Provincial Head-Sales

This question will help you assess a candidate's ability to explain a concept they know intimately to someone who isn't as familiar with it. If their hobby is training for a marathon, ask them what advice they'd give you if you woke up one day deciding you wanted to train for a marathon. Are they able to communicate it clearly?

One candidate taught me how to make tagliatelle, which is hand-cut Italian pasta. She gave me the full run-down on how you make the noodles, how you form them and cut them, and which ingredients go into the sauce. She relayed the step-by-step process to me in a way that was very clear and understandable. I felt like I could've gone home and made tagliatelle myself. Not only did this tell me she knows how to convey information clearly, but it was also gave me insight into her personality and interests.

This common job interview question is often asked in every type of interview. But for marketing jobs this question is especially important. It provides you with a chance to tout your interview preparation by suggesting effective marketing strategies based on the research you completed on the company.

Start by discussing your overall qualifications and experience, but then amend those answers with statements such as, "As I researched your company, I noticed that while your online marketing presence was strong, there are several areas that could be built upon including…" and following up with your ideas. However, you should refrain from this answer if you are interviewing with the head of the marketing department, as you may be undermining their beliefs.

☛ What percentage of your targets did you achieve?

☛ What are some of the challenges you see that are facing this industry?

☛ What do you see as the key issues in negotiating?

☛ What sales skills do you think are most important to having success in sales? What are top 3 skills for Sales in your opinion?

☛ What are some examples of your sales experience?

☛ Sell me this pen!

☛ How often did you achieve your sales objectives?

☛ Describe a time that you had to change your sales approach.

☛ Tell me about a time that you worked hard for a sale but didn't get it in the end, how did you handle the situation?

☛ Why do you think you would be good in Sales?

☛ How would you know you were successful on a sale?

☛ Describe a recent situation where you negotiated terms with a tough customer?

☛ Tell me how you developed your largest account!

☛ What previous experience do you have in Market Research?

☛ What previous experience do you have in cold calling?

☛ Why would you be the right person for cold calling? (Give pro's & Con's for your answer).

☛ What different approach would you take in making a Sale?

☛ What do you think are the key skills in closing?

☛ Tell me how you developed your largest account!

☛ Describe a recent situation where you negotiated terms with a tough customer?

☛ Tell me about an important negotiation that failed, what went wrong and why?

☛ Tell me about a successful formal presentation you have done recently?

☛ Give an example of when you had to make a presentation to an unresponsive audience, how did you handle it?

☛ Tell me about a successful formal presentation you have done recently?

☛ Give an example of when you had to make a presentation to an unresponsive audience, how did you handle it?

☛ How would you/did you adjust your presentations for each audience?

☛ How well have you worked together with sales execs/Sales reps?

☛ How does your job fit in to your department and company?

☛ What do you enjoy about this industry?

☛ Give an example of when you have worked under pressure.

☛ What kinds of people do you like working with?

☛ Give me an example of when your work was criticised.

☛ Give me an example of when you have felt anger at work. How did you cope and did you still perform a good job?

☛ What kind of people do you find it difficult to work with?

☛ Give me an example of when you have had to face a conflict of interest at work.

☛ Tell me about the last time you disagreed with your boss.

☛ Give me an example of when you haven't got on with others.

☛ Do you prefer to work alone or in a group? Why?

☛ This organisation is very different to your current employer - how do you think you are going to fit in?

☛ What are you looking for in a company?

☛ How do you measure your own performance?

☛ What kind of pressures have you encountered at work?

☛ Are you a self-starter? Give me examples to demonstrate this?

☛ What changes in the workplace have caused you difficulty and why?

☛ How do you feel about working long hours and/or weekends?

☛ Give me an example of when you have been out of your depth.

☛ What have you failed to achieve to date?

☛ What can you bring to this organisation?

☛ Tell me about the teams you've managed and how you built them.

☛ What are some ways you would make our sales team more efficient?

☛ How have you used metrics to develop, manage, and grow your sales team?

☛ What do you think are the top 5 sales metrics for Sales VPs to measure?

☛ What sales tools have you used? What works for you and what doesn't?

☛ What would you do if a sales rep underperformed?

☛ Tell me about any experience you have creating sales processes.

☛ What is your sales hiring methodology? How do you mitigate risk?

☛ What is your sales onboarding methodology?

☛ What is your sales coaching philosophy?

☛ Given what you know about our company, how big of a sales team do you think we need?

☛ What do you think are the best traits for sales reps? Sales managers?

☛ How do you plan to build a compensation plan?