How to sell a pen in an interview?

[whatawickedgame]

I have an interview in two days and I googled the kind of questions they ask. They ask you to sell a pen or a piece of jewellery every time. I have no idea how to go about this, does anyone have any advice?😓

Are they still doing this? It's about 40 years out of date. You just sell the features and benefits same as anything else you sell. Make sure you have one to hand and describe it in painstaking detail. YouTube will have videos if you are stuck

Find their “why”. It means identifying the issue a pen solves. Are they writing notes in the interview? Ask a couple of questions about their day. Tell them the ways this pen is superior. Offer them a special price. Presumptive close. They want to see that you can work through stages in a sales process and be personable and polite, yet get the job (of selling the pen) done.☑️

Agree with PP that this is quite out of date. I would focus on the user experience.

Ask questions about what the interviewer is trying to achieve. Are they taking notes, are they writing a book, are they drawing a diagram?

Then how the pen feels in your hand, how the ink flows.

You get the idea.

Tell them that unless they give you five pounds for the pen you are going to kill their firstborn

Nobody does this, surely?

One other thing, on the assumption that you have a physical pen, try holding it out as if offering it to them, but then bringing it back towards you. Do this every so often. The psychology of this is that it will make them want the pen. The more you do this, the more they will want it.

Try it at home with a family member to get comfortable with the movements.

Is it a sales job?

No, but it is working in a jewellery shop. This kind of thing honestly freaks me out.

My worst interview question (just a few days ago), was ‘what would your last boss say your issues were?’ for some reason the phrasing got to me more than if they’d just asked me what my weaknesses were!!!

I've never had these types of questions in an interview, ever. Even for sales! 😂
Mine are usually things like tell me about yourself, what are your strengths and weaknesses, describe yourself in 3 words, tell me about a time you have dealt with so and so, yada yada yada.
If you're worried about the pen thing, there will be so much stuff online about how to answer it.
Make sure you research the company because they may well ask you what you know about them. Good luck!

If you are freaking out at the thought of having to pretend to sell something to get a job which is all about selling perhaps it's not for you.

Yes, and also find an emotional connection to the pen. Thats what makes people buy.

People buy sports cars for example because they want the emotional experience of driving fast with the top down and feeling joy - connect a positive emotion to the object and people are far more likely to buy it.

Dont do this!How not to sell a pen!

I wouldn't go to a lame interview like that unless I was desperate for the job.

There are plenty of videos and blogs online giving advice on this question, so definitely worth a browse if you think this, or a similar question, is likely to come up.

I would suggest focusing more on your own skills and experience in your prep, though. If it's sales, a real example of how you found out the needs of a customer, built a rapport with them, matched them to a product that delighted them, and were able to sell them an 'add on' as a result, or sell also to their friend/family member would be worth more than a hypothetical pen sale.

I guess you need to go for the approach of "what it you're looking for in a pen /piece of jewellery" . So occasion, style, budget etc.

So I'd probably find out why they're looking for a pen in the first place, and go from there? So you can bring out the said pen as an example of a suggestion of what would meet their needs/desires.

So, like
You: "what is the special occasion?"
Them: 'its my for my husband,for our anniversary "
You: "oh, congratulations, how long have you been married "
Them: "10 years "
You: " wow! What does your husband do/like, does he have a lovely pen?"

That's kind of BS.

Show an interest in the customer, trying to find out what they're looking for, make a suggestion of the pen...

I mean this kindly but I kind of agree. If it's a sales job then this bit of the interview should be comfortable to you. They want to see your technique. It's something you'll be doing hopefully multiple times a day. If you aren't comfortable with it I agree something else might suit better.

Are you going for a sales job? If not, this question won't come up. And even if you are it's very unlikely

So you will be selling then. Seems like a reasonable question to ask in that case. Look at what they do on qvc type channels, make everything a positive from the colour, design, functionality etc etc. But most of all appear confident and friendly.

Go on the selling tv channels - you’ll see how they seek crap Jewellery.

Bespoke
Stones with meanings
special anniversary ‘imagine your mum waking up to this fine Jewellery in Christmas morning - think how your loved one would feel with this luxurious XYZ
Ive had so many compliments since treating myself

All emotive.

then there’s the facts 1.0 c of fake glass stone, how it sparkles what metals in comes in.

Is it a limited batch, hand made,

Then pricing

My Manager asked me this over 20 years ago at an interview, and because I knew him, and was so horrified, I made him tell me instead.

Features and benefits of the pen, and explain those quite simply

Remember that and you will do well.
Good luck

How you sell the pen should depend a bit on the job and what sort of person they are looking for.

Watch a few adverts and think about the different kinds of messages. What messages about the pen are going to best reflect the kind of person they are looking for, for this job specifically.

Don't try to do all of these - they are different angles to take. Pick one (or two very similar and related ones) and run with it, putting in more detail etc.

Budget conscious - this pen is the best value for money available, it's surprisingly cheap and still does the job.

This pen is really high quality with every component engineered to perfection. It may cost a little more but that gives you the confidence that you are buying the best.

We've done some extensive market researve and found that 95% of people who own this pen are deeply satisfied and fundamentally fulfilled by owning this pen, and owners of other kinds of pen reach only 52% at best.

You didn't think you needed another pen, but you're wrong, you need this pen. Other pens are inadequate.

This pen is a pen for people who are sophisticated, elegant and have their lives totally sorted. When people see you using this pen they will admire and envy you.

This is the pen that (insert celebrity name) always uses, because it's the pen that most comprehensively expresses why he/she is so wonderful. You should use the same pen as a way to feel special like that.

These beautiful people chose to buy this pen on the same day as each other and it's caused them to fall in love. They are probably shagging right now. If you fancy a shag you should buy this pen.

This is not just a pen. It may look like a pen and yes you can write on paper with it but it's also a flashlight a calculator, a ruler, a handy spanner, a USB memory stick and an emergency dusresss beacon

There are other angles you can take obviously. Remember they don't actually need you to sell the pen, they are trying to find out what kind od person you are.

If you're interviewing for a jewellery shop, make sure you're not doing a generic sales pitch ("here's why the pen is good"), instead build up a relationship with the customer and happen to identify that the pen fit what they want.

So start with what they're looking for, why they're looking for it
Ask about features they're keen and what what they're not
If the item has those features, highlight them
If it doesn't, suggest "have you considered something that does [x feature]? He's why you should consider it over [y feature the customer mentioned]"

Put the pen in your pocket or bag and tell them you think perhaps they're not the right sort of person for the pen.

if they insist on having the pen, then offer it to them for £75.

Type it in to Chatgbt and you will get a very detailed answer!