Got an interview with a cybersecurity company. Any tips on common questions they might throw at me? Hoping to get my first AE role. Anything helps!
Man i hate it when companies ask that question. IMHO, they should never ask you to sell *their* product - because it's not reasonable to assume that you can sell it when you haven't been trained on it. Explain what they do? Sure. Definitely do your research to understand that. Hell that's probably a great use for ChatGPT in the interview prep process. But hopefully if they has you to give them a pitch, it will be for something that you've already sold before. The goal of that question is to understand your approach to selling - and especially your knack for discovery questions and process. Of course, since this would be your first AE role it sounds like you might not be currently selling anything? Are you in any sort of sales org / SDR role now?
Questions I’ve heard being asked all the time are: - how do you go about territory planning/prospecting? - what unique value can you bring to this role? - tell me about a time where you had to advocate for a customer. - tell me about a time where you failed and what did you learn? - why [this company]? Things that have landed well: - referenced news articles/podcasts you’ve seen about the company recently - reference the new shiny product they’re trying to break into the market it and share why you think it’s exciting - reference something you like about their work culture that you’ve read or heard of
They’re probably gonna ask you how you’d explain their product to a non-technical buyer. Cyber can get real jargon-heavy, and a lot of buyers don’t wanna hear about firewalls or encryption standards. Practice breaking it down like you’re explaining it to your aunt who still uses AOL. Also prep for “How do you approach prospecting?” That’s a fave.