21⟩ Tell us how do you overcome buyer objections? How do you handle price objections?
Ask for examples
Can they describe selling on value, not on price?
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“Area Sale Manager related Frequently Asked Questions in various Area Sales Manager job interviews by interviewer. The set of questions here ensures that you offer a perfect answer posed to you. So get preparation for your new job hunting”
67 Area Sales Manager Questions And Answers
22⟩ Explain us what motivates you?
I am constantly motivated by the challenge of the sale. The success of landing a new client is a thrill, and building a well-thought out pitch that will explain the product is very satisfying.
23⟩ Tell us how would your co-workers describe you?
Manager interview questions like this are generally asked to discover additional hidden qualities about yourself that you might not otherwise have mentioned.
"My co-workers will tell you that I am a team player and a colleague they can count on to pull his weight whether it's a normal day or we're in a crunch."
24⟩ Tell us how do you react to problems?
I don't react to problems, but acknowledge their existence and respond to them in a calm manner. Reacting to a problem causes a panic and the problem does not get resolved until everyone calms down, accepts the situation and then focuses on a resolution.
25⟩ Tell us what do you think makes for a successful rep coaching session?
The candidate doesn't have to give a sample agenda of what their one-on-ones would look like. However, it's important that their conception of a coaching session includes actual coaching -- not just a dry discussion of the numbers. Listen for responses that include mentions of career development, goals, skill building, and problem solving in addition to data review.
26⟩ What are your weaknesses as Area Sales Manager?
Mention that you have a flaw, but then also add a suggestion of improving that flaw or demonstrate any actions you are taking to address any weakness. The key to answering questions like this is to show you have learnt from your mistakes and are taking concrete steps to address it.
Occasionally I have been told that I take longer than other colleagues to complete complicated projects or tasks. But this is only because I want to make sure the work I do is to the highest standards.
27⟩ Explain me what do you like about your present job?
Try to link what you 'like' to any of the requirements of the job you are applying for. Also keep in mind that you are looking to leave your present jobs so don't make a big list.
It provides me with constant new challenges to test my abilities.
Communicating and meeting with new people.
28⟩ Explain me what's the ideal relationship between sales and marketing, and how do you operationalize that?
It's more than just inviting marketing to your meetings. The ideal relationship starts with common goals of what success looks like, common definitions of leads, qualified leads, lead stages and short-term opportunities. It's working together on the same pipeline, and ensuring that success is measured and compensation is dispensed based on overall pipeline performance. Marketing needs to be held accountable for qualified opportunities and closed business. When that alignment takes place, the daily & weekly operational requirements more easily fall into place.
29⟩ As you know we are a fast moving company and things are always changing, how do you think you will fit in with our ever changing and fast paced environment?
Our company has 20 field sales reps and they need to receive their email on the cell phone. This is something the IT department knows little about and has never supported mobile devices for a variety of reasons. The request came down from the president and we needed to make this happen immediately.
I was out of my element on this one and knew little about the subject, but I was assigned the entire task with a short deadline. So I researched the various technologies that would support our needs, tested several of them and after 3 weeks of hard work I presented my findings to the sales department and allowed them to make a decision on one of the three options.
Once they accepted, I soon got to work and within two weeks every sales person could now retrieve their mail from their cell phone any where in the world.
It was a huge undertaking and we soon learned that sales went up 11% and that growth has been directly attributed to the success of this project because sales could now provide a faster response to our customers.
30⟩ Tell me what do you think it takes in terms of skills and qualifications to be a successful sales rep in this organization?
A large part of a sales manager's job is keeping the team fully staffed with high performers. This question gives the interviewer a peek into the candidate's stance on hiring. The skills and qualifications they deem to be important are those they'll look for when interviewing for open positions. Do the attributes they value line up with the company's standards? If so, it's a good sign. If not, this could be a red flag.
31⟩ As you know you have changed jobs five times in the past five years, why should we think you are likely to stay here for a long time?
This is the same as asking why have you changed jobs so frequently? It is likely to be asked if your curriculum vitae shows that not held down a long term position but have regularly jumped from one job to another. When answering you have no real option but to lump all your previous employers together. At all costs avoid showing that you are a difficult personality to get along with or that you have a habit of leaving jobs abruptly.
I do not believe that my career history is an accurate reflection of my character or abilities. Stability is important to me and I am anxious to work long term for one company. Although my CV shows that I have worked for a five different companies over a short period of time, the reason for this was that I had a elderly and frail relative to look after during this period.
32⟩ Fresh Area Sales Manager Job Interview Questions
☛ What motivates you as a sales professional?
☛ How would you describe the corporate culture of your past company?
☛ What traits do you believe make up the most effective sales representatives?
☛ What sales quotas are you accustomed to?
☛ How comfortable are you with cold-calling?
☛ How long was the average sales cycle at your previous jobs?
☛ Who were your most profitable target markets at your previous jobs?
☛ How would you describe your sales technique?
☛ What are some common hurdles you're facing right now as a sales representative in your current position?
☛ Can you give me an example of a complex contract negotiation you've completed and how you did it?
☛ How did your past organization position itself in the market?
☛ How would you describe your ideal sales manager?
☛ What are some of the traits you look for in a leader?
☛ Give me an example of when you've prospected a lead creatively, and what are the steps you took to do so?
☛ Where would you like to see yourself improve in the area of sales?
☛ What does the term "consultative selling" mean to you?
☛ How much was an average sale at your previous position?
☛ Give me an example of how you handled a difficult client in order to get the sale, and what did you learn from the experience?
☛ What was a typical day like at your past position?
☛ What was your compensation package at your past position?
☛ Can you give me an example pitch of the product or service you were selling at your previous position?
☛ What types of managers do you learn best under?
☛ Why are you looking to leave your current position?
☛ How do you define success?
☛ How would you describe the selling style of your former manager?
33⟩ Sample Area Sales Manager Job Interview Questions
☛ If I were to interview the people who have reported to you in the past, how would they describe your management style?
☛ If I were to interview your reporting staff members, how would they describe your strengths and weaknesses as a manager and supervisor?
☛ Give me an example, from your past work experiences, about a time when you had an underperforming employee reporting to you. How did you address the situation? Did the employee's performance improve? If not, what did you do next?
☛ Rate your management skills on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 representing excellent management skills. Provide three examples from your past work experiences that demonstrate your selected number is accurate.
☛ Describe the work environment or culture and its management style in which you have experienced the most success.
☛ Tell me about a time when you had a reporting employee who performed very well. The employee exceeded goals and sought more responsibility. Describe how you handled this situation day-to-day and over time.
☛ Describe three components of your philosophy of sales management that demonstrate what you value and add, as an individual, to an organization's culture and work environment.
☛ What factors are crucial within an organization and must be present for you to work most effectively?
☛ Tell me about a time when you reorganized a department or significantly changed employee work assignments. How did you approach the task? How did the affected employees respond to your actions?
☛ One of the jobs of a sales manager or supervisor is to manage performance and perform periodic performance reviews. Tell me how you have managed employee performance in the past. Describe the process you have used for performance feedback.
34⟩ Operational Area Sales Manager Job Interview Questions
☛ What kind of sales did you do at your last company? (Inside sales? Field sales?)
☛ What was the size of your team at your last company?
☛ What was your sales quota?
☛ How did you generate leads?
☛ Describe your product. What are the benefits? Who are your customers?
☛ Why do customers buy your product? What are the alternatives?
☛ Describe your customers' buying decision process. Who approves or blocks the buying decision? What do you need to line up to close the sale?
☛ Where do you find great sales talent?
☛ What criteria do you use to evaluate sales skills?
☛ How do you monitor the performance of individual team members?
☛ How do you motivate your team?
☛ How do you make decisions about compensation?
35⟩ Basic Area Sales Manager Job Interview Questions
☛ What is your best strength at the job?
☛ What were you main duties in the previous job?
☛ What do you like the best about being a sales manager?
☛ How do you arrange your daily work?
☛ How many first sales appointments a week are considered as a successful week?
☛ Describe a typical sales process (or sales cycle) for big ticket items and for smaller ones.
☛ What are your selling techniques, how do you present/launch a new product? What presentation's skills require?
☛ What are your goals in term of professional development and advancement?
☛ How did you develop your best-selling techniques?
☛ Describe some success stories and some difficulties. How did you handle the difficulties?
☛ What have you found to be the most important skills in negotiating and succeeding in sales?
☛ How do you handle rejections?
☛ Describe sales-teamwork; how did you handle your team challenges?
36⟩ General Area Sales Manager Job Interview Questions
☛ Where do you see yourself in one, three and five years?
☛ How would you describe your ideal sales position?
☛ What core values should all great companies possess?
☛ How would you describe the people at your past company?
☛ What types of customer relationship tracking did you implement at your past jobs?
☛ Can you give me three adjectives that best describe you as an employee?
☛ Can you give me three adjectives that best describe you as a person?
☛ Can you give me an example of a failure you had at work and what you learned from it?
☛ What interested you about our firm?
☛ What type of compensation package are you looking for?
☛ How would you describe leadership?
☛ How would you describe passion?
☛ How would you describe wealth?
☛ How do you feel about meeting face to face with clients and giving public presentations?
☛ What skills do you believe make for a great sales representative?
☛ Why should we hire you?
☛ How would you describe your learning style?
☛ Why did you choose sales as a profession?
☛ How did your past company obtain its leads?
☛ What percentage of leads did you convert into sales at your past job?
☛ How would you describe your ideal sales lead?
☛ What do you feel is the best way to establish a strong relationship with a client?
☛ When a client's expectations are too high, how do you handle it?
☛ Can you give me an example in which you've used your creativity to retain existing accounts?
☛ How would you define the term "salesmanship"?
37⟩ Explain what types of products/services have you sold and how did you sell them?
See if they understand how to sell "solutions" as opposed to "products" or "services"
38⟩ Tell us how do you manage your time?
I only have so many hours in the day to get my work done and I have found that if I don't create daily, weekly, and monthly goals, it seems like nothing ever gets done. I keep track of all my responsibilities and goals in spreadsheet and review them daily.
I mark down when I am first assigned a task, how long I think it will take, when it needs to be completed and how much time I will need to spend on it each day to complete the job on time. This helps me in so many ways, but mainly it keeps me on track with what is important. It also helps me from getting overbooked and promising more than I can deliver. Now, I can always deliver what I promise and be on-time.
39⟩ Tell me how would you cope with a difficult colleague?
This really depends on what my co-worker is doing, the severity of their actions and the specific problems or disruption that they may be causing. Having said that no matter what the situation is, I would always remain in control of any situation and concentrate on my work. I would not take any arguments or heated discussions personally or hold grudges against work colleagues.
40⟩ Tell us what was your most significant professional accomplishment?
Keep asking for more and more detail to get insight into work ethic
