The 25 Best Sales Interview

Questions To Recruit Superstar Reps

Sales hiring can be tricky.

Sales representative is the second-most difficult position to fill in 2015.*

*ManpowerGroup Talent Shortage Survey, 2015

Don’t fret...

Sales representative is the second-most difficult position to fill in 2015.

…These 25 interview questions will help you hire the best of the

bunch.

What’s your opinion of the role of learning in sales? 1

Look for candidates who are life-long learners, which is becoming increasingly important in sales.

How do you keep up-to-date on your target market? 2

Candidates should be able to to find and keep up-to-date with relevant industry content.

3 Explain something to me.

This technically isn’t a question, but tests if your candidate is innately helpful.

What’s worse: not making quota every month or not having happy customers? 4

Depending on company goals, either could be right. But beware of reps who value quota more than customer needs.

5 How would you approach a short sales cycle differently than a long one?

Short cycles require closers. Longer sales cycles need a more tailored approach. Reps should know the difference.

When do you stop pursuing a client? 6

In general, the more persistent and tenacious reps are, the better.

7 What kind of customer are you most comfortable selling to?

Make sure their answer is related to the buying process, not an arbitrary demographic.

What’s your least favorite part of the sales process? 8

Make sure their least favorite step isn’t the most important part of your process.

9 What motivates you?

Think about your company culture. If you emphasize teamwork, “competition” may not be the best answer.

What is your ultimate career aspiration? 10

If a candidate’s goals can’t be met at your company, you might be interviewing again sooner than you’d like.

11 What are three adjectives a former client would use to describe you?

Listen for synonyms of “helpful” – sales is becoming increasingly consultative.

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How do you keep a smile on your face during a hard day? 12

Observe how the candidate handles rejection. Do they bounce back quickly?

13 Why do you want to be a salesperson?

Commission checks -- while part of the allure of sales -- is not the ideal answer.

Have you ever had a losing streak? How did you turn it around? 14

Slumps are part of the job. What did they learn from their last losing streak?

15 What do you think our company/sales organization could do better?

This question reveals if a candidate did their research, and whether they’re creative.

In your last role, how much time did you spend hunting or farming, and why? 16

Beware of candidates who can only hunt or farm. Both skills are vital to selling well.

17 How do you handle customer objections?

“I wing it” isn’t a good answer. Preparation and process are crucial to overcoming prospect objections.

Have you asked a prospect why they didn’t buy? What did you learn? 18

Salespeople who learn from both their failures and their successes are valuable hires.

19 What role does social media play in your selling process?

If the candidate hasn’t used social media before, make sure they’re willing to learn.

What role does content play in your selling process? 20

Like social media, candidates who don’t already engage with content should want to start doing so.

21 How do you research prospects? What information do you look for before calls?

Ensure that candidates use LinkedIn to find information on prospects so they can tailor communication.

Have you ever turned a prospect away? If so, why? 22

Make sure candidates are comfortable turning away prospects that aren’t a good fit.

23 What are some of your favorite questions to ask prospects?

Open-ended questions that help reps thoroughly understand prospects’ needs are as good as gold.

What’s your take on collaboration within a sales team? 24

Collaboration makes for a good work environment and improves knowledge sharing.

25 If you were hired, what would you do during your first month?

Their plan doesn’t have to blow you away. But if they have one at all, you have a self-starter on your hands.

Did you find these questions helpful?

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Sales Blog today!

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Thanks for reading!