Behavioral Demonstrator Promoter Interview Preparation Guide

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Sales managers also act as CRM sheriffs, ensuring all reps are using the system properly. CRM aside, sales managers are also involved in the vetting, selection, and deployment of new sales tools. While sales manager candidates don't need to be computer whizzes, some technological savvy is necessary.

The candidate doesn't have to give a sample agenda of what their one-on-ones would look like. However, it's important that their conception of a coaching session includes actual coaching -- not just a dry discussion of the numbers. Listen for responses that include mentions of career development, goals, skill building, and problem solving in addition to data review.

It would be nice if a sales manager could do ride alongs and listen in on each and every call a new rep makes, but this model is impractical at scale. Make sure the candidate acknowledges the importance of a repeatable training process that doesn't center around an informal passing down of knowledge.

The craziest thing that has happened thus far would probably be the time that I was demonstrating grapes and pears. Out of nowhere this guy walked down the aisle and a carton of milk exploded. Craziest thing to see! There was milk everywhere!! I didn’t know what to do. Well, the Sam’s Club maintenance employees did a great job of cleaning it up. My friend Mason (who is one of the employees) got his clean up cart and got to ride it over the milk which I kind of envied him for because it looked fun. Other than that, we haven’t had any major spills.

This is a bit of a trick question, but it's an important one. The best sales managers know that motivation is personal. While money might drive one rep to go the extra mile, another might be inspired by a development opportunity or creative contest. The candidate who can navigate the trick and get to the right answer -- in this case, "it depends on the rep" -- possesses the motivational ability to lead a sales team to success.

Well, a huge challenge in my job is not knowing what will happen next at times. See, when you get a ABC event, you can just look it up online and know what you are going to get the next day (and be prepared for your sales pitches and stuff). However, when you get a Sam’s Club event, you won’t know until the day of as to what to do and so forth. You could be demonstrating fish or laundry detergent – you would have no idea and that’s kind of frustrating. There is also the challenge of dealing with people that have had a bad day or are just completely rude to you. You have to just suck it up and deal with it. Sometimes smiling all the time is tough when you are having a bad day yourself. Nonetheless, these are obstacles that are easily avoided with the right attitude.

The salary for this type of position reflects the lack of formal education required. The average demonstrator and product promoter in the United States makes about $24,500. The lower 10% make about $18,900 while the upper 10% make about $44,600. Of course, your salary will depend on a number of factors. It depends on your education, the complexity of the product or service you’re promoting, where you live and the institution that you work for.

You should be familiar with the following tools and technology in order to make being a demonstrator and product promoter easier:

☛ Barcode Scanners
☛ Computers
☛ Cameras
☛ Presentation Software
☛ Spreadsheet Software
☛ Word Processing Software

These tools and technology will not only make your job easier, but also more efficient.

We have to be able to work well independently. I have to have the ability to stand for up to eight hours at a time. My computer skills come in handy (though they are more advanced; basic is required). I need to have daily access to a computer that is connected to the internet. I have obtained knowledge of products and promotions and encourage consumers to purchase products to help increase sales. Each day I have to prepare and serve food samples utilizing raw meats, produce, microwaves, hot plates, oil and kitchen utensils. We have to demonstrate packaged goods to consumers. Sometimes we also distribute coupons and sale materials.

As mentioned above, sales managers often make less money than sales reps and perform a drastically different job. Tease out the candidate's motivations behind seeking this promotion. Do they want to be a manager because they crave a larger role within the company as a whole, and a chance to influence strategic decisions? Or have they gotten bored with their jobs, and management seems like a step up? The latter motivation is a recipe for dissatisfaction and a disengaged sales manager.

As a demonstrator and product promoter, you would be expected to:

☛ Showcase products or services and explain the products in order to interest customers in them.
☛ Provide incentives such as samples, coupons or brochures.
☛ Clean up after yourself.
☛ Keep records of demonstrations and sales.
☛ Set up, design and arrange displays for demonstration area.
☛ Keep informed about similar competitor’s products to better answer customer’s questions.
☛ Wear costumes or hold signs that promote products or services.
☛ Put products on the shelves.
☛ Write articles or pamphlets on the products or services.
☛ Help customers get the products that are right for them.
☛ Locate interested customers in order to give them more detailed information.
☛ Target specific audiences with presentation and demonstration.
☛ Be a team player in order to accommodate large crowds.
☛ Visit a myriad of stores, tradeshows, community organizations and the like to promote product or service.

These are just a few duties you may have as a demonstrator and product promoter. Your duties will depend on what sort of institution your work for.

I have the ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand, speak clearly so others can understand you, listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences, identify and understand the speech of another person, see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

My advice to myself before I had this job, without knowing already, would’ve been to relax on the first day of work, to view my sales plans the night before my job, to dress accordingly, and to have a great time working.

The Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance, circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming, the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar, principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects, arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

Demonstrator and product promoter responsibilities are to provide product samples, coupons, informational brochures, or other incentives to persuade people to buy products; record and report demonstration-related information, such as the number of questions asked by the audience or the number of coupons distributed; demonstrate or explain products, methods, or services to persuade customers to purchase products or use services; suggest specific product purchases to meet customers' needs;
identify interested and qualified customers to provide them with additional information; keep areas neat while working and return items to correct locations following demonstrations; set up and arrange displays or demonstration areas to attract the attention of prospective customers; learn about competitors' products or consumers' interests or concerns to answer questions or provide more complete information; transport, assemble, and disassemble materials used in presentations;
prepare or alter presentation contents to target specific audiences; sell products being promoted and keep records of sales; work as part of a team of demonstrators to accommodate large crowds; practice demonstrations to ensure that they will run smoothly; visit trade shows, stores, community organizations, or other venues to demonstrate products or services or to answer questions from potential customers; recommend product or service improvements to employers; research or investigate products to be presented to prepare for demonstrations; instruct customers in alteration of products; provide product information, using lectures, films, charts, or slide shows; train demonstrators to present a company's products or services; contact businesses or civic establishments to arrange to exhibit and sell merchandise; wear costumes or sign boards and walk in public to promote merchandise, services, or events;
stock shelves with products; write articles or pamphlets about products; develop lists of prospective clients from sources such as newspaper items, company records, local merchants, or customers.

☛ What interests you about being a promoter for this brand or project?
☛ Which of your past projects most resemble the work that needs to be done for this project?
☛ What’s the most challenging scenario you’ve faced as a promoter? How did you overcome it?
☛ Talk about some of your dream clients. Who would you like to work for and why?
☛ Describe one of your professional successes. What worked well? Who did you partner with? How do you measure success?
☛ Talk about the work that best reflects your creativity.
☛ How do you keep up with trends and news in your industry? How do these inform your work?
☛ How have new communication channels, such as social media, changed the way you work?
☛ How would you learn about our brand during your first week on the job?
☛ Describe a time you worked with a team on a complicated promotion project.
☛ What would you do if your client hated your work? How would you handle it?
☛ How do you communicate results to clients and stakeholders?

Controlling operations of equipment or systems, Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly, Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action, Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times, Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Just as successful sales managers understand that every rep is motivated by something different, they also understand that every rep has unique strengths they use to achieve their goals. What's the "right" way for one salesperson is not likely to be right for the entire team.

Be wary of candidates who hint that they plan to force their methods on their direct reports. Instead, look for candidates who want to identify and develop the specific talents of each team member.

A large part of a sales manager's job is keeping the team fully staffed with high performers. This question gives the interviewer a peek into the candidate's stance on hiring. The skills and qualifications they deem to be important are those they'll look for when interviewing for open positions. Do the attributes they value line up with the company's standards? If so, it's a good sign. If not, this could be a red flag.

Sales managers have to have uncomfortable conversations with their direct reports. Especially if the candidate is a rep on the team that they might be promoted to lead, sales directors must ensure they can maneuver tough situations and deliver bad news in a positive manner. However, a candidate who's overly harsh on their hypothetical stumbling rep is just as bad as one who's too soft. Look for an innate coaching sensibility and a motivational flair.

Every rep has an opinion about the sales process, and some ignore it entirely. But it's the manager's role to uphold the sales process in the name of organizational consistency and forecasting accuracy. Ensure the candidate is comfortable with taking on the role of sales process police, and ask about their strategies for making reps adhere to the regimen.

conveyor operator and tender responsibilities are to inform supervisors of equipment malfunctions that need to be addressed; clean, sterilize, and maintain equipment, machinery, and work stations, using hand tools, shovels, brooms, chemicals, hoses, and lubricants; manipulate controls, levers, and valves to start pumps, auxiliary equipment, or conveyors, and to adjust equipment positions, speeds, timing, and material flows; observe conveyor operations and monitor lights, dials, and gauges to maintain specified operating levels and to detect equipment malfunctions; weigh or measure materials and products, using scales or other measuring instruments, or read scales on conveyors that continually weigh products, to verify specified tonnages and prevent overloads; contact workers in work stations or other departments to request movement of materials, products, or machinery, or to notify them of incoming shipments and their estimated delivery times; stop equipment or machinery and clear jams, using poles, bars, and hand tools, or remove damaged materials from conveyors; position deflector bars, gates, chutes, or spouts to divert flow of materials from one conveyor onto another conveyor;
read production and delivery schedules, and confer with supervisors, to determine sorting and transfer procedures, arrangement of packages on pallets, and destinations of loaded pallets; record production data such as weights, types, quantities, and storage locations of materials, as well as equipment performance problems and downtime; operate elevator systems in conjunction with conveyor systems; repair or replace equipment components or parts such as blades, rolls, and pumps; load, unload, or adjust materials or products on conveyors by hand, by using lifts, hoists, and scoops, or by opening gates, chutes, or hoppers; collect samples of materials or products, checking them to ensure conformance to specifications or sending them to laboratories for analysis;
measure dimensions of bundles, using rulers, and cut battens to required sizes, using power saws; move, assemble, and connect hoses or nozzles to material hoppers, storage tanks, conveyor sections or chutes, and pumps; distribute materials, supplies, and equipment to work stations, using lifts and trucks; thread strapping through strapping tools and secure battens with strapping to form protective pallets around extrusions; join sections of conveyor frames at temporary working areas, and connect power units; affix identifying information to materials or products, using hand tools; observe packages moving along conveyors in order to identify packages and to detect defective packaging; press console buttons to deflect packages to predetermined accumulators or reject lines; operate consoles to control automatic palletizing equipment.

I love the fact that I get a different product every day so it keeps it interesting! It’s very hard just to share only one story of why I love my job. It’s not only the fact that the job is easy that makes it so great, but the people are interesting to talk to. You hear so many different stories when you work with different people and different products each day. I love hearing the different recipes for whatever product i’m doing that day come into play. I like it when the product I’m doing gets compliments or when a person says to me, “Wow, you did a great job!” with a smile. It’s very comforting to be around people who treat me right. One time when I dropped a whole bunch of souffle cups, this little boy came up to my cart and helped me get them all up. It was so cute! When you work in a field like mine, you definitely get to see the true side of people.

If you are looking to get this type of job, you have to have knowledge of sales and marketing as well as customer service. Because you interact with customers and try and sell products, you have to know what you can and cannot do. You should also have good communication skills and be ready to politely persuade customers to try products. It is helpful if you are able to actively listen as well as give clear, persuasive speeches.

Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times, Talking to others to convey information effectively, Persuading others to change their minds or behavior, Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems, Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.