Hiring

5 Key Interview Questions

by XPRESS, 18 March 2013

There are a number of tried and tested interview questions that you can expect to be asked when attending an interview for a sales position. As part of your preparation for the interview you can pre-prepare answers to these questions which give you a head start when it comes to the interview itself. 

Firstly, what are your long term career goals? This is a key question and the answer needs to be linked to both the role you are applying for and also the opportunities that exist within the company you are speaking to. There is no point saying you are keen to join a 4 star hotel if you are speaking to a client who only operates in the 3 star market.

Where are you currently against your target? It is imperative that you have these figures ready to go as if you spend time thinking about the answer it looks like you are making them up. You need to know your Sales Target, revenue against target, performance against KPI’s etc. It is also important you know these for the last three years so you can demonstrate trends and not just the current situation. If you have not hit your targets be honest and say but make sure you have some plausible reasons as to why. 

Give me an example of your biggest new business win? Make this impressive as it is your chance to show what you are capable of and be able to talk through how you won this piece of business, the research process etc. Also try and make this a piece of business that would be relevant to your new, prospective employer. 

How do you like to be managed? Again, make sure this is relevant to the new employer. If they manage remotely then give examples of how you work well in this structure etc. What is your biggest weakness?

This is a cracking question to ask a sales person as no one likes to talk about out their weaknesses. The key here is to make sure you give a weakness that you are aware of and how you are going to improve this weakness. Remember the golden rule, make sure everything is positive in your interview! You like your current role, you like the current company, you are leaving for all the right reasons etc etc.