Sales, Lies, and Interviews

Peak does a lot of interviews with salespeople. I mean a lot – tens of thousands a year. The bulk of candidates with whom we meet are ambitious, capable, diligent, accomplished professionals, but from time to time, we come across those who would rather bend the truth than embrace the truth. Some become deceivingly good at it and if it weren’t for a series of useful tests and tricks we employ, they might slip through our process undetected. Luckily it is easy to spot most liars since they overconfidently assume they are smarter than the rest of us and that no one is on to them – arrogance is usually pretty easy to catch.

So I thought I would share the five most common lies we hear in interviews and what they actually mean.

1. I was laid off but it had nothing to do with my performance. Real meaning – My previous employer didn’t feel I performed well enough to keep me on the team, but was kind enough to lay me off rather than fire me. It is almost always about performance and employers rarely part with a performer without a fight. (Related lie – I was on contract and left because the contract ended.)

2. I can’t use my previous manager as a reference because I am not sure where they are now. Real meaning – we didn’t have a strong relationship when we worked together and still don’t. Previous employers offer significant insight into what it is like to employ a candidate.

3. I wasn’t able to be successful at my last company because the company didn’t support the sales team. Real meaning – I need the sun, moon and stars to line up in order for me to make a sale. Top performers let nothing get in the way of closing business and don’t have time for excuses.

4. My career is not about the money. Real meaning – I don’t know how to negotiate. Businesses exist to make profits and people work for money. Anyone who says it isn’t about the money probably doesn’t have much. It is always about the money.

5. I worked for my wife’s pet grooming business for a year and a half. Real meaning – I interviewed for a year and a half, but couldn’t find employment, so I have put my wife’s home business on my resume to fill the gap. This lie is not a lie if candidate successfully closed a shiitake load of business and made his wife a millionaire.

If you have other lies you have seen, please send them along and I will be happy to share them with our readers.

Eliot

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