Job interview prep help - advertising sales

[Mason1985]

Evening all,

Received a letter today informing me I have been short-listed for an accoun exec job (radio) which I applied for a few months ago.

Thankful for getting the interview but now got seven days to prepare for an interview.

I've read over the people spec, read te job spec, and to be honest - i'm getting confused!

I dont have experience directly in ad sales, only sales (mostly telephony based) and am surprised to have been shortlisted as it specifically says they're looking for experienced people. (CV must have worked well)

As part of the interview i have to prep a 10 minute powerpoint presentation as to why i would make a great account exec.

If anyone has any experience, and thoughts to share, It really would be appreciated.

Cheers,

Andrew

 

[BizGurl]

Can't really help unfortunately, but good luck with it - you've done well to even get an interview in these tough times!

 

[Mason1985]

Can't really help unfortunately, but good luck with it - you've done well to even get an interview in these tough times!

Thanks very much

I'm surprised to have been short listed to be fair, great local station, looking for the experienced account exec, but obviously a little bit of me has shone through on my CV that they've liked!

x

 

[Successful Selling]

All my advertising sales jobs came from telling the interviewer

• I'm selfish
• Motivated by money
• Very competitive and target driven

and

• I get bored quickly - If you want someone to stay with this company 20 years, I'm not your man. If you want someone who will stay 2-3 years and exceed your expectations, I am.

Advertising is a cut-throat industy. You need to be able to take criticism and consistantly fight for every pound. When you get knocked down (cause it will happen) you either curl up in the corner or stand up fighting.

Good luck

 

[Mason1985]

thanks very much for the thoughts.

 

[SusanP]

Your previous sales experience will be similar to the radio sales job, so pick out some of the challenges/successes you've had to date to talk about in your presentation. They will definitely be relevant.

Get yourself down to the library, borrow a copy of 'What Color (sic) is Your Parachute?' (doesn't matter if it's an old edition) and read the chapters on interview performance. It's brilliant - a whole chapter devoted to questions you can ask to make you sound interested and intelligent, and another chapter devoted to salary negotiation - which might be worth several thousand pounds to you.

 

[oldeagleeye]

One little snippet that you really must include in your presntaion that will make you look the dog bullocks - if you forgive the expression are the figures published by LBC. A London radio station who attract quite a few advertisers.

They are claiming that just 10% of a promotional budget spent on radio advertising can generate 52% more visitors to the company's web site.

Quite impressive. You are entering a tough game however and there are a lot of really smart players out there that put together far more attractive packages than rack rates or even discounted one's offer.

At least 3 of the main presenters on LBC for example give eexposure to an advertsier because they are sponsored in some way. BA for example last year provided the flight for a presenter to cover the US election. That is the cheap bit - then the rep moves in for the kill. A 3 month paid for advertsing campaign.

And finally to get some idea of the set up and pssobly meet some presnters. Don't be afraid to show a bit of initiative. Phone the radio station or just get booted and suted and pop along at just before lunchtime.

Tell them that you have an interview and would like a tour so as to make your presentaion more relevant to their radio station. I'll tell you mate that will go down a wow because it really does show initiative right the way down the line.

Robert

 

[Funny Business Cartoons]

If your powerpoint presentation is half decent then you should feel confident enough.

 

[Splash_Promo_Matt]

How about preparing some stats that show the radio station in a positive light compared to other local media you can find most of this online but let me know what area of the country if you are stuck and I will do some digging for you!

Also have a look here - loads of interesting background...

http://www.rab.co.uk/rab2009/

 

[oldeagleeye]

Nice one Matt.

Rab is where the figures I mentioned come from.

 

[KDMINX]

First bit of advice: It might be obvious but look sharp! Conservative suit, White shirt, Bright coloured tie. Make sure everything fits perfectly. Spend twice as long as you usually do ironing your shirt to get it nice and crisp, and polish your shoes. Apart from looking the part you'll feel more confident.

Second bit of advice: For a 10 min presentation you want 3 slides Max, with 4 bullet points per slide. DO NOT read your bullet points! The PowerPoint should be a “prompt” or “summary” of each point you make. You should talk for 30secs to a minute on each bullet point.

Third bit of advice: Sales managers in advertising often tend to be KPI focused. Talk about how many calls you make a day in your current job, how many of them are effective and how long you spend on the phone.

Ballpark figures are 100 dials 50 effective calls and 3 hours on the phone a day. If you talk about how you find the KPI targets easy and if make enough calls the sales just fall into place. That's the sort of thing they like to hear.

Fourth bit of advice: CLOSE! It’s a sales interview, you will be expected to close. As it’s winding up say “is there anything that would stop you from giving me the job?” then handle any objections and close.

 

[oldeagleeye]

Love that last bit of advice KD. Just wish our politicians asked it.

 

[oldeagleeye]

Love that last bit of advice KD. Just wish our politicians asked it.

 

[Splash_Promo_Matt]

Fourth bit of advice: CLOSE! It’s a sales interview, you will be expected to close. As it’s winding up say “is there anything that would stop you from giving me the job?” then handle any objections and close.

Great advice for points 1-3 but can I suggest an alternative to the close above...

As the interview draws to an end ask them what the next steps are...chances are they will say we will be considering all the candidates, thinking it over etc or words to that effect...

You could then ask is there anything I could tell you that would enable you to offer me the job now? And see how that goes...

 

Hi Andrew

It is such a cut-throat industry and the turnaround of staff is trememdous! Trust me! I worked for a commercial radio station as a sales exec for 1 year and although i made some fantastic friends it was soul destorying at times! It is a great way to make money in a short period of time.

With regards to your experience, i wouldn't let that worry you - not in the slightest. A radio sales exec needs to sell over the phone (to book appts) and sell face to face. Personally, i find selling face to face easier as you can read someones expressions. To be a radio sales exec you need to be a fantastic "closer". We aimed for a three call sell:-

1. Phone call to make appointment
2. Appointment to take brief
3. Appointment to show script and close the deal

In all honesty i think i had one "three call sell" in my time there! It was more like 4 or even 5!

Radio sales like i said is very cut-throat - you need to be very self-motivated, thick skinned, up for a challenge and money orientated.

Just a few things for you to think about are:-

1. How do adverts on the radio affect you? i.e. memorable ads, jingles etc.
2. The difference between ads. "call to action" ads (i.e a sale) or generic brand awareness.

If i were you i would also research into the station, who do they target? I.e. Galaxy target the younger audience with programming. Also have a look on their website and see who their current (local not national as they are dealt with differently) advertisers are, consider who you would target immediately.

Good luck anyway!

 

[oldeagleeye]

I got an even better one or two actually.

Either smile and say 'When di I start' or better still.

Take your jacket & tie off. Roll up your sleeves and say.

'Right wheres the phone & rate card. Be nice to tope in at least a couple of punters today while there's still daylight'

Mind you if it were me of course I would say ' how much do you want for the radio station lock stock & barrel.

 

First bit of advice: It might be obvious but look sharp! Conservative suit, White shirt, Bright coloured tie. Make sure everything fits perfectly. Spend twice as long as you usually do ironing your shirt to get it nice and crisp, and polish your shoes. Apart from looking the part you'll feel more confident.

Mmmmmmm agree with the look "sharp" bit BUT if it is a trendier, younger station then go for a formal look with a bit of a twist. At the end of the day you will be representing the station whilst on the road. If it is an older station then yes completely agree, go very formal.

Make sure you make eye contact, have a firm handshake.

 

[Liybpg]

My friend went on a sales job interview and he was turned down because he didn't "close" the interview. You must say that you are the guy that they are looking for and they don't need to look further. Close the sale of yourself.!

 

My friend went on a sales job interview and he was turned down because he didn't "close" the interview. You must say that you are the guy that they are looking for and they don't need to look further. Close the sale of yourself.!

Thats very cheesy i never did that but take the point!

 

[JohnW1]

Hi

Being in sales, I'm sure that you are familiar with the different personality profiles and NLP types, but it doesn't do any harm to refresh on a few points here. We typically find that Driver types gravitate to sales for obvious reasons and so it is important to pitch your presentation and interview style in that mode. However, if you are being interviewed by a panel, it is likely that they will also have an Analytical individual as well, so you want to make sure that you don't alienate him/her.

Similarly, in sales there is a high proportion of NLP Visual types and again pitching to their preferences is likely to yield bonuses. Be warned thought that, if the panel does include an Analytical type, then he/she is likely to be NLP Auditory or even Kinaesthetic so you must be sure to cater for their needs too.

I hope these thoughts help. If you want to refresh your memory on these types and their preferences then feel free to have a look at our relevant training videos: The Excellent Manager - Modules 2 and 3 for the personality types, and The Complete Sales Skills Training Course - Modules 8 and 9 for NLP. All of these training videos are free.

Good luck

John

 

[oldeagleeye]

Mmmmmmm agree with the look "sharp" bit BUT if it is a trendier, younger station then go for a formal look with a bit of a twist. At the end of the day you will be representing the station whilst on the road. If it is an older station then yes completely agree, go very formal.

Make sure you make eye contact, have a firm handshake.

Hence my suggestion to visit the station and access the company ethos.

Even if that is tee-shirts & trainers however a Rep has to dress more for the customers and that usually means a smart formal look.

Tip then which is what I used to do as a mortgage broker. Casual in the back office but always a suit nice shirt & tie on a hanger for when punters appointments. Make sure you got clean pants on too in case the secretary pops in wile you changing. None of this no pants zip up the jeans nonsense . Ouch.

Robert

 

[KDMINX]

The days of jeans and t-shirt in the office have come and gone. There's still some of it about particulally if you are in a design / creative type of role. But it's shirt and tie pretty much everywhere these days.

 

The days of jeans and t-shirt in the office have come and gone. There's still some of it about particulally if you are in a design / creative type of role. But it's shirt and tie pretty much everywhere these days.

I think you misunderstood my point (or i didn't explain it very well ). I am not saying he should go to the interview in jeans and t-shirt i am just saying depending on which station he is representing he should dress accordingly (but still in a suit). You mentioned being conservative with white shirt bright tie etc, if it was a more "modern" station then i would expect the attire to be a little more uptodate (but still a suit).

 

[Mason1985]

Everyone,

I am sincerely grateful for the infor and advice you have given me.

The suit is out, the shirt has been ironed, and ironed again as advised! The shoes are sparkling and the tie a real gem!

My sales experience is vast, but I've only ever dealt with inbound calls - typically selling loans, payment protection, car insurance and bank accounts. Little face to face business deals and few outbound calls.

I'm just running out for a bite to eat now and to go to work, but there's a few things on the job spec I'd love for you to help me decipher and understand so I can try and pull some form of presentation otgether without going to pieces!!!

Cheers again everyone. speak later.

 

My sales experience is vast, but I've only ever dealt with inbound calls - typically selling loans, payment protection, car insurance and bank accounts. Little face to face business deals and few outbound calls.

If its mainly been inbound selling then i am sorry to say you may encounter a few problems - focus on the outbound sales you have made. Remember inbound calls mean that you are already half way through the battle - they obviously have *some* interest in whatever you are selling to call . I'm not saying that to dishearten you, far from it just trying to get you to see it from the eyes of your potential new employer.

 

[KDMINX]

I think you misunderstood my point (or i didn't explain it very well ). I am not saying he should go to the interview in jeans and t-shirt i am just saying depending on which station he is representing he should dress accordingly (but still in a suit). You mentioned being conservative with white shirt bright tie etc, if it was a more "modern" station then i would expect the attire to be a little more uptodate (but still a suit).

I remember a friend calling me in horror because he'd been told not to wear a suit to an interview. He had 2 styles, suit and tie or 10 year old tracksuit bottoms and curry stained t-shirt.

I told him (only half joking) not to go, the job wasn't for him!

He went out and spent a fortune on a set of very trendy designer clothes then didn't get the job!

 

He went out and spent a fortune on a set of very trendy designer clothes then didn't get the job!

At least he had a nice new wardrobe though lol

 

[KDMINX]

At least he had a nice new wardrobe though lol

He was more presentable down the pub...

 

[Snap Executive]

Great advice offfered so far Mason. Good luck with the interview.

Whilst agreeing with what has already been said, so far you have been offfered what I would consider to be the pre-requisites for good interview preparation.

My advice would be to take it one step further.

Do some research into who their target clients are. You may be able to get this information from the company receptionist (if you're nice to her) and from listening to some of the adverts.

Let's say for the sake of argument, they like to target local restaurants and car dealerships.

You should then make contact with some of the target clientele (even leverage some of your own contacts if needed - would be very helpful if Uncle Frank owns a restaurant and chain of Honda Garages.

This is simply market research, but the aim should be for you to book at least three appointments 4 weeks down the line for you and a colleague to attend (assuming you get the job - if you are unsuccessful you will cancel the meetings).

If you walk into your interview with a kick-ass presentation (detailing the prep work you have done) and three appointment cards for your new boss, you'll be driving that shiny new Ford Focus and handing out Radio station business cards quick-sharp.

Once again, good luck.

Cheers
Jim

 

My advice would be to take it one step further.

Do some research into who their target clients are. You may be able to get this information from the company receptionist (if you're nice to her) and from listening to some of the adverts.

Let's say for the sake of argument, they like to target local restaurants and car dealerships.

You should then make contact with some of the target clientele (even leverage some of your own contacts if needed - would be very helpful if Uncle Frank owns a restaurant and chain of Honda Garages.

This is simply market research, but the aim should be for you to book at least three appointments 4 weeks down the line for you and a colleague to attend (assuming you get the job - if you are unsuccessful you will cancel the meetings).

They should have a list of advertisers on their website. If you do go down this route be very careful as national companies and national car dealerships are (or were) dealt with differently. You may also find that you tread on some of the other execs toes with this. Like we used to work in areas and if anyone so much as mentioned someone i'd been targetting they'd of been dead!

I really would be interested to know which radio station (or group of stations) you are applying to but i know you are probably not going to want to put that on a public forum.

 

[Mason1985]

Thanks again. I didn't for one moment think I'd get as detailed replies as I'm getting so i am grateful.

I have no problem in telling you the group of stations, its for UTV Radio, focusing on one of Liverpool's best commercial stations targetting 16-35 year olds.

The presentation, it says, should be delivered using power point, OHP or 'Other' so not necessarily powerpoint.

So trying to think outside the box here and perhaps do a radio ad accompanying a power point pres?

I just don't even know what to waffle on about having never done ad sales, taken all of the info on board though and will be doing my research thoroughly.

 

[KDMINX]

The presentation, it says, should be delivered using power point, OHP or 'Other' so not necessarily powerpoint.

They would expect powerpoint! Remember the old OHPs they were useless! As for 'other' go for powerpoint handouts...

 

[Mason1985]

Cheers Matt, ill check the link when i get home. Based in Liverpool, would be appreciated!

How about preparing some stats that show the radio station in a positive light compared to other local media you can find most of this online but let me know what area of the country if you are stuck and I will do some digging for you!

Also have a look here - loads of interesting background...

http://www.rab.co.uk/rab2009/

 

[Splash_Promo_Matt]

Trinity Mirror's Liverpool Daily Post was the biggest circulation faller among the English regional daily morning papers in the second half of 2008, down by 17% year on year.
Liverpool's morning daily recorded an average circulation of 12,910 per issue during the six months to the end of December, down 17.1% compared with the same period in 2007, according to the latest figures released today by the Audit Bureau of Circulations.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/feb/26/liverpool-daily-post-sheds-readers


http://www.juicefm.com/whyradio

Our team of specialists are on hand to create tailor made advertising solutions and deliver return on investment for our advertisers and get you more customers.
We understand that every client is different, with different needs and business objectives. Our first meeting with you is probably one of the most important we will have, establishing exactly what it is you have to communicate and who you want to communicate it to. From generating sales leads to launching new products, driving online traffic to raising awareness whatever it is we will ensure we clearly understand your business requirements before creating advertising solutions that we believe will work for you.

If the job is just selling at Juice Liverpool then definately talk about the desirable 15-34 market!

 

[Splash_Promo_Matt]

By all means give mail me what you come up with if that helps?

And good luck!

 

[Mason1985]

I certainly will do.

It's just trying to filter what to include on the presentation, I dont want to go in there with the same old same old, infact to be honest im not 100% on WHAT exactly to include in the presentation.

Sure im great on the telephone, and yes i've worked on a busy retention team during a recession in a highly saturated market (trying to retain car insurance customers).

But im worrying about having no direct experience and looking like a complete wally!!

 

[Mason1985]

Hi guys,

Like i said, here is a copy of the presentation question i need to answer, the person spec and some things from the job spec that confuse me.

Presentation: 10 minutes on the topic "I possess the skills that will make me a great account executive for *FM"

person spec: knowledge of sales techniques, excellent communication and presentation skills, good business acumen, work to targets, innovative approach to business solutions, resiliet and determined.

now quite a bit of the job spec worries me: i dont know if i should let it, if a lot is jargon that i will learn should i be successful or what.

- Strive towards delivering a total creative led sell sales process..?
- Work to a 66 list system...?
- minimum average sales calls of 15 per week of which5 are new business.
- to adhere to the U-FIRST system for geting results.

crikey!!

haha

 

[Splash_Promo_Matt]

Hi guys,

Like i said, here is a copy of the presentation question i need to answer, the person spec and some things from the job spec that confuse me.

Presentation: 10 minutes on the topic "I possess the skills that will make me a great account executive for *FM"

person spec: knowledge of sales techniques, excellent communication and presentation skills, good business acumen, work to targets, innovative approach to business solutions, resiliet and determined.

now quite a bit of the job spec worries me: i dont know if i should let it, if a lot is jargon that i will learn should i be successful or what.

- Strive towards delivering a total creative led sell sales process..?
- Work to a 66 list system...?
- minimum average sales calls of 15 per week of which5 are new business.
- to adhere to the U-FIRST system for geting results.

crikey!!

haha

The last part sounds like the basis for KPI's once you land the role... I'm sure you will be able to mould your experience to the people spec...you're a sales machine!!!

 

[Mason1985]

haha i do try Matt.

Will get this done over weekend and seek some feedback on weekend from you guys.

Cheers.

 

[oldeagleeye]

Happy to oblige Mason. As long as it's clear it's a case of don't call us old chap we will call you if we want radio advertising.