Sales Representative interview questions and answers
This Sales Representative interview profile brings together a snapshot of what to look for in candidates with a balanced sample of suitable interview questions. As you source candidates for your sales team, feel free to modify these interview questions for any sales position.
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Sales Representative Interview Questions
Great sales reps believe in the solution you provide and are motivated by more than just meeting their quotas. Their drive to exceed expectations is tempered by a desire to be truly helpful to their customers. They’re proactive, persistent, and strategic. They’re the kind of people who will formulate a game plan before making a phone call. At interviews, strong candidates for this position are likely to treat you like they treat their customers. They’ll want to identify your pain points as a company and see how these field sales representatives can fix them. Interview questions for a sales position can be a mix of quantitative and qualitative to gauge their skill and confidence.
During these interviews, make it a point to find out how deeply your candidates know the products and customers they’ve worked with. It’s also useful to assess their knowledge of the sales process. You’ll want people whose responses to sales job interview questions are informed by actual experience. High potential candidates will also be hungry, curious and interested in making an impact.
For best results, add some of your own interview questions for the sales environment your candidates will be working in. For example, questions about the day-to-day work of field sales will differ from inside sales interview questions.
Operational questions
- What kind of sales did you do at your last company?
- What was the size of your team at your last company?
- What was your sales quota?
- How did you generate leads?
- Describe the sales process at your last company. What worked well? What didn’t work well?
- Describe a time when a sales process was changed. Why did it change? What was the result?
- Describe your product to me. What are the benefits? Who are your customers?
- Why do customers buy your product? What are the alternatives?
- Describe your customers’ buying decision process. Who approves or blocks the buying decision? What do you need to line up to close the sale?
- What kinds of questions do you ask your customer to find out what they need?
- At what point do you stop pursuing a potential customer?
- How do you stay current on your customers and product?