Selling yourself is an important part of every job interview. When you go in to speak to a recruiter or human resources worker for a medical sales job interview, you’ll be asked to highlight as many strengths as possible. In order to do this effectively, you need to not only know which strengths are best for the job but also how to illustrate the fact that you have them.
How can you do this confidently and effectively? Here are three useful strategies that tie into each other. Using them, you’ll be one step closer to getting that dream job you’ve got your sights set on.
1) Know Which Strengths to Highlight
Before you head out to your interview, spend some time going over your resume and cover letter. Note which strengths you mentioned in both. Then, look carefully at the job description. You’ll notice this listing includes a number of strengths that the ideal candidate possesses. Finally, do some research on the job in general, even looking at similar positions with different companies. Do you see any overlap? If so, these are the strengths you’ll need to discuss in your interview.
If you need to, take the time to write down your strengths and a brief explanation or example of each. You can take this cheat sheet of sorts with you to your interview. Just remember to spend more time looking at the interviewer than you do at the piece of paper. Having the notes on hand will ensure you don’t forget to include any of your strengths when asked about them.
2) Be Specific and Include Examples
Now that you’ve done your research and have a good idea of which strengths you need to talk about, it’s time to be specific and include examples. At this point in the interview, the manager or recruiter will ask you which of your strengths fit the job. Here are a few ways to answer that question successfully:
- Your Sales Pitch is On Point – A sales pitch is crucial when it comes to medical sales jobs. This pitch should quickly introduce your products, as well as call attention to them and leave your customers wanting more information. Include a few examples of your sales pitches and why and how you’ve crafted them to entice your customers.
- Your Problem-Solving Skills – Every salesperson runs into problems at one point or another. Did a customer’s product not arrive? Did it arrive damaged? How did you fix the issues so your customers are happy? Provide a detailed description of when you last had to deal with something like this, as well as the steps you took to fix things.
- Your Ability to Follow-Up – Follow-ups are an important part of the sales process. Whether you’re following up with a customer’s purchase to ensure it arrived on time and in good condition or are contacting a potential customer after providing them with your sales pitch, you need to illustrate your ability to manage this part of the job. Mention a few examples of the various types of follow-ups and how you conducted them.
- Your Research Skills – Medical salespeople not only need to keep in close contact with their existing customers but also find new ones. You need to discuss your ability to research your geographic location and medical niche in order to find possible new customers to contact.
3) Use Visuals if Necessary
Finally, if you need to use some visuals in order to showcase your strengths, feel free to do so. While you don’t want to show up to your initial interview with a 50-page slide deck, there’s nothing wrong with bringing a few handouts. Looking for ideas? Include:
- Graphs – Did you set a recent sales record for your division at your previous company? Set up a graph to show this off. Other suggestions include breaking down your sales by quarter to show them going up, as well as creating a graph to highlight your existing to new customer ratio.
- Comments From Customers – Have some good quotes from your customers regarding your strengths and abilities? Consider putting them on paper and providing them to your interviewer. They’ll serve as a kind of reference.
These are just a few examples. There are plenty of others you can explore as well.
Highlight Your Strengths in a Medical Sales Interview
The main takeaway here is: don’t be shy! In order to get the medical sales job you want, you’ll need to tastefully highlight your strengths in your interview. By utilizing these three suggestions, you may find yourself at the top of the candidate list, which is exactly where you want to be!
