Hi, I recently had a 1st round with McKinsey and received a PEI question to share an incident on a conflict. I shared an incident with the general flow:
- Background - I was working with another member from another division within my company to nurture different clients and convert them into sales target. This was a product co-marketed by our two divisions.

- Conflict: - After an initial engagement with a potential client (client A), my teammate wanted to terminate further engagements with client A as he felt there was a mismatch in our product and the client's needs. I disagreed as I felt it was a first meeting and we did not had a thorough discussion to understand the client's needs fully and that we should engage more stakeholders within the client organisation to better understand their wants before assessing our product fit. Therefore, I had to convince my team member and his boss that this was a viable lead and to continue engagements with client A.

- Summary outcome: To cut to the end, I was able to convince both my partner and his boss to a 2nd meeting with the client, involving other stakeholders within the client organisation that could better share their needs. With that meeting, it showed that there was fit in our product to their needs, and we managed to convert it into a successful sale after a few more engagements.

This is a quick summary but of course, it was a more in-depth sharing during the actual PEI, especially on my actions.

One question the interviewer had for me was that she could not really see the conflict and wanted me to better explain the conflict/situation, although my initial explanation follows from the Conflict description above.

I will like to seek advice from similar candidates or coaches on any ways I could better outline the “conflict” or if I should choose another eg instead.

Thanks!