Get to the “WHY” – Effective interviewing techniques

By Alec Pleet

Choosing the right team members is one of the most critical steps you can take to guarantee increased sales and long-term business growth.  Solid team members are the building blocks of a successful business.  Subsequently, your interviewing skills are vital to the future health of your business. The cornerstone of effective interviews is also the foundation of effective sales: the open-ended question. By avoiding closed, yes and no questions, you will be able to deeply delve into a candidate’s background and make an informed decision that will affect the well-being of your organization for possibly years to come. Let’s have a look at a few skills essential to effective interviewing.

Be Clear and Be Professional

It is absolutely essential to start out every interview on the right foot so the candidate gets a good impression of you and your business. After all, candidates are also interested in your professionalism and integrity as a potential employer. Before the actual interview, email or call the candidate to confirm the interview date, time, and location. State your belief in the candidate’s potential as a good sales person and encourage them to contact you with any questions. In doing so, you provide a solid foundation for the interview based on mutual trust and respect. During the interview itself, make it clear to the candidate you run a drug-free work environment and all offers are conditional depending upon the results of a drug test. This is their chance to demonstrate their integrity and respect for you.

If, How, and Why: The Open Question

Interviewing is much more than just confirming facts. If employers were only interested in facts, then merely reading a candidate’s resume would be enough. By asking closed questions, or those answered with a simple yes or no, the interviewer is only able to solicit facts. Closed questions also often begin with question words such as ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘where’, and ‘when’. This type of question impedes the real purpose of an interview and makes getting to know your future employee nearly impossible.  Using open questions beginning with ‘if’, ‘how’, and especially ‘why’ instead elicits unrehearsed answers, and therefore, more emotional responses from your candidate.  These real answers will help you ultimately determine if they are a good fit for your business.

In an interview situation, the question ‘why’ should always be at the tip of your tongue. Remember, your aim is to dig deeper than the canned answer they have rehearsed a hundred times. For example, ask why the candidate left his or her previous position. Supposing the candidate answers something to the effect of “They didn’t like me,” do not hesitate in asking why again. They could respond with “because I was too aggressive.”  This scenario may appear to be taking a turn for the worse, but failing to ask why again could disguise the fact that the candidate actually made ”too many” sales and was deemed aggressive. This is the perfect opportunity to ask why the candidate made too many sales, or generally speaking, what they did to cause a particular outcome. This way, you will be able to assess their sense of responsibility and ownership for their actions.  Face it, it’s not the number of questions you ask, it’s the depth of honest answers you get.

Checking References

Most job applicants nowadays are certain that a potential employer will take the time to speak to any references listed on their resume. However, speaking to a candidate about their references is a golden opportunity to gauge the honesty and directness of any would-be employee, as well as solicit more unplanned, candid responses. For example, ask the candidate what their ex-boss would say if/WHEN  called. Use the boss’s first name or nickname in order to give the impression that you know the person or have already spoken with them. Even though the law might dictate what a former supervisor can and cannot say, they have no jurisdiction over what a candidate thinks he or she will say.

Asking Hard Questions

Using more difficult-to-answer, psychologically focused questions is another great opportunity to ask open questions and really get to know the candidate. Because the repertoire of such questions is virtually unlimited, potential employees won’t know what they will be asked.  Thus, they are incapable of regurgitating a scripted answer. Questions like ‘What are your shortcomings?’ or ‘Tell me about a mistake you recently made’ will open the floodgates. Candidates often tell you more, and thereby reveal, more than what is necessary, giving you a further opportunity to judge their caliber.
Keeping these interview techniques in mind will help you not only to select ‘winners’ for your team, but they will ensure long-term stability, increased sales, and continued success for your business.