Senior staff look for managers who can:

• Keep abreast of current and future industry trends and are able to apply such knowledge in ways that provide the company with a competitive edge. • Understand how to position their company, it's products and marketing programs against leading competitors with verifiable successes such as increased sales or account penetration. • Maximize profits by recapturing lost business, escalating sales, developing new products, increasing productivity, cutting costs or streamlining operations. • Administer customer service programs based on continuous quality improvement with the end result of retaining and expanding key accounts. • Identify and implement risk management techniques to prevent losses resulting from poor theft control, facility security or safety measures. • Anticipate problem areas before they occur and can quickly analyze problem areas that do arise and implement systems that eliminate such problems. • Can develop complex programs for departmental improvement including: planning, implementation, documentation, staff development and problem solving. • Maintain a high retention rate of top producing employees who can lead their departments in being innovative. • Can lead staff in achieving departmental and organizational goals. • Can motivate staff during difficult times such as downsizing, mergers or corporate restructuring. • Can minimize or eliminate high turnover rates.

Create a list like this that is targeted to the needs of employers in your field. For example if you are in the Information Technology field, be ready to show interviewers that you have a good grasp of current products being used by leading companies as well as technology and trends that are emerging and how such trends may impact the employer's firm. Identify how your knowledge and experience in the IT field will assist you in capturing new accounts, expanding sales or increasing departmental productivity.

Many sales representatives and managers do not create a "sales or positioning strategy" to market themselves during interviews. Yet, they would never enter an important sales or management presentation without having first identified how they will position their product or the proposal they are making. This includes planning the priority of points they will make during the presentation; anticipating potential objections; and developing strategies to resolve objections in order to make the sale. Treat your interviews as any other sales or management presentation that you give in-depth attention and planning to.

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