Complete One: What Questions to Ask In a Job Interview

An interview is often perceived by the interviewee as a chance for the employer or interviewer to ask questions and get to know more about the individual, however what they often forget is it's also a chance for them to learn and ask questions. In a job interview scenario the questions that are asked can be the difference between someone being successful and unsuccessful.

Job interview success is often based on making a good impression. Making a good first impression is vital in business and according to research it only takes approximately 7 seconds for someone to make a judgement. The questions asked in an interview will be interpreted as good or bad, making a positive or negative impression. While it's important to ask questions and use the opportunity to learn more about the company and where the individual could potentially fit in, it's important the questions asked are the right ones. Complete One, Newcastle based customer acquisition firm, share their tips on what questions should be asked in a job interview.

1/ What skills and experiences are you looking for?

This is a great starting question as it opens up a flow of conversation allowing the interviewee to hopefully demonstrate their skill set and transferable skills that make them a good match for the position. It also helps them to learn whether their skills match the position on offer.

2/ What do you enjoy most about working here?

This question allows the interviewer to connect with the interviewee on a personal level, sharing their own feelings and experiences in the company The answer will also provide a unique insight into the company culture and how satisfied they are with their job. If the interviewer is struggling to come up with an answer then it's a big red flag.

3/ Do you offer continuing education and professional training?

Continued education and training is highly sought after, especially in an entry level role. This is a great positioning question, illustrating to the interviewer that you are interested in expanding knowledge and ultimately growing with the company.

4/ What are the company growth plans?

This question shows ambition and interest in where the company is going. This is particularly important for someone looking to climb the career ladder and progress through the company. The answer to the question will give you a good idea of where the employer is headed.

5/ What is the next step in the process?

Many companies have multiple interview stages, this is an essential last question as it shows interest in moving along in the process and invites the interviewer to inform them of how many people are in the running for the position and what steps are next after the preliminary meeting.

Complete One specialise in below line customer acquisition. Our expertise lies in increasing market share and raising brand awareness, for our client portfolio, through face to face promotional marketing / sales campaigns at high profile events and venues throughout the North East and Scotland. In a world of ever advancing technologies, we offer our clients more personalised marketing strategies. Our tailor made marketing strategies, developed by identifying each clients USP, allow us to create the perfect campaign, for maximum impact, for any client within any industry. We provide both our clients and customers with the highest quality experience by offering a full service approach to direct marketing.

Complete One's Latest Success Story ~ The Growth Continues

My name is Kirtsy Pennal, I have been working with Complete One for 10 months, in March I completed the companies Business Development Program and now I am in the planning stage to oversee my own project.


I grew up in a small town outside of County Durham called Spennymoor. Throughout my childhood I loved horses and my dream was to go into the equestrian field. I moved to Newcastle in 2007 to study Geography at Newcastle University, Graduating with a Bachelor of Science Honors in July 2010. 


After graduating I decided to chase my dream of earning a living from equestrianism. I established my own company Unique Carriage Services Ltd, providing horse drawn wedding and funeral services across the North East of England. Alongside the carriage company I also produced horses and did some affiliated eventing on my own horses. 


I experienced good success running Unique Carriage Services, however due to the economic downturn when the UK went into recession, I quickly realised people didn't have as much flexible income. I realised that I wasn't going to provide myself with the lifestyle I aspired towards so I began to search for a new career challenge. 


In June 2013 I began working with Complete One, I had zero experience in the marketing and sales field but thanks to the dedicated group of people at Complete One and the incredible training I gained all of the necessary skills and knowledge to grow and develop with the company. After only 8 short months I completed the companies Business Development Program.


Over the next couple of months my goal is to master campaign management to allow me to oversee my own project this Summer. I am very excited about the company goals for the future and aim to be a massive part in the growth of Complete One.

Complete One's 10 Golden Rules For Providing Excellent Customer Service

At Complete One we firmly believe that our success has been built on always putting the customer first! Below are our 10 golden rules for ensuring great customer service.


1/ The old adage, the customer is always right, should always be remembered. Your main objective is to service and satisfy customer needs and strive for customer satisfaction!


2/ Be a good listener. Take time to identify customer needs. Effective listening and undivided attention are particularly important on the show floor where there is a great danger of looking around to see to who else we could be selling to.

3/ Identify and anticipate needs. Customers don't buy products or services. They buy good feelings and solutions to problems. Most customer needs are emotional rather than logical. The more you know your customers, the better you become at anticipating their needs.

4/ Make customers feel important and appreciated by treating them as individuals. Always use their name when talking to them as it personalises their experience. People value sincerity and It creates good feeling and trust which hopefully builds a relationship which will lead to brand loyalty.

5/ Always look for ways to help your customers. When they have a request (as long as it is reasonable) tell them that you can do it and figure out how to later. Try to make doing business with you easy and always do what you say you are going to do.

6/ When something goes wrong, apologise. Customers appreciate it. Deal with problems immediately and let customers know what you have done. Make it simple for customers to complain and value their complaints as it gives us an opportunity to improve our service.


7/ Think of ways to elevate yourself above the competition. It can be a crowded market and by changing small aspects of your business it could lead to greater customer acquisition rates.


8/ Get regular feedback, encourage and welcome suggestions about how you could improve.


9/ Treat the people you work with well, they are your internal customers and need a regular dose of appreciation. Thank them and find ways to let them know how important they are.




10/ The golden rule of customer service is always put the customer first! Ensuring they have a positive experience when dealing with you should be your number one priority.

Complete One on Brand Loyalty & Direct Marketing

Brand loyalty is defined as the tendency of some consumers to continue buying the same brand of goods rather than competing brands.


In the age of the internet, Brand Loyalty is slowly disappearing. Apart from a few exceptions, top brands aren't able to retain their status as market leaders as long as they used to. So what's changed? Before the internet people tended to make purchase decisions based on advertisements and past experiences with a company. However, a recent study by PricewaterhouseCoopers found that 80% of consumers now look at online reviews before making major purchases, and a host of studies have logged the strong influence those reviews have on the decisions people make. 


So what can companies do to fix this? Alter their marketing strategy! At Complete One, in our experience consumer confidence and brand loyalty go hand in hand. If a customer feels their buying experience has been positive and the customer care has been to a high standard then it instils greater consumer confidence which is something that will be considered when making future purchases.


A direct marketing campaign allows a company to get their message out to customers on an individual basis, rather than through a mass medium as with more traditional marketing methods. “I firmly believe that our approach of face to face marketing is one of the greatest advantages we have over our competitors. Having the opportunity to speak to someone face to face allows us to build a relationship with our customers. It is a much more personal approach than many other marketing strategies. Being able to greet customers with a smile and a handshake is what instils consumer confidence, which naturally builds brand loyalty. “ Glen Lowes, Managing Director at Complete One.


Many companies are now outsourcing their marketing and sales to companies like Complete One. We put the customer first! By ensuring their experience is a positive one from start to finish we are able to instil consumer confidence which in turn produces higher acquisition rates for our clients while remaining extremely cost effective! The first time a consumer makes a purchase is the prime opportunity to build a relationship and begin to establish brand loyalty. By taking a more direct and personalised approach to marketing, consumer confidence and brand loyalty will simultaneously rise.


Through direct marketing we will continue to strive for customer satisfaction and brand loyalty for our clients.

Complete One ~ From Glasgow to Las Vegas

Now in the last month of the First Financial Quarter of 2014, we thought it was the perfect time to reflect on what we've achieved so far this year. Last month Kirsty Pennal reached Stage 3 of our Business Development Program. We're absolutely thrilled for Kirsty, she has worked incredibly hard over the last 9 months, setting such a great example and we can't wait to see what she's going to accomplish this year.


We attended the first Conference of the year in Glasgow on February 23^rd. The conference was attended by some of our business partners in the UK and leaders in our industry. Our Managing Director was asked to be a guest speaker on the day, for the second consecutive conference, which is recognition of the great work we're doing at Complete One. Another great moment on the day was Kirsty having the opportunity to share her success story with the room as she was recognised for her achievements, as pictured below.

  

Our MD has just returned from a Business Trip in Las Vegas. During his 4 day visit to America's most populated city, he visited some of the most iconic tourist attractions the City has to offer as well as attending meetings with some of our business partners from around the world, gaining insight into other markets and also establishing networking links which will prove invaluable as we begin to expand internationally.

“Although we've not yet finished Q1 we're aahead of schedule for our goals for 2014. I am excited by where we are and where we're going and I predict that Q2 will be even bigger!” ~ Managing Director, Glen Lowes

Complete One On How To Work Smarter, Not Harder

How many times have you found yourself saying “there aren't enough hours in the day”? Wishing there were 30 hours in a day instead of 24.  We often found ourselves overwhelmed with the amount of work we have to complete on a daily basis. Here's some food for thought, work smarter not harder!


The main problem is getting bogged down with menial tasks rather than prioritising. Below are some excellent tips to help make your day run more smoothly and productively.


1/ Get An Early Start

It seems so simple but by starting your day earlier, you will inevitably be more productive. The urge to snooze your alarm in the morning plagues nearly all of us. Don't be tempted, get out of bed the first time your alarm goes and get your day started. It’s so much nicer and less stressful to get an earlier start on something.

2/ Complete The Most Important Tasks First


This is the golden rule of time management. Identify the tasks that are most crucial to be completed first allows you to get the most important tasks of the day out of the way first.

3/ Learn To Say “no”

Agreeing to help a colleague or attending a meeting you hadn't pre-planned for can set back your whole day. Although being able to juggle various engagements and manage your time well is a great skill to have, your main objective should be to take on only those commitments that you know you have time for.

4/ Devote Your Entire Energy & Focus To The Task At Hand

Don't allow yourself to be extracted by your phone or your favourite social media site.

Concentrate on one task. At a time. Concentrating solely on one things naturally produces greater results than trying to multi-task.

5/ Commit To Your Plan And Follow It Through

Don’t flake on your own plan to do something! Be resolute. Be committed. Be professional about it, and follow through. A will to accomplish what you decide to accomplish will take you anywhere.

Complete One Attend The National Sales Rally 2014

At Complete One we've kicked off 2014 with a bang! We attended the National Sales Rally in London this past weekend. It's an opportunity for the people in our industry who are performing well consistently to be recognised for their achievements in 2013 by receiving an award. The ceremony was attended by over 2000 people with over 100 awards given out on the day. Complete One and our business partners were among the winners for a second year running!


Winners on the day were;


Kirsty Pennal ~ Top performer


Jade Patten ~ Rising Star


MD Glen Lowes ~ Outstanding Achievement Award

“Picking up the outstanding achievement award for the second year running I felt a great sense of personal achievement. Last year was my most successful year so far as a business owner and I can't wait to improve on my achievements to make it a hat-trick at next years ceremony”. ~ Managing Director Glen Lowes


Attending this rally has given everyone a great benchmark for us to work towards and ensure we beat in 2014. We are expecting to double in size in the first half of this year and expand to be trading from 4 office spaces in the UK. The rally is a great motivational tool as people are able to see with their own eyes how successful individuals can be in this business. It also creates fantastic competition as people are already taking about who's going to win the awards next year. If we thought 2013 was a good year, wait and see what 2014 will bring!