Sales Interview Questions & Answers

The initial phone interview was straight forward and after a brief conversation about my CV i was asked to write a page on why i want to pursue a career in sales and why i felt i was more suitable than the other candidates applying for the role.

When is a time you have showed determination to achieve a goal?

Know as much as you can about DS Smith, show enthusiasm for the company. Also make sure to take a foot hold in the team exercises, there isn't time to sit back and allow others to take the lead.

The assessment center was by no means a short process. Proceedings began at 8.30 sharp and did not finish till gone 5. There were 12 of us in total, after a short initial briefing on how the day would plan out we were split into two teams of 6. The first team went to do a group exercise, whilst my group went to do our 1 on 1 interviews. There were two interviews, each with two managers of DS Smith. They made you feel relaxed and were easy to talk to, the interview questions were what you would expect, why is it you want to work for us? why have you chosen sales? along with going over the CV and so on. After this there was a team exercise where we were given a task to design a new supermarket store, most probably to see how we communicated, who would take the lead etc. They even provided lunch for us! after lunch there was another team exercise quite similar to the first. The final part of the day was a 6 minute presentation we had to do, we were notified in advance about this and had to do a presentation on a chosen business topic. Overall this was quite an enjoyable day and definitely a good experience.

Online application followed by video interview. This part was the same as all others with a little touch of BT. The invited to assessment centre.

4 exercises: group exercise, one-to-one presentation, differential and a one-to-one interview.

Group exercise consisted of working as a team to create a presentation, and then present that to the assessors in a timed scenario.

Presentation was something pre-prepared by yourself, which had to be on the BT values.

Differential was a role play exercised aimed at suitability for the role.

Interview... well that was an interview.

Most difficult task is the group exercise. Working with people that you met 10 minutes ago logically and as a team.

No difficult questions. There are no correct answers, assessors at BT genuinely want to know about you, not what google said was the best answer.

Be yourself, work as a team and don't try to fight to stand out. Prepare on aspects of the role that you could be questioned on. Look at and learn the BT values and make sure the company is the right fit for you.

Relaxed atmosphere, buddies are provided (current BT grads) and they help you throughout the day!

After applying you will have a spontaneous phone interview, this is followed by a face to face interview, then an interview and a couple of hours in a branch and then finally an assessment day. You will be asked about previous sales experience, meeting targets and general questions about the company.

Discussing previous sales experience and working to meet targets as well as your own personal achievements.

Make sure you are prepared for your face to face interview with knowledge of the company, the values and background of the owner for example. Act confident but also listen to others at the assessment day. Don't be afraid to be yourself!

Assessment takes place with other candidates, there are unlimited spaces so you're not fighting against each other for a place. You are shown an introductory presentation by managers from various branches, you then do a group discussion with metaphorical money about which charities you should invest in in front of management staff - this is to showcase your communication skills. You then perform role plays 1:1 with a manager to show how you would act in front of customers. You perform a small half an hour test in which you are allowed a calculator, you work out some percentages (easy ones) and then have to put a potential rota together given the information. Everyone has lunch together, which is provided. You then have a 1:1 interview with a member of staff which looks into more depth regarding sales experience, customer service experience and start dates and locations.

My initial interview was conducted over Skype, I was given a lot of information about the company during the interview, so I could decide whether the job was definitely for me or not.
The interview process was thorough with many stages, however they were conducted in a relaxed, but professional manner.

"What are your weaknesses?"
Quite difficult in an interview situation to spot and admit to your own weaknesses, so definitely see how they could convert into a positive.

Research the company before your interview. Be prepared to learn more about tailoring, and the technical aspects of this, but also to have a customer facing background would be advisory, as great customer service is something that the company holds high.

The assessment day consisted of different role play activities, a presentation, a trial run and an interview, with lunch provided.
The day ran smoothly, constantly giving insight into the day to day life that would be expected working for the company. After every task there was an opportunity to ask any questions and to gain feedback on your performance.
Prior to the assessment centre, we received each an information pack, with details of a presentation to prepare, on image, information about the company values, and what would be expected of you within the role advertised.

The first stage of my interview was a phone interview. This was very informal and friendly, and mainly focused on my career to date, and why I wanted to work for a company like Hilti. I was also asked what my greatest achievement to date was.

My second interview was infront of a panel of people including a regional sales manager. This was a formal interview which was again conducted in a friendly manner, but there was a lot more competency based questions, and quesitons about my CV and career in general.

The third interview was a day out on the road with a current Account Manager. This was great as it gave me an insight into the job, and also enabled me to learn more about the company before my final interview.

My final interview was with the sales director, and my regional manager. This was similiar to the second interview, but involved more indepth conversations about the specific job role.

What is your biggest weakness?

Make sure you learn about the values of Hilti as this is of upmost importance not just for the interview, but for the entireity of your career with Hilti, more so that any other company I have seen before.

Make sure you can explain how your work experience to date has given you cross transferable skills to the role at Hilti.

N/A

The first interview was held with the head of UK and Ireland sales. Like most interviews he had a list of questions in which we were going to run through which are apparently asked to all candidates to make the process fair. The very first questions were regarding the company asking me what I knew about the company, the role and the product in which I would be selling. The questions then became more challenging asking me what my greatest non-academic achievements were. To name a time I have had to explain a difficult concept to someone, when I have worked well under pressure etc. There were many questions regarding why I thought relationships were important in sales and how I would go about building those relationships with clients. This stage of the interview lasted around 45 minutes. I was successful at this stage and invited back for a second interview with the UK sales director, this time however I had to prepare a presentation for the product I would be selling, the EZ-GO golf buggies. The presentation lasted 15 minutes with questions being asked after regarding the presentation. This is pretty much all the second part of the interview consisted off.

Explain to me the steps you would take to build a strong relationship with a client?

I would say just make sure you know the company, its a big organization so make sure you know exactly what you would be doing and selling as well as knowing exactly what they do, research their competitors and why it is you want to have a career in sales and with their company. Make sure you have a clear understanding of how relationships sell products and why it is so important to establish strong relationships with clients and how you would go about doing this. As there seemed to be many questions surrounding it in the first interview.

There was no assessment centre however there was a presentation. They send you an email in advance about what the presentation will be about.

Before attaining the interview I had to pass three tests, these were numerical, verbal reasoning and abstract.

Once passed there was a phone interview which lasted around 45mins this was conducted by a member of the recruitment team who laid out how the interview would work, the questions asked were expected, however it is important you have done your research to give the best possible answers also why you applied to them specifically so remember to be positive.

After the interview I was told my answered will be put against a set of criteria and if I matched it then I would progress to the next stage, once explained I proceeded to ask questions myself.

Describe a time where you were told to change in order to improve performance.

Interview tips:
Research, Research, Research! It is important you know about the company itself and specifically for the marketing job it is important to research marketing campaigns they have recently done and give your opinion on how you would change it or what was good about it, showing initiative.
Have questions prepared aswel to ask at the end to show your interest

n/a

My telephone interview lasted around 30 minutes and was with the HR Business Partner for the North. She was very pleasant which made the experience a lot less stressful. As I was being interviewed for the role of an Account Manager there were a lot of questions regarding my experience working in retail. After I was successful I was asked to the Head Office in Manchester for a face to face interview with the same lady and the Regional Sales Manager. They were very friendly and again focused on my experiences working in retail. There was a lot of questions regarding progression and development and why I wanted to leave my current part time job.

What do you think are the three main issues for an Accounts Manager?

Make sure you link your answers to the company values: Integrity, Courage, Teamwork and Commitment. They offer a lot of training so its obvious they are interested in people who want to develop themselves, work their way up and progress. Saying you are mobile seemed to be a huge bonus as well.

I had a field day instead of attending an assessment centre. This was a chance for me to shadow somebody for the day to see if the role was something I would enjoy. I was picked up at half 8 by an Account Manager and spent the day asking her questions and seeing what the role involved. It was very enjoyable and extremely helpful as I have never known a company to do this.

I applied to Pareto through their website-I did apply for a specific role but I cannot remember what this was now. Within a day or so, I was left a voicemail from a very pleasant female recruiter. I called her and we had a brief chat about what I wanted , what sectors I was interested in. She then invited me to proceed with a telephone interview with her, which took around ten minutes. The questions were what you might expect-
- Why Sales
- What do you know about Pareto
- Tell me about a time you worked on a problem and solved it
- Tell me about a time you had a goal or target and what you did to hit or exceed it.
These were the sort of questions-mainly competency based. So my advice hear is as with any application, do the research and know what sort of qualities they are looking for and link these back to your experiences.
I passed this stage, and was actually offered there and then a chance to go to a tailored assessment day for a role with Virgin Media. I could not attend this, so we rescheduled and I went to a general day about a week later. The recruiter sent me a detailed email itinerary so I knew how the day would go and what to prepare for.
On the day, I arrived at the Wilmslow office and was registered, name badge etc. I then proceeded into a reception room with about 40/50 other grads (this was the case on both days I have been on). Yes it was a bit hot, but I don???t think this is a big deal. My advice here is to introduce yourself professionally to the others in your area, just be brave and shake hands and be friendly. This is a skill important in nearly every career so it is useful practice whatever happens. As a group we were taken into a large room with chairs (air-conditioned for those concerned) and given a short talk about the day. The staff I found were very professional, relaxed and interesting and not robots or somehow terrible in any way. I say things like this because I have read other reviews that criticise everything from the appearance of the staff to the temperature in the room, so I am trying to address these points as an aside. Try to be as un self-conscious as possible, it is only for one day after all! Try to think of something original for this section, something perhaps business focused, related to the role etc. Many people have travelled around South-East Asia on their own???I once went to Turkey all by myself, even took a public bus while I was there! We were asked to state our name, a celebrity we admire (dead or alive) and our greatest non-academic achievement.
You will then do two group tasks in the group you are assigned-make sure you listen out for your group as the self-introductions are run through. These range from a reasonably complex points and colours based exercise to ranking essential items for a survival situation. I found, contrary to other reviews, that the ones that shouted the loudest did NOT get through. They assess your skills of communication, persuasion, logic and teamwork. I actually noticed I struggled to get a word in edgeways on both occasions-but I made contributions that were impactful, and I made sure to say ???you said this, but what about if we thought about it this way???? or ???Shall we review what the actual objective is so we do not come off track????. Take the lead if you feel the opportunity arises- read the group.
Eat something at the break to keep your energy up-biscuits are always good for the sugar. The 3-minuite presentations come in the afternoon. It is essential to practice beforehand and focus on what they want you to do the presentation about. I broke mine down into three distinct points for each section. Weave in your experience to interact with what they look for in a candidate. This is the time to show the assessor that you are professional, confident etc. It will only be you and them in the room. [Personal presentation is important at this point, so make sure your suit fits you well and does not drown you. Same with the shirt (pale blue or white are safe bets) and a SILK tie properly done up to the neck, not skinny. Shape the knot with your fingers. Polish your shoes well. I promise this will help with confidence and making you look the part]
Later you will be told if you are successful. I followed the above formula an I have landed a fantastic job through Pareto. Just try your very best, because they do work hard for you-I have been offered countless interviews and gone through to four different ones. The opportunity I have is astonishingly good-so the Pareto process does work for those willing to work hard.

(For the specific assessment) Tell me what you know about X company and this role.

1) Look the part-Present yourself well. A suit that fits, a proper shirt and shoes and a silk tie properly shaped and done up. Buy a GQ for inspiration if needs be.
2) Do your research and think about how you can present yourself as a person that fits their competency needs
3) Be confident, talk to others and be conversational.
4) Show yourself as the professional you are-no inappropriate remarks at any time.

1) A self introduction
2) A 3-min presentation

Following the initial application, I was invited to take online tests. One was numerical and the other was a logical reasoning test. Successful at this stage, I was given a sales task, where I had to create a Powerpoint presentation in order to sell one of TR's products to a client. Along with this, I had to send in a write up of the process I would go through. Following this was an invitation to a telephone interview. The telephone interview was competency based and not too challenging. We spoke about the client task I had done before as well. It was based on experience and how it could apply to the role within the Graduate program. The interview lasted for about half an hour and was with one of the Graduate coordinators. Following this, I was invited to an assessment centre which I enjoyed thoroughly.

Nothing springs to mind.

Make sure your personality shines through, even if you don't have financial experience or knowledge ensure that you are willing to learn!
Show creativity and innovation and do not be afraid to think outside the box.

The day was split up into about 4 tasks which were all scored. The first task was a presentation stating why we thought TR should hire us. Creativity was rewarded. This was followed by Q&A and an interview with two people. This was mainly CV based. Next was a group activity. Half of the 24 people were cut at lunch so we were left as the final 12. After lunch we were given an hour to prepare for a role play which we were to do after we had the opportunity to showcase a skill which we had learned in the seven days before the assessment centre. I don't think this part was assessed.