Sales Interview Questions Template
Preparing for a sales interview means researching and understand
what type of sales interview questions you may get asked. Cultivating
interviewing techniques is undeniably a skill, however as we may only
use this skill a limited number of times, salespeople can be better
salespeople than interviewees.
In many ways an interview is like a sales meeting, where they tend to
thorough, demanding, draining and rigorous. So, the real first step in
the sales interview process, is to ask yourself the question “do you
truly understand the sales role you are interviewing for?” or “do you
understand the sales tasks you will be expected to preform if you were
to be successful?”
If you believe you are the right person to fulfill this role (if in
doubt seek clarification on the role etc) then you can start to prepare
for the sales interview questions.
time when you won a big deal or what was your biggest sales success or
tell me about a time you lost a deal.
Preparing a list of actual sales stories is proof of your experience plus they will give the interviewer an insight into your sales skills
and approaches. Show your personality, do not be afraid to talk about
the challenges you faced, how you overcame them and be 100% honest.
Remember your values, behaviors and traits need to match the companies,
as much for you as them.
A good method to remember is STAR, which stands for:
Situation: Set the scene and give the proof of your story.
Task: Describe what your plan and role was in that situation.
Action: Outline what steps you took to address the situation.
Result: Detail what outcomes your action achieved.
and what do you want?”. You must be able to walk the interviewer through
your story, concisely and constructively. No need for every little
detail. Stay focused. Let the interviewer decide if more detail is
required. So, decide what parts of your story you want to highlight
based on your understanding of the sales role while also knowing all
aspects of your career (and life) story.
your answer. The technique here is the very same as a sales situation,
attend to the question (do not interrupt), acknowledge the question,
clarify if needed, pause, or reflect and then answer with detail etc. If
you are feeling confident you can ask “did that answer your question in
enough detail?” (use this wisely!!).
interviewing you. Learn the history of the company, news, markets,
products employee size and key executives. Also use social media to
learn about the people who are interviewing you. One technique to use is
to blend in some company or interviewer detail into one of your
answers. You could use phrases such as …similar to the [company or
persons name], I… or and as I noted [some pertinent company
information] is much like [your story]. This not only shows a high level
of interest but also relaxes the interviewer as you have put yourself
on a more equal footing. The “equal footing” mindset is important in a
sales interview as there must be a fit for both sides, so while you are
there seeking a role, they are interviewing to find someone to fill the
role.
would you approach this scenario or how would you handle XY or Z. These
“put you under the spotlight” questions are there to test your
response, resilience, and intellectual abilities. Read point 3 again
alongside the sales tasks you will be asked to perform. If it is a
business development role, they could ask you questions such as “how
would you approach sales prospecting”
or “what approach would you use to recontact lapsed customers?”. The
key takeaway here is not let any question throw you off track, pause,
reflect, nod, clarify and then answer with “this would be my approach”
or even better “let me give you a real example of a time when I DID come
across this situation”.
will usually have three messages they want to get across, regardless of
the questions asked. Your three messages should highlight your key
attributes or proof of your suitability for the role. If you listen
carefully to political interviews, he or she will have key messages they
bake into an answer when the question did not directly require that
answer. Let us take an example. You are strong on cold calling. One of
the sales interview questions is “tell us about a great deal you
recently won?”. Your answer could start with “As I love cold calling, I
targeted this customer based on some research I did, I then researched
the decision maker and cold called them at 7am in the morning. [Then
continue with the success story]. Try it. You can almost weave any
message into any question if you bridge it carefully. The outcome of the
three message stories is to leave a memorable impression on the
interviewer. Just the same as any sales skills definition, you need to highlight your points of difference.
questions. These positive questions should get the interviewer talking
so you can reinforce your suitability for the role. They can even
become closing questions to get you one step closer to the prize. “I
noted the business grew 15% year on year, was that broadly in line with
expectations?” “what is your typical sales cycle and process?” “I
noticed from reading Gartner, that your industry will grow 30% year on
year, have you planned to grow faster than the market?” “From the answer
I provided to you, is there any concerns that I need to clarify for
you?” “if you were to summarize three phrases that would describe my
interview, what would they be?”.
These seven points on this sales interview questions template will
hopefully give you a guide on how to prepare for your interview. As you
work through them keep a copy of the job description beside you. If you
are to invest your time in preparing for a sales interview, make sure
the customer (interviewer) can afford the solution (as in You). Happy
interviewing.
what type of sales interview questions you may get asked. Cultivating
interviewing techniques is undeniably a skill, however as we may only
use this skill a limited number of times, salespeople can be better
salespeople than interviewees.
In many ways an interview is like a sales meeting, where they tend to
thorough, demanding, draining and rigorous. So, the real first step in
the sales interview process, is to ask yourself the question “do you
truly understand the sales role you are interviewing for?” or “do you
understand the sales tasks you will be expected to preform if you were
to be successful?”
If you believe you are the right person to fulfill this role (if in
doubt seek clarification on the role etc) then you can start to prepare
for the sales interview questions.
Sales Interview Questions Template
- Get your sales stories in order.
time when you won a big deal or what was your biggest sales success or
tell me about a time you lost a deal.
Preparing a list of actual sales stories is proof of your experience plus they will give the interviewer an insight into your sales skills
and approaches. Show your personality, do not be afraid to talk about
the challenges you faced, how you overcame them and be 100% honest.
Remember your values, behaviors and traits need to match the companies,
as much for you as them.
A good method to remember is STAR, which stands for:
Situation: Set the scene and give the proof of your story.
Task: Describe what your plan and role was in that situation.
Action: Outline what steps you took to address the situation.
Result: Detail what outcomes your action achieved.
- Get your own story in order.
and what do you want?”. You must be able to walk the interviewer through
your story, concisely and constructively. No need for every little
detail. Stay focused. Let the interviewer decide if more detail is
required. So, decide what parts of your story you want to highlight
based on your understanding of the sales role while also knowing all
aspects of your career (and life) story.
- Understand before being Understood.
your answer. The technique here is the very same as a sales situation,
attend to the question (do not interrupt), acknowledge the question,
clarify if needed, pause, or reflect and then answer with detail etc. If
you are feeling confident you can ask “did that answer your question in
enough detail?” (use this wisely!!).
- Get their story in order.
interviewing you. Learn the history of the company, news, markets,
products employee size and key executives. Also use social media to
learn about the people who are interviewing you. One technique to use is
to blend in some company or interviewer detail into one of your
answers. You could use phrases such as …similar to the [company or
persons name], I… or and as I noted [some pertinent company
information] is much like [your story]. This not only shows a high level
of interest but also relaxes the interviewer as you have put yourself
on a more equal footing. The “equal footing” mindset is important in a
sales interview as there must be a fit for both sides, so while you are
there seeking a role, they are interviewing to find someone to fill the
role.
- Get your “How would you” stories in order.
would you approach this scenario or how would you handle XY or Z. These
“put you under the spotlight” questions are there to test your
response, resilience, and intellectual abilities. Read point 3 again
alongside the sales tasks you will be asked to perform. If it is a
business development role, they could ask you questions such as “how
would you approach sales prospecting”
or “what approach would you use to recontact lapsed customers?”. The
key takeaway here is not let any question throw you off track, pause,
reflect, nod, clarify and then answer with “this would be my approach”
or even better “let me give you a real example of a time when I DID come
across this situation”.
- Learn the “3 Messages” stories.
will usually have three messages they want to get across, regardless of
the questions asked. Your three messages should highlight your key
attributes or proof of your suitability for the role. If you listen
carefully to political interviews, he or she will have key messages they
bake into an answer when the question did not directly require that
answer. Let us take an example. You are strong on cold calling. One of
the sales interview questions is “tell us about a great deal you
recently won?”. Your answer could start with “As I love cold calling, I
targeted this customer based on some research I did, I then researched
the decision maker and cold called them at 7am in the morning. [Then
continue with the success story]. Try it. You can almost weave any
message into any question if you bridge it carefully. The outcome of the
three message stories is to leave a memorable impression on the
interviewer. Just the same as any sales skills definition, you need to highlight your points of difference.
- Get your own questions in order.
questions. These positive questions should get the interviewer talking
so you can reinforce your suitability for the role. They can even
become closing questions to get you one step closer to the prize. “I
noted the business grew 15% year on year, was that broadly in line with
expectations?” “what is your typical sales cycle and process?” “I
noticed from reading Gartner, that your industry will grow 30% year on
year, have you planned to grow faster than the market?” “From the answer
I provided to you, is there any concerns that I need to clarify for
you?” “if you were to summarize three phrases that would describe my
interview, what would they be?”.
These seven points on this sales interview questions template will
hopefully give you a guide on how to prepare for your interview. As you
work through them keep a copy of the job description beside you. If you
are to invest your time in preparing for a sales interview, make sure
the customer (interviewer) can afford the solution (as in You). Happy
interviewing.
Sales Interview Questions Template - The Digital Sales Institute:
Comments
Post a Comment