Karl's Appearance on the Selling With Love Podcast

Before he became a sales consultant and fractional CRO, Karl ran a digital agency for about 10 years. It was a business with a great reputation for creating experiential, unique websites and applications and everybody seemed to love working there.

It was a reputation that spread quickly, and anytime they’d post a job opening, they’d get flooded with applications.

Once the pleasantries were out of the way, Karl started each interview with the same question. “Hey, on our website, in our portfolio, what was your favorite website our team created?”

This question was a test. Because if somebody responded with, “Oh, I didn’t really have enough time to look at them,” or, “I don’t really know specifically what websites you guys have built, I just know you do great work,” the interview immediately got on the off ramp.

If somebody couldn’t put in enough time to be prepared for a job interview in a highly sought after position, it showed that they weren’t willing to do even the most basic level of research. They weren’t going above and beyond to really understand what the company was all about.

If they didn’t put in enough effort before a job interview to be able to answer a really simple question, why would Karl think they would start putting in effort to get to know potential customers later?

On the other hand, if somebody came in and shared that they saw the website the team made for X company, loved a leader’s appearance on Y podcast, or talked about what they’ve heard about the company culture, it would go a long way. Why? Because it made it clear that the applicant cared enough about the opportunity to take the initiative to learn more about them - and they’d likely care enough about their customers to do the same.

On the Hidden Sales Secrets episode of the Selling with Love podcast, Karl shared crafting an experience doesn’t just create loyal customers, but fills his cup, why salespeople need emotional resilience, why elevator pitches only serve the bottom of the funnel, and more. Listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts to learn more!