike Hayes , who wrote a book entitled Never Enough. I highly encourage you to read all of these books.

Remember this: When one door closes, many others open.