"You gotta fake it, until you make it." - Tate. Actual words of wisdom from a SMB sales manager, but more on that later.
Typical first call with a recruiter that has very basic questions such as salary expectations, current role job description, why you're looking, etc.
Second call is with a SMB sales manager. You have a few basic questions on this call, but most of the time is taken up by having a mock cold call, pitching keeptruckin.
Third call is with a panel of three SMB managers where you present a slide deck of keeptruckin's products that you put together. So many issues with this format. First, the direction and details of what you need to present are very miniscule. Your previous cold/discovery call should be tied into this presentation, correct? Well, it isn't, you just guess what stage in the buying process the buyer is and what pain points they have, if any. This is not how real-world sales presentations go. Prior to the interview you’ll have a prep call and when you ask about specifics such as service capabilities, pricing, etc. you'll be told not to worry about it, and it won't be brought up. Wrong, it is brought up minutes into the mock call and they are confused why you don't know the answer... They ask you to create prompts, but don't worry, they won't actually use them. Also, the managers act like complete caricatures of real buyers. Being in sales for over a decade, I have never had a customer act even close to these "sales managers" attempting to be mock buyers.
After you're finished with the mock slide deck, you'll go over areas of improvement. Remember those questions, I wouldn't possibly know the answer to without working at keeptruckin? Don't worry, one of the managers suggested "fake it until you make it." Have you ever heard a single sales leader/guru/mentor say you need to fake it until you make it?! Could be a new sales methodology, watch out challenger sales professionals. Or it could be keeptruckin knows they have inferior products compared to their competition and need to "fake it" to get customers, but I'm not sure. "Faking it" is exactly why most people don't trust sales professionals and think we're snake oil salesmen.
I have a ton of respect for the founder, Shoaib. I had the pleasure of seeing him speak in person and he comes across very intelligent. I find it very surprising how he decided to run his sales interviews.