Winning Tactics to Ace the Final Interview

Sales interviews are highly competitive, so landing the job is definitely a feat. If you’ve managed to make it past the initial interviews, you will probably begin to feel confident in your chances of making it to the offer stage. Once you secure the final interview, you will want to ensure that you are in the best possible position for acing it. These are crucial tips to ensure you stand out head and shoulders above the competition.

How to Have a Successful Final Interview

The best way to excel in your final interview is to devise a solid interview strategy beforehand. Performing thorough research on the company is the key to making a great impression. The hiring manager wants to know that you are genuinely interested in the company and not just the job itself. They might even ask questions such as why you would like to work for their company and how you would make a positive asset if they were to consider you.

You should be prepared for anything. Many interviewers ask candidates about their biggest strengths and weaknesses. This is a typical question posed in job interviews regardless of industry. Hiring managers also like to ask situational questions, such as what would you do if you were behind your quota with two weeks left in the month? or how would you respond to a customer saying that they don’t have the budget to move forward?  These questions help managers understand how you think on your feet and how you handle stressful situations.  Practice your answers to these and potential others so that you can impress the interviewer.

Going into your final interview with great enthusiasm can help you stand out. No hiring manager wants to see someone who is extremely low-key. However, at the same time, temper yourself; you don’t want to appear overly anxious, either. Show some zest and act cordially, but don’t overdo it.

Practice what you will say during the final interview. You don’t want to sit there mentally scrambling for the words to come. Stumbling could work against you, so you will want to have answers coming quickly and easily. If you find that you have a good rapport with the interviewer, it will make things much easier and feel natural. Chances are that they will carry a good impression of you.

Why You Should Follow Up After Your Interview

One of the biggest pieces of career advice you can get is to make sure to always follow up after a job interview. It gives you the opportunity to show that you’re grateful and appreciative for the opportunity and most importantly it shows how you would follow-up with clients and customers after a sales meeting.  To ensure that you make a good impression on the hiring manager and others who may be involved, make sure to triple check for spelling, grammar, punctuation and your signature at the end. Not everyone who interviews for sales or any other position does this, so it allows you to stand out and shows your professionalism and character.

In addition to having good interviewing tips at your disposal, you should have a good strategy in mind. Always get the name and contact information of anyone you meet with during interviews. Ask them about the next steps the company plans in regard to the position. Make sure someone clearly tells you how long it might take before you hear back from them; many interviewers say they have a few more candidates to meet with and give an idea of when they intend to make a final decision. They should let you know how and when you can expect to hear back from them.

Send a Thank You Note

When you begin a job search, you compose a nice letter getting right to the point of why you think you should be considered for the job. The same strategy holds true once you have gotten to the final interview. You want to hammer home the point that you would be the best possible fit for the position because you are an asset to the company. However, your thank you note should be direct, respectful and professional all at the same time. You should have the name and contact information for each person that interviewed you at the ready to compose a thank you note highlighting your interest and something specific from your interview. Gone are the days of sending a nice card or fancy stationery via the mail – in today’s day and age, email within 24 hours or less from the interview is appropriate, anticipated and expected. 

If you don’t hear back from the hiring manager after sending your thank you note, you should follow-up again by the end of the week after your interview (or after the weekend if your interview was on a Thursday/Friday). This should be a short message reiterating your interest, inquiring about their timing, the status of the position and asking if they have any follow-up questions.

Connect With Your Interviewer

Another way to make an impression on your interviewer after your final interview is to connect with them on social media. It shows that you are making the effort to learn all the latest trends in the industry and build your professional network. Even if you ultimately don’t get the job, connecting gives you an edge because you have a professional contact who can probably help you land your dream position in the future.

After connecting, you can also send a quick thank you note to the person on the social media site. Mentioning something from the interview might also improve your chances of securing the job.  We also recommend sharing a relevant piece of content, which would be sales-tactics oriented or relevant industry trends that you find interesting / engaging.  

Prepare Your References

You should have a list of at least three professional references in the event that the hiring manager wants to contact them to ask about you. It’s good practice to notify your references to expect to be contacted as part of your interview follow-up. Not only does it give them a heads-up to expect the call, but it also lets them prepare what they will say.  We recommend providing the following information about references 

• Full Name
• Contact Information (email address and phone number)
• Title, Company & Relationship (where they managed or worked with you) along with the Dates you worked together 
• LinkedIn Profile 

Continue Applying for Jobs

Regardless of how well you think the final interview went, it’s wise to continue with your job search. Until you have an offer in hand, you should keep looking.  This helps you stay fresh and prepared if you end up landing an interview for a sales position with another company. Meanwhile, if the one you just had a final interview with decides you are the right fit and offers you the job, you’ll be in a better position to make your decision.

Ask for Feedback

In the event that you don’t get the job, send an email asking the hiring manager for feedback. What could you have done differently? Do they have any tips to help you as you move forward? Anything they might offer could be valuable career advice. If the hiring manager doesn’t reply to your inquiry, contact the recruiter who originally contacted you and ask them for feedback instead.

Above all else, even if you don’t get the job, you should always send a thank you note. It shows that you’re professional and responsible and makes an impression on your contact person. This also helps to keep the door open for future opportunities and in some cases, may even result in a referral to another team within the company.

If you are interested in a sales position to further your career, connect with a Treeline Sales Recruiter to learn about your opportunities and how to best position yourself for your next career move.