Top 20 Interview Questions for Salespeople

• Their sales methodology (for different scenarios)
• Their previous achievements, and
• Their personal and professional goals

Here is a list of 20 interview questions (in no particular order) that will get you started and help to differentiate the potential achievers from the non-achievers.

1. Tell us about your sales experience (uncover if face to face, over the phone, business to business or business to consumer)
2. What attracts you to the sales industry?
3. What do you like and dislike about the products or services you're selling now and why?
4. Do you have to develop any new business or did you maintain existing accounts
5. How did you find these new prospects
6. How many first appointments do you have each week?
7. What type of sales cycle is most rewarding to you? A long cycle for a big ticket item or a series of smaller, more frequent sales.
8. What has been your best sales achievement to date?
9. How did you achieve this?
10. What are your long-term professional goals?
11. What do you do personally for your professional development?
12. What sales skills do you think are most important to having success in sales?
13. What are your top three open-ended questions for initial sales calls?
14. What is the largest group you've presented to (externally/ internally)?
15. How do you move forward when faced with a number of objections?
16. Describe a time your company did not deliver on its product or service and how you responded?
17. Describe one or two of the most difficult challenges and/ or rejections you've faced in the past and how you responded?
18. How would your present prospects and customers describe you as their sales representative?
19. How would those with whom you work now, across all areas of the company, describe you and the work you do?
20. If you were given this position, what would your first month look like?

And of course the most important thing to remember..... reference checking ! Make sure any sales achievements they have discussed are accurate.