Mastering the World of Selling: The Ultimate Training Resource from the Biggest Names in Sales

Chapter 25. Your Next Job Interview

Thomas A. Freese

QBS Research

Make no mistake, a job interview is definitely a sales situation. It turns out that the opposite is also true—every sales call is also a job interview. In addition to customers making a decision to buy your product or service, first customers need to buy into you. And, whether you manage a small business, support the organization in a customer service role, or are an executive in a Fortune 500 company, you are selling yourself every day.

The time you spend during an employment interview is probably the closest you will ever come to actually selling yourself. It's also a pure sale in which, in addition to being responsible for selling yourself, you are also the product that's being sold.

For too long, sellers have highlighted product features and highlighted company benefits in the hopes that "a good story" would skew the purchase decision in their direction. Given the current business climate, the more likely scenario is that you will encounter competitors who offer alternate solutions that customers perceive as very similar.

For example, what's the real difference between Allstate, State Farm, and Nationwide insurance companies? I suppose it comes down to whether you want to be "in good hands," want a company that is "like a good neighbor," or have Nationwide "on your side." From a pure product perspective, there's not much difference between the three. The same can be said of the entire financial services industry—you ...