This is a go-to for interviewers in any career or industry, as it provides insight into the interviewee’s work experiences, personality and motivations. For example, candidates looking to climb the career ladder won’t benefit from a role with no room for growth. On the other hand, an expanding company that’s always looking for potential managers to train would be a mutually beneficial opportunity for the sales team and aspirational candidate.
Interviewers should watch for how someone talks about conflicts in the workplace, their aspirations in a new role and how their goals and experiences align with the open position. Personal narratives of how they’ve evolved and what they expect from the next leg of their career are great ways for a candidate to deliver these details.
Weak Candidate Answer:
The candidate talks poorly of their current position or teammates.
There’s no reference to your company’s benefits that excite them or the specific role’s expectations.
The interviewee prioritizes pay over other career benefits, which may indicate a lack of interest in your company as a long-term career opportunity.
Strong Candidate Answer:
“My current role was a great fit as a college graduate, but the expectations haven’t evolved to keep pace with my expertise. I look forward to the opportunity to refine my skill set through new challenges as a sales representative on your team.”
The answer highlights the positives of their current career while addressing that it’s no longer a good fit.
The interviewee showcases their values for hard work and personal development.
The candidate connects their needs to the role they’re interviewing for.
2. Can You Sell Me This Pen?
How would you sell your favorite gel pen or a sweet Fuji apple? Sales managers love this question because it provides a glimpse into the candidate’s sales process and how they communicate with a prospective client.
Pens and apples are particularly popular subjects, but you can encourage a candidate to sell anything you have on hand for a bigger challenge or closer product tie. However, it’s best to stick to a familiar item so that the interviewee doesn’t have to make too many assumptions in their sale.
Can you sell me this pen?
Weak Candidate Answer:
Candidate rushes to begin pitching without thinking through their sell and fails to highlight unique benefits to the pen or consider the user’s needs.
The interviewee doesn’t ask any questions to identify the user’s habits and how this product solves a problem.
The answer doesn’t follow any sales pitch best practices — particularly trying to close the sale.
Strong Candidate Answer:
“Did you know that the average pen can write 45,000 words before it dries up? Personally, that might cover three weeks of writing down prospect names and phone numbers! I know you wear a lot of hats as a manager and your to-do lists must take a lot of ink.
Well, this gel pen can write up to 70,000 words and it comes with two refills, so you can reduce waste and cost on office supplies. I’d love to supply your whole team with some of these pens. Would you be interested in a box of 500 pens with refills and your company logo for a $40 trial?”
The answer includes a statistic or social proof for the UAE Phone Number product and clearly identifies how the product satisfies a need in the pitch.
The interviewee asks questions to identify the prospect’s needs to connect with the product’s benefits.
The candidate finishes with a direct request to close out the pitch.
3. What Does Your Current Sales Process Look Like?
Any great sales process demonstrates understanding of the customer journey and aligns with the sales pipeline, but the best sales processes are customized to the salesperson’s strengths and consider prospect needs.
Asking a candidate to walk through their current process helps you see how well they understand this journey, their sales strengths and how well their sales experience matches your business needs.
Weak Candidate Answer:
There’s no clear indication that the candidate knows each step of a typical sales process and its intent or timeline.
The candidate doesn’t provide any specific metrics validating their success or experience in sales.
Strong Candidate Answer:
“I typically connect with prospects after they’ve made contact with a customer service representative or outreach coordinator in the prospecting phase. At this point, I get to know the prospect and their needs to prepare solutions for their team, anticipate their next questions and develop a presentation to showcase how our services can save them time and money.
We then chat through their concerns, address any objections and make our closing offer. Follow-ups are a huge part of our winning sales strategy, too, so I like to schedule those out in advance.”
The candidate takes care to address each stage of the sales cycle and their role in advancing the customer journey.
They acknowledge sales processes they don’t personally fulfill, indicating an understanding of the whole customer journey and workflow.
4. What Do You Know About Our Company and Product/Service?
Even the most amazing salesperson can’t perform if they don’t understand what they’re selling. This question gives you a peek at what a candidate knows and likes about a product, as well as an idea of their interview preparation.
Any candidate entering a sales interview should have some idea about what they’re selling, its competition and its benefits. If they didn’t do a little digging beforehand, they may not be the right fit for your team.
4 answer every candidate should know
Weak Candidate Answer:
Vague answers that don’t actually highlight the specific value or applications of a product show a lack of research.
The candidate doesn’t offer any insight into the product’s specific solution, its market or a potential customer profile.
Strong Candidate Answer:
“I understand you offer a human resources software solution for hiring and onboarding, time management and payroll services. I checked out a few of your client reviews and saw that hourly employers are especially happy with the ability for teams to communicate and reschedule shifts, and that they’re a significant portion of your client portfolio. Would you say these accounts are your core audience?”
The answer specifies the product or service and how it benefits clients.
The candidate identifies a specific feature that stands out from other competitors and follows up with a question that indicates interest in the company and its direction.
5. Describe a Time You Lost a Deal and How You Followed Up
You can’t bat 100% every game, and some deals fall through. A good salesperson knows a lost deal doesn’t mean a lost relationship, and that there’s still an opportunity to learn from the prospect to improve your presentation for the next lead.
Weak Candidate Answer:
The candidate doesn’t seek out feedback from the prospect and just accepts the lost deal.
Their answer doesn’t describe a complete picture of the scenario with the S.T.A.R. (situation, task, action and result) model.
There’s a tentative agreement to follow up at the end of the year, but lacks a follow-up strategy.
Strong Candidate Answer:
“I was recently working with a local coffee shop that was interested in our point of sales (POS) systems. They wanted tablet stations for self-ordering and checkout, but the initial installation costs were higher than they anticipated.
I offered a few alternatives to reduce the number of stations or implement hybrid POS systems. Ultimately, they decided to invest in better online ordering for customer use. I thanked them for their time and sent a survey link to provide feedback on our product and sales process. I also marked time to reach out after two and six months to see how their online solution was working for them and share any new products that may be a fit for their needs.”
The candidate follows the S.T.A.R. framework so the interviewer could better understand the lead, their needs and the result of the lost deal.
The interviewee shows a positive attitude and initiative, offering alternative solutions without being pushy, showing interest in the prospect’s needs and detailing a clear follow-up plan.