Prepare 2 Customer Interview Stories

Interview Tip

Andrew Sutherland - Sales Manager - Amplitude
Andrew has been in Sales for 13 years and is trained in the Command Of The Message + Challenger Sale methodologies.

3 questions he asks in interviews:
1. Tell me about a deal you're proud of. Tell me about a 2nd deal you're proud of.
2. Tell me about a deal you lost and why.
3. How do you view partnerships with BDRs/SE/others?

Why he asks these and what he looks for:
1. Tell me about a deal you're proud of (then 1/2 way through their answer, "Tell me about a 2nd")
-> Everyone preps for the 1st deal, not many prep for the 2nd
-> A minute into candidates telling me about the 1st deal, I stop them and ask for a 2nd deal
-> People have the first deal rehearsed (sometimes they BS it)
-> When you ask about the 2nd deal, you see how prepared they are
-> You also see their ability to pivot (can they do this on customer calls?)

2. Tell me about a deal you lost and why.
-> Does the candidate take ownership or fault without being prompted?
-> Do they expand on their learnings?
-> Do they bring up what they did differently next time and how it made an impact?
-> Red flags = throwing partners (BDR/SE/Customers/Others) under the bus

3. How do you view partnerships with BDRs/SE/others?
-> This is different for each rep
-> I'm looking at what kind of resources they've had and how much they leaned on them or partnered with them
-> I really dig in here, I want to know if and SE/Manager/Etc. was a crutch or a partner
-> If you don't thoroughly evaluate this, this can lead to a departure after onboarding/ramp because of misalignment

A Tip For Candidates Out There:
"Leverage your network for intros (cold+warm) and follow up! People don't actually follow up and this is a major mistake."