The multiple 100m Deal Closer! Full Questions List For Screening Top Salespeople.
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For Enterprise Salespeople and ANY salesperson, relationships are key; and the ability to be creative, connect, and discern is now more important than ever. We also want to make sure that they build the kind of relationship and have the follow up that can allow them and their teams, to go back and sell the customer in the future. First though, one must win the deal! In this article, I wanted to give deep screening questions for managers, but also give the benefit of some of the practices of the top technology salesperson I ever interviewed, and knew. He closed multiple 100m deals and became a true trusted advisor for many. I start by talking about the authentic caring he brought to his clients and the many ways he went outside the box to do his homework, honor people often forgotten, and achieve connections. I’m hopeful this article may be helpful for sales leaders and candidates alike.
The #1 salesperson I interviewed and later became friends with resided in NY City. He had a beautiful condo, on the park, in a top location. He began as an orphan, handing out towels at bath houses, and later became an executive. As a child, he was hungry, and took every odd job he could find. He was a master of relationships. He closed more 100m deals than anyone I had ever met. I believe that extraordinary principles and practices often lead to success. For the established or new salesperson, here are some of his: He would show up to his in person client mtgs. 1.5hrs. early and sit in the lobby, see who was coming and going, make note of everything. He would stop by his clients at 3AM and bring cigars and treats to all the people running the technology servers. These people were often forgotten by management. They would tell him everything about what companies were calling on his clients, who the competitors were, and what deals were in process. He never had to really ask for that info., they just gave it to him. He would man the grill at many of his clients family parties. He knew everyone’s names, where the kids wanted to go to college, made phone calls, and opened doors at many junctures. The partners often called him when there was a family issue. He became an entrusted friend. He often got called to family deaths and funerals. He earned the ability to be in their lives. Now retired, he gets calls from all the family members, and has a close circle of friends. He became a trusted advisor. When people tried to create business partnership deals, he would say: “what are you going to do for my customers? How are you going to take care of them?” When people asked him to refer their friends, he insisted on a sit down meal or mtg. before putting his stamp on them. He cared about people, but was precise, and didn’t suffer fools. Regularly he took 40-100 people from Wall St. down to Atlantic City. A top restaurant engraved this mans name on one of their bars. He also brought people into his faith, and admired their faith, celebrating everyone’s differences, and looking for common values. He attended other religious denominations services and went to their celebrations. He genuinely cared about all. The best salespeople have said to me: “I find out what really matters to my customers; behind the problem that their solving, then I get behind that problem.” This is unique, but authentic customer connection, and caring will always have it’s place in the sales realm.
Most AE’s will not answer more than 80 percent of these questions perfectly. The questions are tough, and designed to to bring you deep in screening them. These questions can also be used as a teaching and coaching process. Many salespeople need to grow, our job is to find out if the core talent and effort levels exist in ways that can currently create extraordinary results. Many have been tested in life, or had an off year. That doesn’t define them, rather how they faced challenges and walked forward into acts of greatness, is what determines their value.
These questions also allow you to stay with facts, and not rely on fear, or un tested logic to make hiring decisions. I once had a Sr. Leader ask my sales candidate: “are you a Porsche and beer person, or a Bentley and caviar person?”. That same Enterprise AE closed a 26m deal in his first year at that co. Non fact measurable questions could have turned off that salesperson, or removed him from the interview process entirely. Use the REAPRICH science, and get much closer to finding your guaranteed best hire. To help you separate out achievement focus skills areas, the soft skill qualities based questions are indented separately.
Resume: Results and Tenures review.
If Under 5 years experience:
Do they have at least one 3 plus yr. stay?
If 10 years or above:
Do they have at least two 3 plus year stays or one 5 plus yr. during each ten-year segment?
Results showcasing:
Do you see results, awards, achievements in each job they've been at? Are the results bolded and or in the top bullet of each role? (Some don't include their results thus the screening will pull them out.)
Screening Questions:
These are best divided between recruiter, hiring manager, and division leader.
Results Based:
1.A.Tell me about the two deals your most proud of that you sourced yourself, and closed:
B. What are the names of the people at those two customers, during key junctures in the deals, that helped you forward it along each step to close?
2. What have been your achievements against goal for the last 5 years? (Looking for 4 out of 5 years attained.) How much was that average and largest quota?
3. How much of your past year's quota was new business and how much was growing existing business?
4. Over the last 5 years how much of your sales has been new business and how much growing existing business?
5. Please tell me about your average deal size, sales cycle, largest deal, and time to close.
6. Have you closed two 100k deals within the same client? Two 1m plus deals in the same client?
Continuous Result Focused Relationships:
5. What clients have you closed multiple times? At multiple companies?
6. At what clients could you get a walk the hall key pass if you visited them in person?
Energy Based:
How do you believe energy effects the clients response to you and what your selling?
How do you keep yourself at a top energy level?
What does it mean to light up the room within a client setting?
What is an example of when you've seen low energy fail a meeting?
Attitude:
When have you worked with a difficult person and how did you solve that problem?
What's been a concern about your compensation plan or goal directives within a past employer?
Do you feel your prior employers have lived with great values and integrity?
We are selling a personal growth product that makes the people within organizations better. How have you mentored or made someone better? What did you impart to them?
Where have you failed or been tested in life and how did you personally grow to become better?
What does The Inner Game, or improving one's inner world mean?
(You want hires that can give evidence-based information that they can keep long term relationships and build new ones. )
PROCESSES: This is bold noted as processes must be strong and planned, otherwise outcomes aren’t achieved.
Tell me about how you prospect? How do you fill your pipeline, do you have it 3x and how do you move on from non engaged prospects?
How do you plan your days? What is your hunting, cultivating, and relationship enhancing strategy?
What processes have you developed or used that make you better, faster, and stronger than others?
How do you organize your time to allow you to finish projects ahead of deadline, leaving you time to make corrections if needed?
What is your CRM updating strategy, are you consistent? How do you forecast your pipeline for accuracy?
What is the two most creative things you’ve ever done to get and close deals?
Walk me through your top two deals: who were the people in it? How did you get to them?
How do you find your 2nd and 3rd sponsors in the deal? How do you create them?
Give me an example of someone that was holding up a deal, that you had to go visit and get there buy in:
How do you make sure you know a deals full flow approval process?
Relationship Based:
5. Who has been your best mentor and why? (Can they take direction, get along with others?)
6. How have you built a connection with a customer stakeholder that was based on deep values or that forwarded their life or business to a better place?
7. How have efforts to grow as a person made you a better professional and value-oriented person?
8. Who are the two longest term business relationships that you're most proud of?
9. How do you build new relationships quickly?
Interview you:
Did the candidates have good questions that elicited a positive response in you?
Were they intelligent in their preparation of studying up on you and the company?
Did they ask any arrogant questions? Example: I have three other offers, why should I come to your company?
Close You:
1. Did they ask for the next steps in the interview process?
2. Did they ask if you had any concerns about moving them forward and for you to share what they are?
2.Did they ask for the job?
Humanity:
Did they connect with you a relationship-based level? Did they smile? Could they get you to open up a little? Did they engage in a connection and relationship based way?
(If team selling)
1. Walk me through your two top deals. Name the people that initiated, grew, and closed the deal.
2. What was your contribution in each part of the deal?
Who did you influence internally and externally to get this done?
Honesty Questions:
1. Please give me the 1st 4 descriptive words that come to mind that a customer would use to describe working with you:
Note: can they easily reference words others would use?
The brain can only reference how others see us smoothly and quickly if it's authentic and in our memory.
2. What 3 words would a co worker use to describe you?
Notice whether they generally can answer this, do at least the correct number of words, do they tell stories instead? A little delay is fine, but can they complete the exercise?
Extra tips:
1. Notice how any potential hire treats the people scheduling them. Ask for feedback. When not under a mandate for good behavior important things are often revealed.
2. Do they put attention into the small details in the interview process? Even in casual dressing do they appear ironed, shined shoes, and someone you can put in front of a customer?
If you meet them in person, are they groomed well, even if casual? Are their shoes shined? The little details often carry into the big ones, so make sure your sure!
We do heavy sales, executive, product, marketing, and technology hiring at our partner company: Awardhire. We have better pricing, often very low, due to our ability to use science to attract and screen much more quickly than the competition. This was created by author of the #1 job interview book for candidates. We also do in house turn around of recruiting functions and outreach programs. We have the relationships. Contact us at: evan.pellett@awardhire.com.
