The ‘Role Play’ Interview Stage – Nail Your Sales Pitch Interview
I asked a hiring manager at one of our event clients
”What are you looking for in a good pitch or role play?”
Nearly all interview processes for event sales jobs have a stage where the candidate needs to role play to show how they would sell a delegate ticket, sponsorship package or similar product. It typically occurs in the second stage of the process, after the candidate has aced their first interview. This means they loved you, shared positive feedback with the Recruiter, such as “they were a great team fit, super energy with great experience and skills” and would like to progress with you as a candidate to the next stage.
This next stage is an in-person or digital based role play or ‘pitch’, and since this is not the natural environment for this, it makes it a challenge to deliver a knock out pitch.
So what makes a good pitch? The Hiring Manager answered my question about what makes a good pitch, they stated:
- There is a clear understanding of the topic from the candidate
- The candidate has made a clear effort to prepare for the role play/sales pitch presentation
- When delivering the pitch, it is organised and delivered with flow, confidence and clarity
- Believe this person will be able to naturally and professionally communicate with a client, keeping the conversation going.
How do you prepare for a sales pitch interview?
1. Understand the objective
Make sure you understand the objective and what the interviewer is expecting – Essential!
2. Research the topic
It’s likely you have been supplied with a conference brochure/website, agenda and information on who you are pitching. Read and understands as much as you can. Do you understand the value proposition? Do you understand the buy and sell relationships, where can you spot commercial gain. Read around the topic, see what’s trending.
3. Plan the structure and direction of your presentation
How are you going to organise the pitch? Consider what questions you might be asked if it’s a role play. SPIN selling or other similar sales processes can really help you to organise your pitch. There are lots of other sales methodologies that can help, read more about Sales Methodologies from this HubSpot article.
4. Prepare quality slides and notes for your sales pitch interview
Some pitches are informal and slides are not expected. But you can print and use them in your notes as pointers? Your notes need to be reminders rather than reading word for word.
5. Practice delivering your presentation
This is key, and unless you are presenting something you do day in day out (in a highly pressurised environment) I can assure you practice is needed. A quick read through isn’t normally enough. Practice in front of a mirror or via Teams/Zoom and keep practicing until you know what comes next. The more you understand about what you are trying to say the easier it will be to deliver.
6. Perform
Be confident, professional and friendly when you are talking. Interviewers will account for nerves but you need the preparation above and a positive and confident pitch to deliver all the research you have done. Think about how you will sit or stand, good body language is really important.
7. Predict follow-up questions and prepare answers
There will be questions – think about it from the interviewer’s perspective, what else might they want to know?
8. Nerves Hit!
What happens if nerves hit and you forget what you were going to say?? If you have quality notes, have prepared and practiced you will be able to deliver a good presentation even with nerves. It’s normally when you don’t know what you were going to say (poor research & prep) that nerves overtake the pitch. It’s ok to explain you are more nervous than expected. If you use confident body language, communicate positively and share the right information, the interviewer will put your nerves aside.
Keeping these points in mind will help you to nail your pitch and make a great impression on those hiring. As previously mentioned, you will pitch a sponsorship package or a delegate pass to the interviewer(s) as if they are the client and will have been supplied with the event brochure, website and lots of other information to help you prepare. Use these resources to help you formulate your pitch. While the unnatural environment can make it a challenge to nail your pitch, trying your best and organising beforehand will greatly increase your chances of success and show the Hiring Manager that you are the right candidate for the job!
If you would like any advice or support with your interview preparation or finding a new job in events please get in contact:
Email: helen@jbrecruitment.co.uk
Telephone: 0203 488 2620
About Jackson Barnes Recruitment
Jackson Barnes Recruitment delivers international recruitment solutions within the events, media, and publishing sectors. Jackson Barnes recruits Graduate to MD level in the following positions:
• Researcher
• Conference producer
• Event Marketing
• Sales – delegate, sponsorship & Business Development
• Event Manager
• Editor
We recruit for organisations in the UK and overseas with success in London, Dubai, New York, Singapore and Australia
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