The First Sales Interview
So you’re ready to start the sales interview process. Some of you are thinking, “What’s the big deal? I just sit down, pick up the phone, ask a few questions off the top of my head and if they sound good, bring them in.”
If that’s your interview approach, expect to either be interviewing every few weeks, or managing a sales team that consistently underperforms. Wing your way through the sales interview process and you could find yourself on the other side of the desk.
At this point in the sales hiring process, you should have:
- Developed your sales job description
- Composed and published your ad
- Collect and review all resumes
- Weed out those that are not a fit
- Select candidates to interview
- Schedule available time slots for interviews
- Develop your list of questions
The Sales Interview – Resume Review
Refer to your sales job description as you sift through the resumes. This makes it easier to narrow the candidate pool down to the most qualified individuals. As you review resumes, place them in two stacks: interviews and rejections. For the rejections, write and mail a rejection letter thanking them for applying. Then, contact your candidates and schedule a telephone interview. Set aside at least 30 minutes for each interview, plus extra time prior to the interviews to develop your interview plan.
Sales Interview – Telephone Interview
The first sales interview is usually conducted over the telephone. Before you start interviewing, prepare a list of questions. You might think you can ask questions off the top of your head, but this is a bad idea. First, you need consistency. In the sales interview, each candidate should be asked the same questions. This way, when you review the results of the interview you can see how the responses match up. Second, you can carefully consider and compose the questions based on the details of your sales job description. If you come up with questions on the spot, you’re more likely to forget something or sound unprofessional.
What Types of Sales Interview Question Should You Ask?
Design three types of questions: rapport-building questions, open-ended questions and questions related to the job posting
- Rapport questions are used at the beginning of the sales interview to build a bridge with the candidates and to help them relax. They can also give you an idea of the candidate’s communication skills. Rapport questions can be as simple as: “Hi Helen, how are you today?” or they might be based on common ground you spotted in their resume: “I see you moved here from Boston. I love Boston. Do you get back there much?”
- Open-ended questions allow the candidates to reveal more about themselves when answering a sales interview question. This could be something like, “In your resume, you said were the number one sales person over the last two years. Can you tell me how you were able to do that?” I like to use a lot of open-ended questions.
- Questions related to the job posting allow you to make sure the candidates can do exactly what you’re looking for – and it also shows whether they have done their homework. If they read the job description, they should already have answers. If they don’t have good answers for these questions, how well do you think they would prepare for a sales call?
“Manage an assigned territory with the goal of increasing company revenue by generating sales from new and existing customers across multiple industries.
To see if your candidates fulfill this requirement, pose a question like:
“Helen, one of the things we’re looking for is someone with the ability to manage an assigned territory. Can you give me an example of a time when you had to manage a territory and what you did to increase sales to both new and existing clients in the territory?”
As the candidates answer the question, take detailed notes. Did they tell you how they managed the territory? Did they tell you how they increased sales to new and existing customers?
Plan to ask just two questions relating to the job posting. You might be tempted to ask more, but time is a factor. Qualified candidates may need as long as five minutes to properly answer each question. In addition, if you like what you hear, you may want to ask a follow-up question or two to glean more detail about a part of their response.
The Sales Interview Call
Now that you’ve designed your questions, it’s time to plan the call itself. I generally divide my 30-minute interviews into three 10-minute segments.
During the first 10 minutes, thank the candidates for taking the time for the interview and ask a few rapport questions. Also, introduce your opportunity and organization and see what the candidates know about your company. If they know nothing about your company, they might not be who you’re looking for. After all, you did schedule the interview in advance, so they should have done some research.
Ask your open-ended and job description-based questions during the next 10 to 15 minutes. The answers should help you understand the candidates’ motivation and understanding of the sales process, as well as how they will fit into your organization.
Spend any remaining time answering their questions and wrapping up the interview.
Keep in mind, your first goal should be to determine who you don’t want to join your sales team. You only want to bring in the most promising candidates for an in-person interview. If you know a candidate is not what you’re looking for, don’t waste your time or theirs.
Related podcast:
SMW 004 Sales Recruiting – Hire The Right Sales Person Part One
SMW 005 Sales Recruiting – Hire The Right Sales Person Part Two
Related Articles:
Has Your Sales Planning Allowed You to Build Your Sales Team for Success?
Hiring Sales People? Know What You Are Looking For
Creating a Sales Job Description That Fits Your Needs
Hiring Salespeople as Employees or Independent Contractors
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