What are the most common sales representative questions that interviewers ask? And how can I answer them in a way that will set me apart from other candidates?

Question:

Why did i  choose you for this job ?

Answer:

Because I only want to be the best.

What motivates you to sell?

This question sets the stage for highlighting your positive attributes as a sales rep. But when put on the spot, it can be hard to elaborate on exactly what motivates you. Don't give a generic response.

Why do you want to work in sales?

Think back to when your passion first began.

What's your greatest weakness?

 think of a true weakness you get stressed out easily, or your habit of multitasking can lead to distraction.

A lot of people get into sales at one point or another … but not a lot make a successful career of it. Can’t hit quota, not good at handling rejection, too disorganized, too aggressive, not aggressive enough -- there are a lot of ways a person can not be cut out for sales.

The next time you’re interviewing for a rep position, use these sales interview questions to find the people who are the best fit for your organization. The answers will reveal your candidate’s strengths, weaknesses, preferences, and aspirations. After hearing the responses, deciding whether or not the person jibes with your vision of the open position will be much easier.

Sales interview questions: 1) What’s your opinion of the role of learning in sales?

Being thrown for a loop by this question is a sign that your candidate isn’t a life-long learner, which is becoming increasingly important in sales.

Sales interview questions: 2) How do you keep up to date on your target market?

Even if the target market of their last job is totally different than that of the one they’re interviewing for, this will show you their ability to find and keep up to date with relevant trade publications and blogs.

Sales interview questions: 3) Explain something to me.

While this technically isn’t a question, it’s important to assess whether the candidate has a helpful demeanor.

Sales interview questions: 4) What’s worse: not making quota every single month or not having happy customers?

Depending on your company’s goals, either answer could be the right one. But beware of reps who will prioritize quota over truly giving customers what they need -- or withholding from them what they don’t.

Sales interview questions: 5) How would you approach a short sales cycle differently than a long sales cycle?

Short cycles call for reps that can close quickly, and long sales cycles require a much more careful, tailored approach. They’re drastically different, and your candidate should recognize this.

Sales interview questions: 6) When do you stop pursuing a client?

The right answer here will depend on your company’s process, but in general, the more tenacious and persistent a rep is willing to be, the better. Trish Bertuzzi, founder of The Bridge Group, recommends six to eight attempts before throwing in the towel.

Sales interview questions: 7) Who are you most comfortable selling to and why?

Listen for whether they answer with a description of an ideal buyer, or a particular demographic with no tie-in to the buying process. Depending on your product or service, the second type of response might pose a problem.

Sales interview questions: 8) What’s your least favorite part of the sales process?

If their least favorite part is the most important part at your company, that’s probably a red flag. This question can also alert you to weak areas.

Sales interview questions: 9) What motivates you?

Money, achievement, helping customers, being #1 -- there are a lot of potential answers to this question. What makes a good answer vs. a bad one will hinge on your company culture. For instance, if teamwork is paramount within your sales team, a candidate who is driven by internal competition might not be a great fit.

Sales interview questions: 10) What is your ultimate career aspiration?

Lack of growth opportunities was one of the top three reasons that would cause a salesperson to look for a new job, according to a survey from Glassdoor. If the candidate expresses a desire to pursue a career move your company can’t provide, you might be interviewing again sooner than you’d like.

Sales interview questions: 11) What are three adjectives a former client would use to describe you?

Listen for synonyms of “helpful,” as a consultative approach is becoming increasingly important in modern sales.

Sales interview questions: 12) How do you keep a smile on your face during a hard day?

Appraise the person’s attitude towards rejection. Do they need time to shake off an unpleasant conversation? Or do they bounce back immediately?

Sales interview questions: 13) What made you want to get into sales?

Commission, while perhaps part of the motivation, is not a great response to this question.

Sales interview questions: 14) Have you ever had a losing streak? How did you turn it around?

Everyone has bad spells, so beware of someone who claims they’ve never experienced a downturn. Nothing’s wrong with a temporary slump as long as the candidate learned from it.

Sales interview questions: 15) What do you think our company/sales organization could do better?

This sales interview question serves two purposes: it shows how much research the candidate did before meeting with you, and it demonstrates their creative thinking and entrepreneurial capabilities.

Sales interview questions: 16) In your last position, how much time did you spend cultivating customer relationships vs. hunting for new clients, and why?

Certain companies and roles call for people better at farming or hunting, but look out for a person who performs one of these tasks to the exclusion of the other. Both are vital to selling well.

Sales interview questions: 17) What’s your approach to handling customer objections?

Preparing to deal with objections instead of winging it is critical. Listen for evidence of a process.

Sales interview questions: 18) Have you ever asked a prospect who didn’t buy from you to explain why you lost the deal? What did they say, and what did you learn from that experience?

Following up on deals to learn how to do better next time -- win or lose -- boosts the odds of winning in the future. A salesperson who takes the time to learn from both their successes and their failures will likely be a valuable addition to your team.

Sales interview questions: 19) What role does social media play in your selling process?

Social selling is becoming more important in all industries. If the candidate has not used social channels to research prospects or look for leads in the past, make sure they have a willingness to learn.

Sales interview questions: 20) What role does content play in your selling process?

Again, it’s not necessarily a deal breaker if the salesperson doesn’t actively share and engage with content on their social media accounts, but they should at least want to start doing so.

Sales interview questions: 21) How do you research prospects before a call or meeting? What information do you look for?

Neglecting to use LinkedIn to research clients is not a viable option in today’s sales environment. Ensure that candidates are searching for personal commonalities in addition to professional information so they can tailor their communication as much as possible. Looking into company trigger events would be the cherry on top.

Sales interview questions: 22) Have you ever turned a prospect away? If so, why?

Selling to everyone and anyone -- even if a salesperson knows it’s not in the prospect’s best interest -- is a recipe for disaster. Make sure your candidate is comfortable with turning business away if the potential customer isn’t a good fit.

Sales interview questions: 23) What are some of your favorite questions to ask prospects?

Salespeople today should be asking questions more than making pitches. Open-ended questions that help a rep thoroughly understand a prospect’s needs are as good as gold.

Sales interview questions: 24) What’s your take on collaboration within a sales team?

Collaboration might be less important at some organizations than others, but candidates who aren’t willing to collaborate at all won’t likely make pleasant coworkers, not to mention their uncooperative attitude will block knowledge sharing.

Sales interview questions: 25) If you were hired for this position, what would you do in your first month?

The answer to this question doesn’t have to blow you away. However, the candidate should have some sort of action plan to get up and running. No matter how much training you provide, it’s still smart to hire a self-starter when you can.

The most common sales representative questions asked is to narrate a story where you have dealt with a difficult customer and how you have resolved the issue and translated that into business. 

My answer is unrelated to what is taught in business schools today. It deals with empathy, to understand a customers view point, his needs and an emapthy towards understanding where he is coming from. The ability to manage the above is know as relationship management which is the key in sales closure and getting business deals. Nothing fancy but very effective.

The most important think in a sales marketer are as follows:

Product : Price, Place, & Promotion

u must know all those things confidentially because the total concept of sales perspective will depend upon these things 

Thanks

• What is your previous achievements.
• How many timed you hit your assigned target.
• Why you want to change your work.
• How many clients you have.
• How many region you know well.
• Where you find yourself after five years from now.

The most common question asked from me is :

what is your achievement ?

 my annual growth ?

 how many people reporting to me ?

 i am reporting to who  ?

 why i want to change my Jop 

The most common question asked from me is how u will present your product in a front of a customer and i always got it wright by answering in my own way.You will present a product in way that firstly u will generalize different defective features of different products available in the market but u will name them just a generalization and then you will point out the different flaws they have then you will compare those flaws with the benefits of your product and slowly u will drag his or her mind toward the different important features of your product in way that your presentation describe the different benefits of your product in a complementary way.