Sell me this pen — what's the right answer?

"Sell me this pen." When your interviewer hits you with this challenge, they're testing your sales skills as well as your ability to put them into action immediately.

Simple as it looks, this is actually one of the most complete questions you can be asked in an interview. Why? Because it forces you to reveal your sales method and then to apply it.

"Sell me this pen." But why this question in an interview?

Some salespeople, even experienced ones, fail at this exercise: they get thrown by the apparent simplicity of the question and the utterly mundane object they have to sell. "I've already sold much bigger things — selling this pen will be easy." In fact, the more elementary the object, the more the answer reveals the salesperson's level.

When you bring up sales methods in an interview, most candidates eagerly say that "the most important thing is to know how to ask questions and listen to the answers in order to understand the need" — and so far, so good.

The point is to not focus on the object itself — the pen — but on the use your interviewer might have for it. Don't try to figure out whether the pen is good or not, no one cares: try to understand why this pen is here right now.

So how do you answer the question "Sell me this pen"?

First step: identify the buying criteria for the pen, for example with questions like:

• What do you use pens for?
• Why is this pen on your desk?
• What do you expect from a pen?
• I'd guess you have several types of pens — what different styles of pen do you use?
• What use would you have for a pen like this one?
• What don't you like when you're using a pen?
• …

Listen attentively and take notes if you're afraid you'll forget.

The second step is to make a sale: through the power of words, you have to manage to cross the product's sales criteria with the buying criteria you've just uncovered in this potential user.

You have to understand that promoting the pen's features would be a waste of time, since they aren't what your interviewer is directly looking for.

Focus on the ones that echo the need, and don't hesitate to spend all your time developing those criteria.

For example, if your interviewer says:

• — "I like a pen to be ergonomic," continue the dialogue, dig in
• — "why is that important to you?"
• — "because I often need to write for a long time with the same pen."

You then have to manage to cross one or more of the pen's features with that buying criterion. For example: "look, this pen is made from a special material that lets your fingers grip better, so you can write for longer." You can even try: "the pen's nib has a steel ball that regulates ink flow — specifically designed for people who write for long periods."

Let yourself go — we're not here to determine if it's true, it's an exercise.

Of course, mastering open-ended questions is essential to succeed at this exercise — and it's the very first training in the program for the business developers we hire.

And don't forget: your interviewer needs the pen to interview you. 😉