The document provides 25 sales interview questions to help recruit top sales representatives. Some of the key questions address a candidate's view of learning in sales, how they keep up-to-date on their target market, their approach to different sales cycles, and how they handle customer objections and turning away prospects. The document encourages subscribing to the HubSpot Sales Blog for more sales tips and content.
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25 Sales Interview Question
The document provides 25 sales interview questions to help recruit top sales representatives. Some of the key questions address a candidate's view of learning in sales, how they keep up-to-date on their target market, their approach to different sales cycles, and how they handle customer objections and turning away prospects. The document encourages subscribing to the HubSpot Sales Blog for more sales tips and content.
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The 25 Best
Sales Interview Questions To Recruit Superstar Reps Sales hiring can be tricky. Sales representative is the second- most difficult position to fill in 2015.*
*ManpowerGroup Talent Shortage Survey, 2015
Don’t fret... Sales …These representative 25 interview is the second- questions mosthelp will difficult youposition to best hire the fill inof2015. the bunch. What’s your opinion of the role of 1 learning in sales? Look for candidates who are life-long learners, which is becoming increasingly important in sales. How do you keep up-to-date on your 2 target market? Candidates should be able to to find and keep up-to-date with relevant industry content. 3 Explain something to me. This technically isn’t a question, but tests if your candidate is innately helpful. What’s worse: not making quota every 4 month or not having happy customers? Depending on company goals, either could be right. But beware of reps who value quota more than customer needs. How would you approach a short sales 5 cycle differently than a long one? Short cycles require closers. Longer sales cycles need a more tailored approach. Reps should know the difference. 6 When do you stop pursuing a client? In general, the more persistent and tenacious reps are, the better. What kind of customer are you most 7 comfortable selling to? Make sure their answer is related to the buying process, not an arbitrary demographic. What’s your least favorite part of the 8 sales process? Make sure their least favorite step isn’t the most important part of your process. 9 What motivates you? Think about your company culture. If you emphasize teamwork, “competition” may not be the best answer. What is your ultimate career 10 aspiration? If a candidate’s goals can’t be met at your company, you might be interviewing again sooner than you’d like. What are three adjectives a former 11 client would use to describe you? Listen for synonyms of “helpful” – sales is becoming increasingly consultative. Like these questions? You ain’t seen nothin’ yet! We’ve got plenty more sales tips and tricks up our sleeve. For even more great sales content, subscribe to the HubSpot Sales Blog today. For even more great sales content, subscribe to the HubSpot Sales Blog today.
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How do you keep a smile on your face 12 during a hard day? Observe how the candidate handles rejection. Do they bounce back quickly? 13 Why do you want to be a salesperson? Commission checks -- while part of the allure of sales -- is not the ideal answer. Have you ever had a losing streak? 14 How did you turn it around? Slumps are part of the job. What did they learn from their last losing streak? What do you think our company/sales 15 organization could do better? This question reveals if a candidate did their research, and whether they’re creative. In your last role, how much time did you 16 spend hunting or farming, and why? Beware of candidates who can only hunt or farm. Both skills are vital to selling well. How do you handle customer 17 objections? “I wing it” isn’t a good answer. Preparation and process are crucial to overcoming prospect objections. Have you asked a prospect why they 18 didn’t buy? What did you learn? Salespeople who learn from both their failures and their successes are valuable hires. What role does social media play in 19 your selling process? If the candidate hasn’t used social media before, make sure they’re willing to learn. What role does content play in your 20 selling process? Like social media, candidates who don’t already engage with content should want to start doing so. How do you research prospects? What 21 information do you look for before calls? Ensure that candidates use LinkedIn to find information on prospects so they can tailor communication. Have you ever turned a prospect 22 away? If so, why? Make sure candidates are comfortable turning away prospects that aren’t a good fit. What are some of your favorite 23 questions to ask prospects? Open-ended questions that help reps thoroughly understand prospects’ needs are as good as gold. What’s your take on collaboration 24 within a sales team? Collaboration makes for a good work environment and improves knowledge sharing. If you were hired, what would you do 25 during your first month? Their plan doesn’t have to blow you away. But if they have one at all, you have a self-starter on your hands. Did you find these questions helpful? There’s plenty more where that came from. For even more great sales content, subscribe to the HubSpot Sales Blog today! For even more great sales content, subscribe to the HubSpot Sales Blog today!