60 Seconds And Your Hired

Pre-dating the discovery of global financial corruption, a friend of mine landed a job in New York with Goldman Sachs. He told me that this 1994 book helped him snare it.

I borrowed it wondering if it held any sales tips. I’m pleased to report there was some promise.

Firstly, it recommends a style of Elevator Pitch. It calls this your 60 Second Sell. You construct it by taking the five best things about you and your record that show your ability to do the job well. Critically, these must be from the perspective of being most relevant to the person you’re meeting. Think to yourself what in their eyes will matter. Home in on this “five point agenda” to express how you fit their wants and then turn them into proper English speech. It ends with a summary close like “… and that’s why I believe I can help you [do whatever you aim to do]”.

You should repeat this Sell throughout the interview. She guarantees it’ll make you stand out. And by the way, no answer should ever be longer than one minute.

Shades of parts of the optimal advice for a first meet in solution sales with a brand new prospect.

Her call to prepare for the very first question continues this thread. It’s nearly always the same thing. Recognise flavours of these from your first bid meetings?

Tell me about yourself?
Why should I hire you?
What are your strengths?
What makes you think you are qualified for this job?
What makes you think you will succeed in this position?
Why do you want this job?

The unprepared waffle and lose. Prepare the five reasons why anyone would buy from you in this manner and you’ll improve your chances of success.

A couple of little asides also struck me as relevant to us. Use a signing-on bonus (whether it be holidays, shares or cash) as a negotiation currency, send Thank You notes and stand your ground on what is fair or unfair.