The 10 Best Sales Interview Questions For Every Employer
So, let me get this straight. You are a business owner and you are struggling with how to interview people for your sales force?
Don’t worry, for this is normal. Every boss must make sure that he selects the finest employees. The question however, is how?
At Online Reach we have compiled a list of questions you can use during the interview:
Let us start with the best Sales Representative interview questions that you can use:
1-Which is worse: Having unhappy customers or not reaching the desired sales quota?
Depending on the type of business you run, the right answer can be either one. However, the beauty with this question is that it will allow you to understand how the person will behave during the sales job. This question can give you an indicator of how honest that person is. For instance, if he prioritizes customer happiness you can be sure that he is not the type that likes to withhold information from them, and in any case, from you.
2- What is your least and most favorite tasks during a sales job?
Such a question can help you identify the person’s weaknesses and strengths. If the person likes to do something that your business prioritizes, you can be assured that the candidate is right for you.
3- What are your career goals?
If your company is small and does not have room for much career advancement, then a candidate with high aspirations is not suitable for you. That individual will most likely quit the job as soon as he finds a better choice. If your company has so much potential for him to advance, then definitely he will choose to work hard and receive promotions that he deserves.
4- In what ways, do you think our company can do better?
This question will give the candidate the chance to prove how much research he has done about your company. It also gives you a general understanding about how they think and about how creative they are.
5- Do you do some research before contacting or visiting a prospect? If so, what do you use?
The candidate should reply by a ‘yes’. The person should also mention making use of the prospect’s LinkedIn account. This will allow you to make sure that the candidate will tailor their communication based on the information they gather.
6- How do you keep yourself up to date on the target market?
The person you are interviewing should mention the use of blogs, articles, and various publications. He should show you that he is willing to keep himself up to speed with matters related to the subject. This demonstrates that he is able to be a life-long learner.
7- Let’s say you will be working with a team. How do you feel about that?
Candidates who are not willing to get along with other employees can be quite of a problem. When collaboration is impeded, there will be no team work or knowledge sharing. Not to mention their unfriendly attitude will make them unpleasant coworkers.
8-Have you ever asked a potential customer or client, why didn’t he purchase the product or service you were offering?
This should demonstrate how far the candidate is willing to learn from his past failures to be a better sales person in the future. This quality will surely make him a valuable addition to your team.
9-How do you handle rejection?
This is a very import issue. Any sales representative of course, cannot win over every potential client. Sometimes, people can be quite rude to sales representatives. Therefore, it is imperative to understand how the interviewee thinks in such situations. Does he become aggressive? Will he become less outgoing in his hunt for new clients? Does he bounce back immediately after an unfruitful conversation?
10- If you were hired by our company, what would you do in your first month?
His answer should allow you to find out if the candidate has some kind of action plan. If the person does, this indicates that the individual has initiative and is a self-starter.
In any case, these are what I think the 10 best questions any interviewer should ask a candidate.
If you have any concerns or questions regarding this article, please leave a comment in the section below.
