Describe a negative experience you had with pitching to a client. What did you learn from it?
Business development managers and salespeople are a resilient bunch. The interviewer wants to learn that you have the resilience to go through the wringer and deal with rejection regularly without taking anything personally. Provide an example of a pitch that went sideways and the reason behind your choosing that specific experience. Further, discuss the lessons you learned and how the incident has impacted your attitude towards the job.
"A few years ago at XYZ solutions, our prospects were mainly government organizations. One time, we were pitching at a city hall. The service offering was cloud HR and payroll solutions, and the audience was comprised of the mayor and his staff. At the get-go, the engagement was already low. It just went downhill from there to a point where the mayor was scrolling on his phone, and the rest of the group was yawning. I tried to engage them a little more and inject some energy into the presentation. Then I elicited them for questions, and it suddenly made sense. They were uninterested because they didn't understand much of it. I realized that I used too much jargon and forgot to discuss some of the basics. I was so used to pitching to private sectors who are already using similar tools. Needless to say, we didn't win the contract. Although it wasn't a typical negative experience because there wasn't any obvious resistance or confrontation, I still consider it to be my worst pitch because of the large dollar amount associated with it. After that experience, I learned to take a few more steps in understanding my prospects' needs and really tailor my proposal to them and their level of knowledge."
