The STAR technique structures behavioral interview answers: Situation, Task, Action, Result. A sales candidate used it to overcome a CEO's objection to switching from Salesforce by showing a $5 million revenue opportunity, winning the contract and proving measurable ROI.
If you're interviewing for your dream sales job, use the STAR technique. This will ensure you get the job because the hiring manager will be so confident in your abilities while they're a little bit uncertain about the other person. STAR technique: Situation, Task, Action, Result. Here's an example. Tell me about a time when you had to overcome a challenge to get a deal closed. Situation: Last month, the CEO of XYZ Company let me know they were going to stick with Salesforce as the incumbent because they reduced their price by 70% to match our new license agreement. Task: it was my job and responsibility to overcome that objection by the owner, the CEO, and help them realize why that was a mistake. The action I took was coordinate a call with him to reassess the business value we were going to offer them and validate that our business case was accurate. In this case, while the cost of the licenses might've been apples for apples, the environment that we offered and the opportunity for them to grow additional revenues by $5 million in a single year was a huge ROI Salesforce couldn't accommodate or provide. The result, they realized, yes, while they were caught off guard and really excited about the cost reduction Salesforce provided, it still wasn't the best product for them on the market. And we were able to get the contract signed and they just started the implementation last week. Situation, task, action, result.
