35 Questions and Answers for a Sales Representative Job Interview
If you are going for a job as a sales representative, you might want to think of answers to some of the most common questions. A well-written answer can help you make a good impression on the hiring manager and help them decide if you’re the right person for the job.
In this article, we look at the top 35 interview questions for sales reps and give you examples of how to answer them.
List of sales representative interview questions
When it comes to being able to think on your feet and answer questions, sales is a field that has high standards. So, the line of questioning could go in many different ways, so you should be ready. Here are some possible interview questions you may hear:
- In five to ten years, where do you see your career going?
- What makes you want to do your best at work?
- How do you know you’re a good sales rep?
- Why did you try to get this job?
- How do you think our business could get better?
- Do you want to talk to me about something?
- Please describe what you hope to get out of this job.
- How do you feel about our company?
- Is there anything about sales that you don’t like?
- How did you make the biggest sale you ever made?
- When is it okay to not try to sell something to a client?
- I want to buy this pencil.
- Have you turned someone down?
- How do you keep up with the people you want to reach?
- Why do you want to quit the job you have now?
- How do you build a relationship with a prospect that will last?
- Tell me about a time when you did something wrong. How did you deal with the problem?
- How would you describe the perfect place to work?
- How can the content you use for marketing help you sell a product?
- How can social media be used to sell something to a prospect?
- What programs or technical skills do you want to learn? How would you work to learn how to use them well?
- Have you ever asked a person who might have bought from you why they didn’t? What did you think you were going to learn from that?
- Tell me about a time when your boss told you something you did wrong. What did you do about it?
- Tell me about a time when you made a real difference at your company.
- Walk me through the whole sales process.
Interview questions for sales reps: examples and tips
One way to start thinking about possible answers is to look at what other people have done. Here are some examples of answers and some tips that can help you come up with your own.
1. In five to ten years, where do you see your career going?
Tip: Talk about your goals for the next five to ten years and be as clear and detailed as you can. If possible, explain how the open position can help you get the skills and/or experience you need to get to where you want to be in your career.
Example: “I can see myself in the future running the sales department of a company as a sales director. I think that my ability to talk to people and solve hard problems can help create a culture of successful sales reps. I think this job will help me build my leadership and technical skills, which is what I want to do with my career.”
2.How do you stay motivated at work?
Tip: Describe your main motivation and talk about a time when you helped a potential or current client. Your boss wants to know how well your people skills match up with the results you can get in this job.
Example: “My main goal is to help customers so that our company can solve the problems they are having. Salespeople help people who want to make a difference in the world. Our job is to make a link that can lead to a long-term relationship that benefits both sides.”
3.How do you know you’re a good salesperson?
Tip: This is your chance to make the manager want to hire you. Combine the things that made you successful at your current job and explain how your skills can help you in this new job. Also, tell us what about you helped you reach your goals.
Example: “In my current job, I make 50 cold calls a day to potential clients. Earlier this year, I met or beat my goal by closing a sales cycle for five weeks in a row. I was named Employee of the Month because of how hard I worked, and since then I have closed one deal every week. I think that my passion for solving problems and being kind is what makes me good at it. To understand what your prospects want and meet those needs, you have to listen to them.”
4. What made you want to apply for this job?
Tip: This answer might be the same as the first question, but studying the job description will pay off here. Make your answer fit the company and what you learned about it before the interview.
Example: “I think this job is a good fit for my past experience in sales, and it also gives me the chance to learn new skills. I can take on more responsibility, like making status reports and reporting leads in the customer relationship management system, and I can also work in different departments.”
5. How do you think our business could get better?
Tip: Learn as much as you can about the company to find out what parts or efforts could be expanded. Some companies may be easier to find ways to improve than others, but think carefully about how you respond and make sure your criticism is helpful.
Example: “I think that the organization’s presence on social media can be made better. Social media operations are a key part of getting sales and marketing to work together. If you have a marketing team that posts and interacts with prospects and industry leaders, it forces you to learn more about the industry and combines marketing and sales efforts to get the best results.”
6.Do you want to ask me any questions?
Tip: Prepare questions ahead of time to ask the person who hired you about your new responsibilities. You want to make sure you both know what you’re supposed to do and how your success will be measured. In this step, keep in mind that you are also interviewing the employer.
How often will I work with people from different departments? “How do you measure how well sales reps do their jobs?” “Are there ways for employees to get training to help them improve their skills?”
7. Please describe what you hope to get out of this job.
Tip: The hiring manager is giving you this test to see if you’re ready for the interview, so make sure you’ve read the job description carefully.
Example: “I think I’ll be working with prospects all the time to close sales for the company. I’ll also cold call leads, meet the goals you set, and make reports on the competition of the prospects.”
8.What do you think of our business?
Tip: Read the company’s website to see how they describe themselves and look at their social media posts to get a sense of their brand voice and reputation.
Example: “This company is a B2B marketing company that sells SaaS products to help businesses and marketing teams work together better. The software has made businesses 30% more productive, and three Fortune 500 companies have said good things about it.”
9. Is there anything about sales that you don’t like?
Tip: Be honest in your answer, and then talk about what you like best about sales and what keeps you going. Every job has good and bad parts, but you want to show the hiring manager that the good parts are why you want the job.
Example: “Sales can be a stressful job, but I wanted to work in this field and enjoy it because I want to give great customer service. Because I’m goal-oriented, I can handle stressful situations when I know that my work will help my customers and my company.”
10. How did you close your biggest sale?
Tip: Talk about a time when you made a big sale or helped a client in a way that turned out well. This question is trying to get you to give a good example of success.
Example: “A tech client I worked with wasn’t sure if they wanted to buy from us. I tried to close the deal with them for three hours. When they put their manager on the phone, I told him that our product had led to 20 customer testimonials and sent him to our website.
He read the testimonial out loud while I was on the phone, as I had asked. He saw that my name was in the letter of recommendation. I told him that if he had any problems, he could always call me. By showing that your team is like a family and that you care about the results, you’ll be in a good position to make a sale.”
