Top 20 sales Interview Questions and Answers

The better a company is at converting the leads to sales, the better will be its future and its finances. So, the company invests so much time in hiring a salesperson. During the hiring process, interview questions can vary from freshers to professionals. With top sales courses and certifications, you can land your dream job in sales and marketing. In this article, we will quickly go through top sales job questions and answers that can help you achieve that goal.

This Story also Contains

1. 20 Sales Interview Questions and Answers
2. Top Sales Courses and Certifications by Providers
3. Online Sales Courses One Can Opt

20 Sales Interview Questions and Answers

1. Tell me about yourself

This may be the starting point of your sales and marketing interview questions. Do not talk about your entire life. Stick to the point and answer in context to your sales career and aspiration.

Example - I am looking to build on my skills as a business development officer and extend the benefits of my experience. At my previous employment, I was able to convert 3 times the lead compared to the previous year.

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2. Can you share more about your past sales experience?

This is one of the sales representative interview questions that test your level of honesty. Talk about your accomplishments, and be honest about your past experience with other companies. Be clear about your experiences and share your positive takeaways from them.

3. What is the best memory of a deal you made?

This is one of the top salesperson interview questions to determine your potential. Salespersons who have the best memory of closing that comes from a hard sell are preferred over the other kind. So master these sales interview questions. Talk about an experience where you converted a tough lead into a good client.

4. Why go for sales?

This is one of the top sales interview questions and answers for freshers to judge your ambitions and your real drive to provide solid value to the company. If you state that money is the sole reason to get into sales then it might backfire your case.

Example - I am quite driven by the importance of business development and sales in an organization. Sales happens to be one of those professions where you can see your hard work and resilience turning into tangible results.

5. What keeps you motivated?

You can state your personal monetary motivations in these types of sales and marketing interview questions. Saying things only to impress the interviewer may also go against you. Try to keep a balance and tell them about your real-life desires to keep working at the top of your game. As sales is a field that requires you to be relentless and self-motivation is the biggest asset.

Example - My home loan keeps me motivated. Or something on similar lines that drives you to work every day.

6. When did you realize that you were meant for sales?

Honesty is the best policy. This is one of those simple yet testing sales and marketing questions for interview. Tell them about the time or the event which made you realize that sales and business development was something that you could do and win at. This could be a story from high school or a college event where you made real sponsorship deals.

7. What are the moments of your life that you are proud of?

The interviewer will ask you these types of sales interview questions to know more about your outlook from the past experiences of your life. They want to know what you value the most in your life and will try to connect the dots between you as a person and you as a salesperson. This is a good place to talk about your accomplishments and how people benefited from your actions. You can talk about the revenue you drove in for your previous employer or about the time you took up family responsibilities in these types of sales interview questions and answers.

8. What do you think is more important for hunting new clients or nurturing customer relationships?

Now, this could be one of those really tricky sales manager interview questions as both actions are important for businesses to grow and sustain. In order to land the right answer, do your research about the company and the position you are applying for and answer accordingly. It is advised to be good at both skills but have mastery over one.

9. How do you perform research on prospects?

Do not come across as someone who is averse to technology and social media. Learn to use it for your benefit in researching for your prospects and finding personal level commonalities with the prospect. Answer these sales manager interview questions in a way that you are going after the prospect with a genuine conversation and common talking points between you both. Also, take note that this can fall into the category of sales interview questions and answers for freshers as well.

Top Sales Courses and Certifications by Providers

10. How are you a team player?

Sales is a very competitive domain to work in which may lead professionals to have a toxic attitude towards team playing. Recruiters are looking for those individuals who can work as a team but also have a competitive streak to be at the top. In this kind of sales position interview questions and answers session, explain how your competitive nature is healthy for individual goals but also that you love to collaborate with your peers for the greater and collective benefit of the firm.

11. How do you differentiate short-cycle sales and long-cycle sales?

In these sales interview questions and answers, take care to describe your unique approach to both short-cycle sales and long-cycle sales. Where you look for a quick close in short cycle sale and have a much more careful and curated approach for the long cycle sale.

12. When do you stop pursuing a prospect?

This is one of those tricky sales executive interview questions. Being resilient will work in your favour but there is a fine line where you have to stop chasing a dead lead. Trying to contact a lead 7 to 8 times can be considered a good number.

13. How do you react to losing out on a prospect?

This one is a favourite b2b sales interview questions for interviewers. If you are a fresher, then it might be tough as you have no prior experience. But be it sales manager interview questions or otherwise, you can translate any kind of experience/ knowledge you have into an answer for this question. Tell them how you will follow up with the prospect to know about your mistakes during the deal. And explain to them how will fix it to ensure that your future strategies are bulletproof.

14. What is the best way to build a relationship with a prospect or lead?

The best way to build a relationship with a prospect is to ask questions that matter to the prospect and not just pitching. These types of sales questions asked in interviews are meant to test your pitching skills. Constant pitching skills are the perfect recipe for disaster whereas showing the prospect that you genuinely care for their relevant problems will build a solid foundation.

15. How do you deal with low days?

This may not exactly look those sales interview questions that are sale-specific, but it is an important one because sales see more lows than highs on average. Telling the interviewer that you don’t get bogged down may come across as a little pretentious, rather tell them how you deal with low moments in general, like going for a run.

16. What makes you sure that you can sell?

This is one of those interview questions for a salesman that can just shake you up. Don’t lose your confidence or train of thought on this.

Example - I am sure because the numbers add up to tell the story. There is past experience and word from my mentors.

17. What is your strategy during the slump phase?

Don’t tell them that you’ll never face a slump if you are faced with these kinds of sales job interview questions. Say something real about how you will navigate through the slump like being organized and tuning up the daily goals of meetings, callings, and research.

18. Tell me about your previous boss.

Never answer this type of sales executive interview questions with an emotional angle. No matter what your relationship with your boss or manager, do not go on a rant. Even if you had a great rapport, hold back your appreciation within formal reach. Answer with a point of view that talks more about their work ethic and professional capacity.

Example - We had a great connection. But, it was the same with each member of the team. That was how he took the game to the next level, by elevating the whole team.

19. Do you have any questions for me?

Always say yes, and put your queries ahead. Saying NO would mean that you are disinterested. And that is a big 'NO NO' for these types of sales executive interview questions.

20. Sell me this pen

Last but not least. This may come across as a cliche but there is an approach to deal with these types of doing it. Do not start with reciting the features of the pen.

Example - What sort of pen you prefer to write with? Describe your favourite type of pen to me.

Online Sales Courses One Can Opt

Below are a few sales certification courses and training programmes that can help you elevate your technical skills as well as help you prepare for these sales job interview questions.

1. MBA in Sales and Marketing - A mastery in sales and marketing would provide you with the necessary knowledge and training in sales and all of its related aspects. An MBA in this field would add a lot of value to your CV and put you in the leagues of big sales-related jobs. It will also aid you with preparing for sales interview questions for freshers as well as professionals.

2. Post Graduate Diploma in Sales - A PGDM or sales certificate course after your graduation can provide you with a lot of hands-on experience and the necessary skills to excel in the job market as a sales professional. Selling is all about making smart strategies and meticulously executing them and this trait comes only from experience. A PGDM can vastly help you in acquiring that skill of selling as well as answering sales job interview questions.

3. The Art Of Sales: Mastering the Selling Process - In case you don’t have the time or luxury to pursue a full-time course of 2 years, you can always opt for online sales courses. This course offered by Northwestern University will teach you how to become more efficient as a sales professional in a completely online course. The course covers all the aspects of the sales world in a precise yet effective manner and allows you to learn the best techniques, and sales executive interview questions at your own pace and schedule.

4. Business Development & B2B Sales for Startups - Sales Valley- To succeed as a salesperson, you must be aware of all the dimensions of business development. B2B sales are the business-to-business selling of products and services and require a high level of persuasion skills along with product knowledge for a salesperson to succeed. This online b2b sales training course will make you understand the essentials of winning the sales game in the startup ecosystem as well as prepare you for these sales job interview questions.

Conclusion

Online sales courses will definitely make you eligible for a lot of jobs in the domain. In fact, good sales certification courses and relevant experience will make your CV a solid case for consideration. The above-listed sales and marketing interview questions are what a recruiter, more often than not, asks a candidate. Being prepared and speaking honestly would help a lot. The same can be learned from online sales courses in much more depth. A positive approach with wit is the key to getting a job in the field of sales.