6 common sales job interview questions for sales reps (with answers)

Every sales rep wishes to enter the best company that offers great incentives and employee perks. However, getting an entry ticket by cracking the sales interview isn’t a walk in the park. The sales job interview questions often send chills down one’s spine. Most sales reps get nervous and bungle even the most basic sales questions.

Well, the problem is several salespeople go for an interview without preparation, which is why most of them don’t succeed. 

By preparing for the sales interview questions sales reps can conquer the nerve and ace the interview.

Most common interview questions for sales reps 

Free yourself from anxiety by preparing before going for a sales interview. Often you’ll face similar kinds of questions in a sales job interview. So make a list of commonly asked sales questions and prepare the answer. 

To help you, I’ve listed a few questions below along with the answers:

1. Can you tell me a bit about yourself?

Well, here the interviewer isn’t interested in knowing your personal or professional life story. They want to see, how well you can pitch and how confident you are in presenting yourself. Be brief and highlight your strengths as well as achievements in sales. However, make sure you speak the truth. Give real-life examples 

Possible Answer 

I am an avid learner and a problem solver. I am quite good at relationship building which is why I chose sales as a career. I like to interact with new people and learn about their businesses as well as challenges. Due to my strong interpersonal skills, I am able to help potential prospects visualize and believe how a simple product can make their work as well as life easier. This is why many prospects purchased the product I sold and even mentioned me in their positive reviews.

2. How do you handle rejection?

Rejection is a hurdle that every salesperson faces in their sales career. Some are not able to handle rejections and companies don’t prefer hiring such hot-headed individuals. So present yourself as a calm person who takes rejection as a challenge and works harder. 

Possible Answer 

Rejection is part of professional selling and I am mentally prepared to face it. Many will say “NO”, I expect that. everyone doesn’t have the budget or requirement to purchase the product. In fact, I look at rejection as an opportunity to get better. I listen to my recorded sales calls and check if at all I’ve made any mistakes. I even prepare a good response when I hear a “No” so that I can handle a similar rejection in the future. 

3. How comfortable are you with making cold calls?

Cold calling is the best way to connect with new opportunities. However, sadly few salespeople get bored dialing numbers and connecting with people they’ve never spoken to before. They get anxious and blank. Well, cold calling is an art that needs to be mastered. It isn’t just about dialing random numbers, it is about establishing relationships and you need to convey that you understand this.

Possible Answer 

I am an extrovert who enjoys speaking to different individuals. So, cold calling is something that makes me happy. Besides I am blessed with a great sense of humor that helps in breaking the ice and making the prospect comfortable. However, I don’t jump for quantity, I am interested in quality. So, I just make a few calls a day but they are effective as I do my research before calling to strike up a meaningful conversation with the potential buyer. 

4. In your last position, how did you balance maintaining current relationships and converting new deals?

Both new clients, as well as current customers, are important for a business and they would like to hire someone who can handle both efficiently. So, make the interviewer believe that you are a smart player. You can keep the current customers happy as well as nurture a deal and convert it into sales.

Possible Answer 

I am a tech-savvy person. I used most of the popular sales apps to increase my productive hours and efficiency to give time to both potential buyer and current customers. For instance, by creating sequences of emails in a CRM I used to put the follow-up on autopilot and connect with the potential buyer in real time. On the other hand, with the help of a form builder and survey app, I use it to quickly create a survey for the current customer to take their feedback for understanding if they are happy with the product. These apps reduced my workload so I could balance both relationships efficiently. 

5. What are the core values every salesperson must-have? 

There are certain sales skills that are required to persuade a prospect and convert them into paying customers. It is necessary to be aware of these sales skills and assure the interviewer that you have these sales skills. 

Possible Answer

In my 3 years of experience in sales, there are few of important sales skills that helped me convert many potential buyers into paying customers.

So I feel every sales reps should possess these skills- 

• Active listening
• Persistence
• Networking skills
• Collaboration skills
• Effective communication skills
• Emotional intelligence  
• Time management 
• Problem-solving 
• Relationship-building
• Storytelling
• Critical thinking

6. Share an example of a sales deal that failed. What did you learn from that experience? 

In sales, you need to constantly grow. The interviewer wants to see if you are willing to make the necessary changes for growth. So paint a positive picture by showing that you are willing to learn from your mistake

Possible Answer 

Once I and my colleague pursued the same deal as it was a very big account. The prospect got frustrated with constant calls and emails with the same information and we ultimately lost the deal. That experience taught me that it is necessary to work as one unified sales team or else the company will suffer due to internal conflicts. After that experience, I started coordinating more with my colleagues and tried to maintain transparency to ensure we don’t step on each shoe.

To conclude 

Preparation is the key to successfully cracking any sales interview. So, make sure you prepare well. Stay confident while answering the question. Being in sales you’ve been interacting with strangers and closing deals. So treat the interviewer as a client. The way you show a client how a product can be beneficial for their company in the same way you need to show the interviewer how your skills can be beneficial for the interviewer’s company. 

Sales can sometimes appear like a complicated game. However, with the best tool and skills, it can be managed effectively. CRM like Salesmate can help salespeople in streamlining their sales and maintaining healthy customer relationships.