1. If you were independently wealthy, what would you be doing right now?
   "Probably not much different than what I am doing now. I'd probably get a bigger house, a new car, all that sort of stuff. I'd still be looking for a challenge, though. Granted, I wouldn't be applying for this job; instead, I'd probably open my own business."
2. What was your worst encounter with a salesperson, and how would you have improved that sales experience?
   "My worst experience by far was trying to buy an engagement ring for my wife. The jewelry store salesperson at the first place I went to refused to show me a moderately priced ring. I was on a military salary and didn't want to go into debt for the ring. The salesperson kept telling me that it was in investment, and that I'd be showing how much I loved m fiancé by the size of the diamond I picked. When I asked to see a smaller ring, she said, 'Why are you marrying her if you don't love her enough to get her a decent ring? You want her to be embarrassed?' I walked out at that point. Fortunately, I found another salesperson at another store who was helpful. It's this person who epitomized how I would handle the situation. She asked me what my budget was and then showed me a number of different rings with different settings. She asked about my fiancée's style and taste. Then she offered to engrave the ring with our wedding date, once we set the date. She did such a nice job that I went back to that store the next year when I got a bonus and bought my wife a pair of diamond earrings."
3. I'm sure you've been rejected before in a business situation. What were the circumstances, and how did you handle it?
   "The situation that is most memorable was the first time I was turned down for a promotion to lieutenant in the navy. I smarted for about a day, but then I met with my commanding officer and asked him why I had been turned down. He helped me outline the steps I could take to make sure I qualified next time. Then I followed those steps."
4. Would you give us an example of a time when you had to be persistent, and would you describe the result?
   "When I was a manager of bachelor housing, I had a building manager who acted as though his budget was just a guideline, not a requirement. As a consequence of his poor budgeting, several of his building's requirements went unfunded. At first, I thought he just didn't understand the importance of the budgetary process, or that perhaps he didn't know how to fill out the budget forms. As it turned out, he was just biding his time until he was rotated to another position. That may have been fine for him, but I found it unacceptable. I had to hound him continually to fill out every form and make sure he could justify his numbers. I had to take measures with him that none of my other building managers required, but the end result was that I got an accurate budget out of him to submit to navy command."
5. Would you rather sell something or help someone buy?
   "I'd rather help someone buy. It's of no value to sell people something they don't need. There are many more long-term benefits to finding out what customers want and meeting those needs than to selling them something they don't need or want. The latter philosophy leads to too many one-time customers."
6. This position is part of a pilot test. If it is successful, we will be hiring a salesperson for each of the other eleven properties. What would you bring to the table that would help us make this pilot program a success?
   "I bring you strong organizational skills and the expertise of someone accustomed to managing people and resources. I'll help you reach our goal by being so successful that it won't be necessary to justify hiring other salespeople to the hotel owner. Instead, she'll wonder how she lasted so long without them."
7. If the pilot test is successful and we hire additional salespeople, do you see yourself managing this sales force?
   "I think I would be an ideal person to help you select and supervise your new hires. As I mentioned before, I have extensive experience managing people, and I'm very good at establishing and implementing processes."
8. If you could be anything other than human, what would you be?
   "Hmmm, that's a hard one. I guess I'd want to be a mountain. That way I can be kind and gentle, yet strong and powerful."
9. What do you like to do when you're not at work?
   "I'm the vice president of a local hospital board. We have several projects I'm currently working on. I chair the publicity committee, and we are promoting a fundraising campaign that starts next month. I also like to take the kids fishing and go golfing."
10. You will be given a set of weekly activities and goals. How would you manage your time to achieve these goals?
    "First I'd determine when the best time is to reach each client I wanted to contact. Then I'd schedule my calls according to premium success times. I'd also analyze how I spent my time so that I could eventually look for ways to increase my output by a given percentage each month."

 

 

 

 

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Discussion Questions

1.    What is the top 2 strengths and weaknesses of each applicant?

2.    Which applicant would you hire? Why?

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Discussion Questions 1 Top 2 Strengths and Weaknesses for Each Applicant Applicant 1 Bigger House New Car Strengths Ambitious and seeks challenges Entrepreneurial mindset with a desire to open their o... View the full answer