“Sorry, this job doesn’t seem like a good fit or healthy working environment. Have a good rest of your day”
I got a sales job offer on the spot by first highlighting the limited use of a single pen and without extra’s on hand its negative business impacts. Then stated I had tons of pens available in my car and positioned selling them at least 100, but recommended they acquire 1000+ as this prevents potential issues plus gets them a better deal. Pretty solid approach in my experience.
Selling is an art… and this is why I’m not in sales. I have absolutely no interest in trying to convince somebody to buy something.
True sales is just filling a need, sometimes the customer knows they need it but others are unaware of it. Good sales reps will not sell something unless it makes sense for everyone involved.
Sales has fuck-all to do with filling a need. Sales is the invention of problems for which the only solution is the liberal application of money.
Engineering is filling a need.
OK, so engineers provide their solution to a problem to end users for free? Engineers still need marketing and sales to further improve an invention as well as allow others to understand its use case.
Oh ok- good luck getting your little field/product/item out into the world all on your own…
Well, you’re clearly not an engineer.
Based on the way you’re attempting to “sell” the role of salesman, you don’t seem to have the skillset required for that role either.
Aspiring mid-level manager, perhaps?
No shitstain- I’m a pilot and don’t have anything to do with either engineering or marketing. I also run my own company. I’m also extremely welltraveled, educated, and experienced. Which is why I know that very obviously an engineer on his own is worthless. Any company without marketing is worthless.any company with only marketing and no product is worthless. Grow the fuck up.
Ok, Captain.
Just out of curiosity, where exactly did I say that salespeople aren’t important? I merely rejected the characterization that salespeople are problem solvers. They are not. Engineers solve the problem, salespeople convince customers that they have the problem.
The only sales job I’ve ever had was like this, luckily for me. We were taught to spend more time listening than talking. It was very low pressure, and more like problem solving than your stereotypical, pushy kind of selling. I would have been terrible at that.
Yea, I was never exactly in sales (Geek Squad in store employee is the closest I ever came) but I remember thinking everyone who was like lets get rid of commission in retail sales were very mislead. I still remember the difference in Sears employees in the 90s when I first got a PC and the salesman actually knew to look at the box of the game I was trying to buy and make sure it’d run on my PC before selling it to me. I also remember them knowing about the stuff they sold. This is because with commission, even in small towns you could make a career of it and you’d have actual experienced staff in the stores. As far as I could ever tell, the good salespeople wanted you to trust them, and not to just make a one time huge sale - they wanted you to come back again and again.
Once they all went to non-commission, I recall that being a “selling point” of the stores, but now all you had was a rotating cast of highschool and college summer workers who cared exactly as much as minimum wage paid them to care… i.e. not at all. And they occasionally became unable to even read the boxes they were “selling”. It turned them into less efficient cash register attendants.
Exactly, sales isn’t easy but customer retention makes the job easier. If a customer has a great experience, they tend to be repeat customers and even tell their friends. Word of mouth undoubtedly being the most effective marketing method makes non pushy sales the best approach for sure.
I’m an Engineer. I am not customer facing. Put my pen back.
take the pen and leave. when they ask for the pen back, say it’s $10.
“No, it’s mine, go and buy one by yourself”
And now you’ve got a pen that you didn’t have at the start of the interview, and you’ve given capitalism a lesson of capitalism.
Step one: ask what the person’s use case is, then match it. It’s a standard interview trap to present this “sell this pen” thing as a test where the “potential customer” needs to prop up their window or poke a hole in a balloon or something stupid like that, just so they can turn down the people who hype up the writing capabilities. Always ask what they need first.
I did not know this!
Just cross your arms, smile wryly, and comment on how pathetic the Interviewer’s pen is. Cheap material, runny ink, a grip that’s painful to hold. Wish him good luck in taking notes on subsequent interviews.
Then lean in, and say “But, you know? I’ve got a premium writing utensil. It’s crafted in the Netherlands by a Space Age engineering firm. It’s designed to fit comfortably between your fingers. And the Indian ink that runs through it glistens and glides smoothly through a specially crafted tip.”
Pull out a business card with absolutely beautiful handwriting on it. Just as he expresses surprise and interest, sigh and say “But… It’s really not for you. It’s really more of a thing for your boss, or your boss’s boss.”
Start getting up to leave, and wait for him to come running after you.
I got my first job at 15 answering this question. I sold cordless (not cellular, cordless) phones at Sears
The “easy” answer to this question is to pick up the pen, then ask the interviewer if they can write something down. They’ll look for a pen, which you’re holding. You smile, and say, “if you’d like, I have something to assist with that request…” and trail off a bit. Some people will laugh at this joke and it’s enough for them to pass the test. Personally, I’m not a fan of this method.
My 15 year old self hadn’t heard this question before, so I just picked the pen up and started listing the wonderful qualities of this pen, and how quickly your life would be enhanced if you had it. “It has the deepest of royal blue hues, with a rich writing sensation and smooth flow on the paper. The grip allows for ultimate comfort, so the pen is usable all day long without any soreness in the fingers or hand. It’s so well shaped and ergonomical, you can barely feel it in your hand. And with the above-industry-standard sized ink chamber, you’ll be able to use this pen far longer than the competition. This pen has both the value and form that the modern consumer has come to expect in their premium pen buying experience.”
And so forth. Basically, do sales stuff
Why would I sell you something you already own? That’s obviously your pen, so I don’t have the rights to try and sell it. That would be a clear ethical violation.
Governments selling shares in nationalised industries to the public …
How to Russia
“Don’t need to: you’ve already bought it.”
Say we only sell pens on pen island.
I worked with the guy who owned https://www.penisland.net/. He actually made some laser engraved pens and pass them around work. Man, Earthlink Cloud in the late 2000s was a blast.
put the pen in your pocket and ask “what pen?”
I give you 2 dollar if you take this pen.
(Because everyone has too many pens already and wouldn’t even want one for $0.01 and I want to get rid of this pen or else have to pay for its recycling)
It’s about selling the pen and not making a profit, right?
Ask them if they’ve ever watched Casino and smile
“Do you need a pen?”