After a very brief phone interview, with a quick description of the position and the opportunity, I was scheduled to interview the following day. There were several candidates in and out of the office that morning.
The interview was a three-step process. First, I met with the Chairman for about 45 minutes. He was very personable and friendly. He provided a very clear description of the position with an emphasis on the more difficult aspects of the job, noting several times that it was not for everybody. I was impressed with his candor. He has been in this business for a very long time; paying close attention to what he is saying will prove valuable later in the interview process.
The second part of the interview was a meeting with the CEO. Much of what sets Blue Sky Marketing apart from the competitors is due to his specific efforts and contributions. The chances are very high that he is a better salesperson than you are, or have encountered previously; He's likely smarter than you as well. He does nothing to draw attention to this - it's just readily apparent. He is highly charismatic with a contagious enthusiasm for his company and people. This portion of the interview process was tough to navigate, and possibly the most difficult interview I have experienced to date. No hard-ball questions were asked - the difficulty came in the attempt to provide answers that weren't pedantic or useless. If you interview with him, I believe that an honest display of willingness to learn and follow established practices is the best plan, with the understanding that this approach will be very transparent if it is less than sincere. There were several questions posed that focused on prospecting, effective use of time, the value of listening skills - very no-nonsense.
After these 2 meetings, I was excused, and invited back about a week later to meet with the Sales/Operations Manager, who was pleasant. This was a group interview, as they hired a team of us to begin training the following week.This interview was direct and to the point, and we discussed the day-to-day specifics of the job, and were assigned trainers.
Following this meeting, I received an offer letter, and began work the next week.