charles009:
please pay attention to details recruiter.your original reply says.
Just tell the interviewer the qualities of the pen, its durability, its unique color n physique wether or not its a refill etc.. Basically y its different from other pens.

Points: dont sell qualities, sell value. Though the refill is value. This is supposed to be for a learning purpose, no harshness intended.

what is value without quality.

Good sales man must match the feature of the product with its benefits. Every buyer want to put his money on your products to get something in return. If it is business to business the final benefit will be profit. Meaning that the pen can be Unique with its feautures I.e color, style or package etc if the profit there is not know to the buyers he may not buy. If you are selling to an individual , that is final consumers it become another game. U can use class to sell to person of class while price can be of advantage to sell to those that are price sensitive.

mahogany156:
Ask him to write his name on a paper, he will say he does not have a pen, then u tell him he needs to buy the pen.
it's all about creating demand by showing neccesity

What if the interviewer has more than one pen?

Get your latest interview tips on this site:
What are you looking for? http://mazimum.com/what-are-you-looking-for

I will just ask him how much he wish to buy the pen as we negotiate before u wud ask me to sell u a product it means u already no how quality it is. When u want to negotiate price that's when I wud tell u d quality of d pen.

Laurele:
As a sales man i bliv you should learn to pay attention to details, read my comment again and see how indifferent n out of point ur reply to it is

Ok if someone presents you with two identical pen with only the colours differenciating them(Red & Blue). He then asks you to sell the red one to him while he already owns the blue one.


Please tell me how to go about this. Remember the 2 pen are perfectly identical with only the colour separation them.


This is an interview question I got from a white guy named Dave at Coca-Cola sales rep interview 3years ago in Ikeja.


Personally I think the question is dumb cos there's no sure way of seeking the pen except the buyer likes your personalty.

Some products are not just so easy to market. You do not just start reading the whole of psalm to convince your buyer
I had the experience when I bought a higher Quality power bank on aliexpress but had problem with sales because there are other cheaper power banks out there that won't last up to 6months or years, I was able to sell to a guy who already bought counterfeit of that same product I wanted to sell. I knew he had the counterfeit which got spoilt within few months, I took advantage of this by offering him a warranty and was eager to buy.
I couldn't sell the remaining products due to the cost and also needed to make profit. What I did was to send the power bank to NYSC orientation camp, then Everything was purchased, though I sold it at a cost price. A month later I started receiving call for the product (mi Power bank) but couldn't order for it again due to higher exchange rate which will make it more costly and another problem of sales will arise.

Firstly you need to assume yourself as the buyer and figure out how a seller would convince you which will give you an insight to marketing the pen.
To convince me to buy a common pen, You will suffer gidi gaan ooo just like the scenario of the power bank. That pen must have outstanding features and I must direly be in need of the pen.

And finally ma, if anybody takes this water, it would wash away the person's sins and take them straight to heaven.

Interviewers: Started laughing, and one of them asked if its holy water.
This cracked me up, you must be fantastically funny...

I personally never thought anyone would actually say, “sell me this pen” in a sales interview. I was wrong. It will happen to you too. And to avoid panic, you should know exactly what to say back.

I am going to give you the right sales framework to respond perfectly every time.

On a quick side note, did you know this sales interview question has been around for millions of years? Its origins date back to the earliest of cavemen. Selling slingshots cave-to-cave. Except back then, they asked, “sell me this bowl of crushed berries.”

Anyways. The point is, one day it will happen to you and I want you to be prepared.

Because if you start to describe how smooth the pen feels and how shiny the pen looks, just like you saw in the Wolf of Wallstreet…

You probably won’t get the job.



Why it matters to sell me this pen

At first, I didn’t realize why it mattered. It just seemed like a silly question. But, you’ll see.

When you become good at answering this question, you actually become one hell of a salesperson.

And that’s why people still ask it in interviews. It shows your creative approach and how good you are at actually selling product (not just reading your resume).

There are exactly four sales skills the interviewer is looking to see when you answer:

how you gather information

how you respond to information

how you deliver information

and how you ask for something (closing)

Now, since I had a lot of sales interviews lined up at the beginning of last year. I thought, I better practice my response just in case.

The “just wing it” strategy is best for making pancake mix, not for sales interviews.

So let’s go through exactly what you can say to address each sales skill. Because when you do it right, you will blow their mind!



Here’s exactly what you can say

Just to back up for a second, I had 26 sales interviews in a period of three months. Someone was bound to ask me.

Ok. The Director of Sales stood up and said, “it was great meeting you Ian. Let me go grab the CEO to come in next.” Moments later, the CEO of the 30 person startup walked in the small conference room.

Shortly after initial greetings, the CEO wasted no time to start the interview.

I practiced my answer beforehand. I made sure my answer displayed the four sales skills the CEO needed to hear.

Now you can read it for yourself. And then use it for yourself.

At the bottom, you can see a simple sales framework to memorize that will make this work for you in any situation.

You can memorize the script, but more importantly, memorize the sales framework at the end.

[b]Here you go…

[b]CEO: Do me a favor, sell me this pen. (reaches across to hand me the pen)
Me: (I slowly roll the pen between my index and thumb fingers.) When was the last time you used a pen?
CEO: This morning.
Me: Do you remember what kind of pen that was?
CEO: No.
Me: Do you remember why you were using it to write?
CEO: Yes. Signing a few new customer contracts.
Me: Well I’d say that’s the best use for a pen (we have a subtle laugh).
Wouldn’t you say signing those new customer contracts is an important event for the business? (nods head) Then shouldn’t it be treated like one. What I mean by that is, here you are signing new customer contracts, an important and memorable event. All while using a very unmemorable pen.
We grew up, our entire lives, using cheap BIC pens because they get the job done for grocery lists and directions. But we never gave it much thought to learn what’s best for more important events.
This is the pen for more important events. This is the tool you use to get deals done. Think of it as a symbol for taking your company to the next level. Because when you begin using the right tool, you are in a more productive state of mind, and you begin to sign more new customer contracts.
Actually. You know what? Just this week I shipped ten new boxes of these pens to Elon Musk’s office.
Unfortunately, this is my last pen today (reach across to hand pen back to CEO). So, I suggest you get this one. Try it out. If you’re not happy with it, I will personally come back next week to pick it up. And it won’t cost you a dime.
What do you say?
CEO: (picks jaw up off floor) Yes.[/b]
See how simple that was. The CEO loved it. Why?[/b]
Because all four sales skills were displayed.

Here’s the simple sales framework I used to answer “sell me this pen”. Memorize it for yourself.

Find out how they last used a pen (gather info)
Emphasize the importance of the activity they last used a pen (respond to info)
Sell something bigger than a pen, like a state of mind (deliver info)
Ask for the buy (closing)


Does that make sense? Yes. Ok, good.

Conclusion

Remember, it’s not about actually selling a pen. It’s about showing how well you can sell a product.

Take 15 minutes today to practice the script above. I promise you will benefit.

Plus, would you mind doing me a favor. Share this with ONE person in sales. It could save their career ��



credit: http://www.dealermarketing.com/sell-me-this-pen/

AUTHOR: DARIN GEORGE

Hahaha
Tnx but am not selling anythg

quote author=judgedredd22 post=56505655]

you know i will buy anything as long as you are the one selling it! [/quote]

nmreports:
From a graduate, to an experienced person or a professional sales person, this question would be answered differently.
Whats first important is to know that you dont have to respond immediately.
Take 3 minutes to study the pen before shooting off your mouth without thoughts.
A sales person knows his product so you should know what you are selling.

You can read How Best To Answer This Question Here (Very practical):
http://www.hrtechnique.com/2017/05/from-graduate-to-experienced-person-or.html

this is quite a professional response. as a sales person u are expected to know your product, have full knowledge of your product to avoid miss sale and always try as much as possible to close a sale

thumps up guys, this thread is so explicableeasyly

sell Me this pen

first of all u have to collect the pen from d interviewer and study it for few seconds or minute

do not jump into the answer to avoid miss-sale

u have to be familiar wit d product

good product knowledge is a key, when u have good knowledge of a product u can easily sell the product

u can sale to group of interviewers or a target market (u can classify the pen as executive pen there immediately and sale it expensive to their Boss there, this is bcs u saw what they did not see in the pen, u made the pen look extraordinary)

Identify the qualities, but sell the value.

Try as much as possible to close your sales

It is a simple question,the interviewer wants to test your selling skills. -
Firstly - You greet him(customer) and introduce yourself,name,position and your company,tell the prospect about the biro(features,advantage & benefits-price) you must convince him why he should buy it probably it writes without breaking or overflow compare to others,the look and others but you must have the product knowledge.

people are funny aswear. Many people are quick to jump to say it's easy then go ahead saying you do like this, you do like that bla bla bla.
The op threw a question to everyone to get answers and not suggestions to the answer. Make una try pretend as if na interview be this answer the question na all I have seen is people using Grammer to make vague suggestions.

As for me i no sabi the answer o. I came to copy

lilfreezy:
I've read quite a number of opinion on various website and I'll like to get opinions of nairalanders who have encountered this question in a sales related interview and how they managed to answer it excellently. I once attend an interview in a real estate firm and they threw this question at me and I was there looking at the pen like which kind wahala be this . This was because I least expected that question and I ended up a flop in that interview.

I've read some articles that pointed out that the best way to answer this question is by asking the interviewer more questions instead of describing the pen.

So I'm asking the sales experts on this forum to give details on how they answered theirs.

Simple say, Pls, I would like you to write down something for me, d person would say, but I don't have a pen then you say, buy this one.

The question was only used to teach 'supply n demand' .

ylaa:
Hahaha
Tnx but am not selling anythg

quote author=judgedredd22 post=56505655]

you know i will buy anything as long as you are the one selling it!

i know, but you disappeared on our discuss on the other side!

Babysho:


Guy! Haha. I just talk say make I look the username o!

U no go church?

Lolz.... Na 4 church I dey browse so oo

Tonymic4life:



I luv ur response. It's smart! Only a smart person thinks differently, and Dats wat u just did. Others r saying same thing, and tackling each other even wen dey mean d same thing. Dey r just trying to prove a point. Buh urs stands out. I think d best way to sell stuffs is 4 u to know if d said person u r selling to needs it or not.

Thank you

You answered perfectly too... There's no one way to answering a question, if you are wise, ul understand this.
Quality and class go hand in hand, so stating the qualities isn't far fetched bro. That only means u know your product as well and you an appeal to anyone to buy it no matter the class even the less privileged ones like quality things too, na money yab them, QUALITY IS EVERYTHING. something might look really rich and classy, but has zero quality.

EMIOMOADEOYE:


And as the interviewer you accepted that as an answer?

If what you said up there is true, I'm quite disappointed.

Think about it this way. Why the hell will I want to sell you a Pen when you can get one down the street for dirt cheap.

If I'm selling you a pen, I wont be badgering you about some unique feature. Whatever feature it has the fact remains that its just a pen.

Now instead of boring you with features, I probably will start with a few leading questions to see what I can home in on. I will rather home in on who you are and what you probably will be using the pen for. I would speak about the fact that your pen needs to show your class. Pretty much like you step out of a flashy car and people smell class from a mile away. You pull this pen from your pocket and people don't see a pen, they see class. Suddenly the rich ink of the pen with which you sign the lines is not just a signature, its a statement of power, class and style. You don't just want to put your acknowledgement in cheap ink. You want to do it in a way that reflects who you are. When they see that ink on the paper they see class.

I I'm selling a pen, I had better be selling it on a self gratification level and not on a logical level of features and benefit.

GOD BLESS YOU BRO... QUALITY IS EVERYTHING

kluwei:
what is value without quality.

Bro, check your dictionary for the meaning of value and quality... They are synonyms so ure basically repeating my words. The quality makes the value

charles009:
please pay attention to details recruiter.your original reply says.
Just tell the interviewer the qualities of the pen, its durability, its unique color n physique wether or not its a refill etc.. Basically y its different from other pens.

Points: dont sell qualities, sell value. Though the refill is value. This is supposed to be for a learning purpose, no harshness intended.

You appeal to the person's taste in colours, and what exactly the person needs the pen for, as colours of pen varies for different purposes. Like in the military, a commandant uses black pen, pharmacist uses green pen for prescriptions n jots, a teacher will need a red pen for marking, so it all depends on the purpose. At this point in time, the colour is solely the person's choice as people have different taste in colours n needs

jomoh:



Ok if someone presents you with two identical pen with only the colours differenciating them(Red & Blue). He then asks you to sell the red one to him while he already owns the blue one.


Please tell me how to go about this. Remember the 2 pen are perfectly identical with only the colour separation them.


This is an interview question I got from a white guy named Dave at Coca-Cola sales rep interview 3years ago in Ikeja.


Personally I think the question is dumb cos there's no sure way of seeking the pen except the buyer likes your personalty.

Laurele:
You appeal to the person's taste in colours, and what exactly the person needs the pen for, as colours of pen varies for different purposes. Like in the military, a commandant uses black pen, pharmacist uses green pen for prescriptions n jots, a teacher will need a red pen for marking, so it all depends on the purpose. At this point in time, the colour is solely the person's choice as people have different taste in colours n needs

The written colour is not different. The written colour is the same, only the case is different which was red and blue.

I latter realised what the man was trying to make me do was sell Coke to him while he already has Pepsi.

Laurele:
You answered perfectly too... There's no one way to answering a question, if you are wise, ul understand this.
Quality and class go hand in hand, so stating the qualities isn't far fetched bro. That only means u know your product as well and you an appeal to anyone to buy it no matter the class even the less privileged ones like quality things too, na money yab them, QUALITY IS EVERYTHING. something might look really rich and classy, but has zero quality.

I disagree.

IMHO Quality is NOT everything. Ofcourse yes you want to make sure that you are selling a quality item no doubt. But except you are selling to a person who already knows the product and has expectations, quality doesn't really matter when it comes to selling.

What informs your decision to buy a product. Is it just because it is a quality product or is it because you actually want it or need it at point in time.

Its good to know your product. But knowing your product wont get you in the front door. Its the knowledge about your potential customer and what he currently wants that will get you through the front door. Frankly if I dont see the need for your product, I honestly dont care if its made of solid gold. I dont need it.

But if you tell me why I need it in the first place and it appeals to me, or you happen to know I have a specific need that your product meets, even if your product is made of the most inferior material ever, I will buy it. Heck I dont even need you to tell me about the features of the product. All I care about it that I have this need and this product meets that need. Simple.