A sales interviewer (no matter what level), when asked to do a presentation should presume that they are going against other sales job applicants and, typically the most prepared wins the race. Below you will find some helpful tips to help make you a front-runner following a thorough and informative presentation.

Make Sure You Know What The Interviewer(s) Want

Some companies may give you a broad description of the type of presentation they want. Never make an assumption. Acknowledge any requests that simply state "sales presentation," as a way to show off your thinking skills and sales versatility. For instance, if you come across a presentation requisite such as this, you will look more knowledgeable than the rest of the pack if you respond with the following,

"Dear ______,

I have been working on my presentation and would like to set a more specific focus for it. Would you like me to lay out a 30/60/90 day sales plan or, discuss my past sales success and how it could relate you working at your firm, or my methods of breaking into your targeted accounts or a mix of all of the above? Whichever you prefer, I will be more than happy to focus on one or more aspects. I look forward to our meeting"

Do Internet Research for Latest PR and Industry News

By incorporating knowledge specific to the latest industry news, you are immediately putting yourself at an advantage. More likely than not, your competition has not done this research, and mentioning some of the latest on-goings will prove that you have a desire to not only learn about the vertical in which your interviewer is in, but want to sell in it as well. If you are already selling to the industry, this simply expounds on your knowledge and is still highly recommended.

Practice Makes Perfect

One of the bad habits I see in sales interviews is a well made, but poorly executed presentation. The last thing you want to do is spend hours upon hours making a great presentation only to do a poor job upon explaining your thoughts and pitching your sales plan. Make sure you spend at least two hours going over and over the ways in which you feel would best describe the thoughts you put on paper. It also would be extremely helpful to do a few mock presentations with a third party. Failure to practice and prepare can result in a poor presentation.

Additionally, practicing your presentation will allow you to make proper eye contact with your interviewer(s) upon presenting your well planned out thoughts. If you bury your head in the paper, you are doomed to fail.

Questions Section at the End

Finally, make sure you have a questions section. The best thing to do is prepare for some questions in which they may ask and, if you hit the nail on the head, you are golden. Think about how good it sounds to say, "I thought there was a chance that you may ask that question, so I did prepare an answer for it."