If you are the manager of a B2B company, it is important that you understand exactly how to interview prospective candidates. That is to say, many of the aspects you will be looking for are going to be different to the average B2C employee. B2B is all about a strong, unique employee base that works hard to form relationships with customers and retain the reputation of your business.
In order to understand how to accurately conduct a B2B interview process, here are five questions which can help you find the perfect employee.
Why Did You Decide To Leave Your Previous Company?
Reputation is important in B2B. While B2C companies will focus on obtaining new customers, B2B is more about acquiring customers and marketing yourself strongly in order to keep them. Although you might think they are different areas of the business, an employee engagement programme plays a big role in customer retention and loyalty.
If your team is productive and efficient with customer relationships, then losing members of the team is only going to negatively affect productivity and the relationships that have been formed. In this way, did this applicant leave their last company because they were not engaged in the company’s plan? Or are they always looking for the next best thing and ultimately do not respond to engagement strategies? This question will help you determine what sort of applicant they are and how they might respond within your business.
What Do You Know About The Company?
Although this is a question that will likely crop up in a B2C interview, it is even more important when it comes to B2B. You are looking for a candidate who is not only attentive but has done research on the company and is passionate about what you are trying to achieve. If you are just one company on a long list, then it is likely that the applicant has not taken the time to understand your goals and intentions, which will not bode well when they come to integrate into the team. You need to know that they are serious about the role and are eager to work for you specifically.
Do You Consider Yourself A Team Player?
One of the most crucial things about a B2B company is the team. In other words, although it’s important that each individual’s performance is strong, it’s even more important that your employees work to help each other and feel connected as a unit. In order to form relationships with customers, there must be an emphasis on coherency and inclusion. If an employee is focused on their own goals and future, then that coherency will be lost, and the customer experience will be damaged as a result. This is something that your B2B company cannot afford to risk.
What Do You Dislike About B2B Sales?
This is an important question, as it has two distinct motives. On the one hand, you are trying to understand whether B2B sales specifically are right for them. On the other, you are looking to see whether they will fit into the team and respond well to your engagement program.
Transparency is an important aspect of any B2B company, so if there is something they don’t like or struggle with when it comes to B2B sales, you need to know in order to accommodate it or change things up for the better of the company. If they respond to the question by listing what they like about sales without any negatives, then you know that they fail to respond to direct and honest questions with direct and honest answers. This could be a detriment to your company down the line.
How Would You Rate Your Communication Skills?
This last question is simple but, in many ways, the most informative. As mentioned previously, one of the most integral parts of a B2B company is the relationship that is formed with existing clients. In order to maintain this relationship, it is important to provide constant, clear communication that is transparent and works to engage the customer, convincing them that your B2B company is the best fit for them. Without excellent communication skills, these relationships cannot be effectively formed, which means the candidate will ultimately be a poor fit for your company.
These are just five of many questions you should be asking the candidate, so make sure to do your research and ask all the right questions that are specific to B2B. Only then will you discover a candidate who will be the perfect employee for your company!