Questions for sales executives during an interview

Use these interview questions sales executives ask candidates to identify the right qualifications for a Sales Executive position.

Interview questions for sales executives

It is the responsibility of sales executives to manage the day-to-day operations of the sales department. In addition to being outgoing, excellent candidates have experience in sales or customer service. It is not necessary to have industry-specific knowledge to succeed in sales (any good salesperson can be trained), but it may be helpful during the initial screening process. You may find these questions helpful when conducting an interview. Assess the candidate’s personality, level of confidence, and ability to present. Ask them to sell you something in order to observe their performance. Based on their past experience, experienced executives can provide insight into their understanding of sales techniques, persistence, and competitiveness. The best among them are those who are enthusiastic about your products and show a genuine interest in them. Depending on the company, it may also refer to individuals responsible for the sales department. In this case, an interview should focus on the candidate’s knowledge of the field, strategy, and leadership abilities.

Operational and situational questions

• In the event that a prospective client declines to purchase from you, at what point would you cease pursuing them?
• Imagine that you are making a cold call to a potential client. What questions would you ask to better understand their needs? How would you arrange a face-to-face meeting?
• If a customer requested that your product’s price be lowered so that they could purchase it, how would you respond?
• Consider the situation in which you are representing the company at an event. What would you do if you were in charge of generating leads or sales?

Specific questions related to a particular position

• Are you comfortable making cold calls?
• Is there any experience you have with our product? Would you be able to sell it to me?
• Do you think you would be able to handle rejection and if so, how?
• Would you mind telling me about your experience supervising others?
• What steps do you take to maintain customer satisfaction?
• Could you please tell me if you have any experience with Salesforce or other CRM software?

Behavior-related questions

• Would you mind telling me about the most difficult sale you have ever made?
• Describe the methods you have used in the past to meet your quotas
• Describe a situation in which you lost a client or a prospect. Did you learn anything from what went wrong?
• Tell us about a time when you dealt with a customer complaint
• I would like to hear about a time when you were able to motivate an underperforming employee