When you are trying to make a sale, presentation is everything. When employers interview potential sales people, they are often picturing the candidates making a sales pitch to customers. When you are interviewing for a sales position, you must sell yourself to the potential employer. Lots of thought needs to go into sales job interview preparation. You must give extra attention to what you are going to wear, how polished you appear, the language you are going to use, how firm your handshake is, and how confident and energetic your demeanor is. You want to make a strong, persuasive and memorable impression on the hiring manager.
In your sales job interview preparation, it’s important to be aware of the qualities that make a good salesperson. Among the most common are confidence, persuasiveness, attentiveness, motivation and active listening skills. It’s also important to not come across too pushy, and communicate with hiring managers in an authentic and down-to-earth manner. To demonstrate you are a good fit in a sales job interview, give examples of related achievements from your past experience. Go into as much detail as possible, giving quantifiable results. For example, if you increased sales revenue at a past job, give the interviewer a percentage or dollar figure that shows how much. To help you with your sales job interview preparation, here are some common sales job interview questions, and examples of suitable answers that you can use as a guide to create your own answers:
Sales Job Interview Questions and Answers Examples
1) How would your co-workers describe you?
My co-workers would say that I am a self-starter who takes charge and thinks outside the box. At my last job, we were struggling to meet our sales numbers for a new product. I found a new niche of potential customers by reaching out to the customer base of an old product that had a similar use. No one else was aware of this product, I had to do quite a bit of digging to find the customer leads. Through that group of people, my team increased our sales numbers by 30%.
2) What made the sales position peak your interest?
I can think of multiple ways this product can benefit a wide range of people. My past experience has taught me how to evaluate a customer and develop a pitch for the product that is specific to their needs. I look forward to continuing to develop those skills and put them to good use.
3) Tell me about your most successful sale, and how you did it.
When I was working for a furniture retailer, we had a client that was looking to furnish ten offices for their business. I could tell the sudden expansion of their company was overwhelming them and that they weren’t looking to rush into a decision. I made sure not to come on too strong, but kept contacting them on a bi-weekly basis, making sure to answer any questions they have and gauge where they were in the decision process. I was able to simplify the deal for them by putting together a list of products I thought they needed, along with a 25% overall discount since they were making such a large purchase. This alleviated their stress greatly, and they gratefully agreed to make the purchase.
4) How do you deal with rejection?
Sales is a numbers game. With every sale you make comes multiple rejections. The key is to not put too much focus on the rejections. When a customer is hesitant, I will try to turn around any reservations they may have. But once it becomes clear that they aren’t changing their mind, I move on. It’s important not to take it personally and dwell on it, since that will only inhibit my ability to sell to those who are interested in the future.
Sales jobs in San Francisco, CA
Author: Jessica Cody
Jessica Cody, a native of Fairfield County, Connecticut, has a background in online marketing and public relations. Currently, she works at VHMNetwork LLC in the role of Marketing Analyst. She is a graduate of the University of Connecticut, where she studied Journalism and Political Science. She is also an avid runner with a passion for the outdoors.
