How To Ace Your Next Sales Interview

If you want to succeed in sales, it requires having the right skills and an individual who is not only competitive but confident, motivated, and outgoing.

But it takes more than just being confident and skilled to ace a sales interview and score a coveted sales position. You have to constantly be selling yourself in order to convince a sales manager to hire you.

That means you need to ace the interview by confidently and skillfully answering the sales interview questions that are posed. It takes preparation and execution to convince management that you are the best choice.

You’ll need to be at your best because your skills will be tested and questioned over and over again until the sales manager is convinced that you have what it takes for the sales role. And the role-play part of the interview can make or break your chances of being hired.

The Prep Work

Sales are won and lost in proportion to how well prepared you are. The more prepared you are for your sales interview questions, the better your chances of landing the job.

Know the company
Know the product/service
Know the problems that the product service solves
Know WHO it solves them for
Have your numbers
Dress Well
Be Early – Always be early. Showing up on time is considered late so be there 10 to 15 minutes before the interview

It’s been said that “those who fail to prepare, prepare to fail.” There is no excuse not to do the necessary research on the company you are interviewing with and find out what they do, the products and services they provide, who they help, how they help, and why people usually buy from them. Know their key competitors and the strengths they have over those competitors.

You should read everything you can about the company as well as follow their social media accounts to get a better idea of what they do and what type of organization it is.

The Interview Questions

There are so many different questions that you may get in an interview, but we’ve compiled a list of the most common questions you will get. Be prepared to answer any or all of these sales interview questions when you meet with the sales manager.

How do you feel about cold calling – and can you do it?
Do you have a track record of success?
What motivates you?
What do you know about our company?
Why do you want to work for us?
Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years?
Why should we hire you over the other candidates?
Can you sell me this pen? – (See Below)

The Role-Play Demo

Depending upon the type of sales job you are interviewing for, you will need to be prepared to role-play or do a mock demo of the product or service during the initial or subsequent interviews. Many sales interviews will include a role-play or mock demo. And while you may be personable and have great presenting skills, these situations can be challenging.

You may have aced the interview up until this point, but the role-play/mock demo carries the most weight because the interviewer gets to see you in action.

Any miscues here could cost you the position, so focus is key.

The interviewer is going to want to make sure you can show:

A solid understanding of the service/product
That you can ask qualifying questions to uncover pain points and determine buying signals.
That you can give the customer what the want, then provide them with what they need
Can articulate the value the product/service provides
You can handle objections.
Can close the deal

Always Ask For The Order

Salespeople are always taught to ask for the order when they are on a sales call, because so many salespeople will go through an entire presentation without specifically asking for the prospective clients’ business. If you want to become successful in sales, you’ve got to close.