Page 138 - How To Answer Interview Questions (II)

For instance, when interviewing for a sales job, you might say,
“In my first job, my manager gave me the book SPIN Selling by Neil Rackham and reading it
changed my life. I went from mediocre sales numbers to ranking among the highest in the company as
a practically brand-new hire.
In my next job, I went into selling a much more technical product, which meant I had to fill in gaps
in my background to be able to know my product and discuss it intelligently with my customers.
But what I learned from that is that I can train myself—I don’t need my employer to do it for me,
and learning those new things boosted my confidence level, too.
In my current job, I worked with someone who happened to be a tremendous time manager and
watching her, I learned a lot about how to prioritize tasks and organize my day so that my productivity
has gone up I would estimate about 30%.”
So what you’ve told this interviewer in your answer is that:
(1) You are a great sales rep who achieved a significant ranking early on;
(2) you can train yourself on the product even if it is an unfamiliar one; and
(3) you are organized and efficient with your time.

Maybe what you need to point out is that you:

Learned a new software that this company uses
Developed customer service techniques that help you retain customers at a 20% higher level
than before (and this job description puts a high value on customer retention)
Created market trials that helped you hone your skill at matching products to customer need
Learned a particular procedure that helped you increase X

Whatever it is, make sure that what you learned is something that this employer could use as a
reason to hire you.