Sales interviews are meant to examine your capability to manage the competitive notch of this field and present yourself with your best confidence. An interview question like why should we hire you ay sound very common or cliched, your answer needs to find a unique approach anyway. A good or bad answer to this one question can make all the difference in the interview and the hiring manager can find the candidate he was probably looking for.
Sales interview is more about your communication skills and ability to sell yourself as the best applicant. It is needless to mention that there are competitive candidates and it may happen that you’re not experienced enough. So, in such cases, it is extremely important that you stand out in the interview and present something that overshadows your resume.
Studies show that the common interview question are asked to check your confidence level and presentation skills mainly. Here is a brief explanation of why interviews ask this question in almost each sales interview.
Why does the interviewer ask ” Why should we hire you?”
Whenever an aspirant sales employee starts preparing for an interview, the most common question they have in mind is this one. And it is also very natural to think that this is a boring question.
But, when you put on an interviewer’s shoes, you would realise that they need to figure out who is actually capable of taking responsibility. They always take the risk to hire a candidate for a company and if he/she leaves is not responsible or skilled enough, the interviewer’s professional skills would come under a question mark. And the major factor here is trust. They are looking for a trustworthy candidate who is skilled and open to challenges. Secondly, this question would also reveal how you can analyse yourself. Because, if you’re not aware of your own abilities, you cannot find room for improvement.
Also, these common questions are asked to understand what you think of yourself as a salesperson and with the context, difficult sales counter questions may also be asked. And, as a salesperson if you cannot make a good pitch about yourself, you cannot pitch a completely new product to unknown people. So, it is a combination of both behavioural and situation-based questions.
How to prepare for answering ” Why Should we hire you?
For every question, there is an individual process to follow to develop a sound answer. To prepare for this particular answer, there are four major segments you need to cover.
- Industrial Experience: If you’re an experienced candidate, you should definitely share your practical experience and share how your industrial experience would help the company to manage its current business. You can talk about your sales experience or experience in any other field like finance or education.
You can map your professional or training experience to explain why you should be hired for the sales role.
An industry-aware person can help a company through different situations and provide a better solution with real-life problem-solving skills. You need to find the room to put your experience in the answer. For instance, if you have a completely different industry experience like a student counsellor, you can also mention it with relevant logic.
- Technical Experience: Technical platforms plays an important role to communicate globally, manage complex workflows, and produce better products. Modern sales are not about meeting the targets and sell products but expanding the business through different aspects. So, if you have a technical background, it would be a plus point to add to this answer. While preparing for this interview question, add your technical experiences or skills to stand out.
You can mention that you know about different parts of a car while applying for any automobile company or you can mention your compatibility of using Zoho to communicate with leads for marketing. So, if you’re tech-savvy, include it in your answer.
- Soft Skills: According to salesforce, 77% of the employees consider soft skills as important as hard skills. Skills like organization, conflict resolution, or communication skills play an important role in sales. Elaborate how your soft skills can improve teamwork, getting new clients or helps to communicate with a customer and provide solutions. You can also add your previous sales success story through your soft skills for this answer.
If you think you don’t have enough soft skills, try to improve them and practice communication skills, presentation skills, and vocal tones. Try to learn from people that how they manage a team or motivate someone else.
- Accomplishments: If you completed any extra course or achieved any award for your performance, share the points in your answer to showcase why you deserve the position. Before applying for your target job, you can enrol for some extra courses to get better prepared as well.
These points can make you apart from other candidates. You can refer to this interview question here as well for answering “What sets you apart from other candidates?“
Now, when you’re prepared, you need to do a final check and see if you know how to answer this common sales interview question in a decent way.
How to answer “why should we hire you” to Impress the interviewer
Your first job to do is to review the job description to find out the key requirements of the position you’re applying for. For instance, if there is a position for sales manager and they are looking for someone who can take an immediate transfer to a new branch in six months, you need to prepare accordingly.
So, here’s how you should present your answer in a brief yet informative way.
Mention your Relevant Skills
Firstly, you need to mention the skills and qualities that made you suitable for the job position and how you can make something better with your responsibilities. If you’re applying for a sales associate, you can mention your experience along with your success stories or extra skills like team management.
Highlight that you’re a Team Player
It is very crucial to work in teams for major projects or emergency deadlines. And if you’re not comfortable with working with others, you cannot be hired for a sales position where interaction plays a crucial role. Along with this, you can mention your leadership skills that highlight how responsible you can be.
Describe your Potential
Besides your skills and accomplishments, it is important to showcase your potential. Describe how you can make a difference with your input to this company. And to say so, you need strong research about them, their business, and their goal. Show enthusiasm and active interest in the work and map your capabilities with them.
In addition, mention why you want to join tis particular company and for that, refer to this sales interview question and answer “Why would you like to work with us in sales?”
Points to remember while answering:
- Convince the interviewer that you would put extraordinary efforts to maintain responsibilities.
- You can be a great team player and you’ll take active participation in the team projects.
- You have the skills as well as experience to work for the target sales position.
- Company image would be protected and be elevated.
Sample Answers:
#1 For Freshers
I can be a good fit for this role as it requires field study and active communication. I am a quick and flexible learner who can easily develop himself as per company requirements. Also, I I got to know from the job description, you are looking for someone who can manage clients over call. As I have completed a three months course on telephonic communication, I think I can take this responsibility.
#2 For Experienced
You should hire me as your new sales executive as I can work as a team player and lead the team if required. Also, in my last job, I was working as a sales associate where I had to help the customers with their queries and complaints. I think my communication skills got improved with this practice and now I can help this company with it.
I want to grow as an individual and that keeps me motivated to work better in my role. Hiring me would give you an dedicated, hard-working employee.
#3
Apart from my CV, I would like to add that I am passionate about sales and I love to set new goals for myself. You should hire me as I can convince people with a natural conversation and my core skills like conflict resolution, problem solving, and managing tough situations would help to grab the chance in worst situations.
Tips To impress the interviewer
- When you’re answering, don’t forget to mention how you can add value to the company in order to be a successful employee.
- Be confident and prepared for the counter questions. There are high chances of getting tough sales interview question relative to your answer to this one.
- It is better to tell a story than talking about your skills and accomplishments in a monotonous voice.
- Don’t make up a story, rather say where you can be honest. Otherwise, you cannot answer when counter questions appear. Also, go with the flow instead of memorsing the whole answer and talk as a school student in the interview.
- Keep your final answer short and engaging. Don’t let the interview distract from your answer while you’re in the interview.
- It is advised to avoid the too common and honest answer- money. You can keep it as a secondary reason but your primary focus should be on the business and creating what you’ve love.
Similar Questions:
- Why are you the best candidate for this position?
- Why should we hire you (or a variant like “why should I hire you”)?
- Why would you be a good fit for this position?
- What makes you unique?
- Why are you the best person for this job?Explain why your background and experience would be a good fit for this job.
- Do you think there is no better candidate than you in this interview round?
- What made you choose sales as a career option in this company?
Summary
This is to say, answering a common question in a different way is not easy but this the part of evaluation. If you cannot make yourself stand out, your performance cannot be outstanding in the company. The interview is happening to choose the suitable one. If you cannot prepare for such interviews, you cannot find the dream job. So, keep practing and ace the interview round.
