IT professionals aren’t typically the best salespeople, and for better or worse IT folks consider that a compliment rather than an insult (It’s really neither). That aside, there is some things that everyone can learn from effective salespeople (admit it, you met one or two) and that’s to understand how they sell.

What makes a good salesperson effective and why should you care? The first answer is because they do their homework on their client. The second is that they ask the right questions throughout the process. So do your research on the company and the people that you’ll be meeting with and of course, always know the name of the company (but that’s another story).

As for asking the right questions, what is a good question worth? Honestly, it’s worth its weight in gold. Good questions dig into what a company is looking for (i.e., the real job), what they are doing (the work) and where they are going (the opportunity). Getting these answers allow you to identify work, knowledge, and experience that you possess that directly or indirectly relates. So now your job becomes making these connections with the interviewer during a conversation, and there is nothing further from selling than having a simple exchange of information. So by asking the right questions everything unfolds before the candidate and you accomplish what you need to by getting a greater understanding of the job, company and the people you’ll work with while showcasing your skills and abilities to do the job, and to me that is a successful interview.

Oh, and the by-product of asking good questions is that you also demonstrate interest and enthusiasm, which is more than just a cheap trick.