For my sales interview, I chose Steve DiAntonio, Chairman and CEO at Color Me Beautiful, Inc. He not only runs the company, but calls on international prospects who might potentially become distributors of the Color Me Beautiful Brands of cosmetics and skincare.
I began my interview with the simple question, “what do you like most about your work?” Mr. DiAntonio responded, “I like helping people. It’s very gratifying to see businesses grow. We have been selling to distributors in developing nations. These distributors are providing incomes for thousands of people, and that's changing lives. It is real and gratifying.”
I asked Mr. Diantonio to share an example. “We partnered with a great businessman in Lebanon, Ibrahim Bertkan. He has a sales
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After considering a moment, he replied, “I called on JCPenney, back in the days when were just one brand. We were a small company and they were this giant gorilla. The buyer asked me how I could possibly compete dollar for dollar, with the multi-million dollar brands that they were currently selling. I went blank. I don’t even remember my answer. I had gone in unprepared to answer the single most important question I could have been asked.”
“And your best sales experience…,” I prompted. “The best experience of my sales career was later when I was lucky enough to get a second audience. I was able to give her a good enough answer to that same question that I ended up putting the product in every JCPenney store,” answered Mr. Diantonio.
When asked if there is a secret to being a successful salesperson, Mr. DiAntonio responded, “Sara, you wouldn’t know it by this interview, but I listen more than I talk. When I am talking to a customer, my discussion isn’t a presentation about what is good about my product. Or why my product is better than the other guy’s. I am talking to my customer to understand the fit. It’s all making a partnership that will work for both parties. How will my products help this customer make money? How will it help him service his customers in a better way? Or increase his profile. My sales pitch is simply a description of how the pieces fit