Interview practice
Sales representative: interview practice
Sales interviews tend to probe your results, how you find out what a buyer needs, and how you handle objections and rejection.
Matched to O*NET: Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products (41-4012.00)See this occupation on O*NET OnLine
Commonly asked in this field
Questions commonly asked in interviews for this field, not by any particular company. Your practice interview mixes questions like these with questions from your own résumé.
- 01Walk me through your sales process from first contact to close.
- 02What was your target last year, and how did you do against it?
- 03Tell me about a deal you lost. What did you learn?
- 04A prospect says your price is too high. How do you respond?
- 05How do you find out what a new prospect actually needs?
- 06How do you keep yourself going after a run of rejections?
- 07Sell me something you use every day.
What the interviewer listens for
From the rubric Hmmlo uses for this job family.
Results
Numbers stated plainly: target, attainment, pipeline, typical deal size.
Discovery
You ask questions and listen before you pitch.
Handling objections
You acknowledge the concern, explore it, then answer it calmly.
Resilience
You show how you handle rejection and keep your own momentum.
One tip
Have your numbers ready and honest, including a quarter that went badly. A clear explanation of a miss often says more than a list of wins.
From the blog
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