Sales Interview Questions & Answers

I was initially rang so a date could be arranged for a phone interview. I thought this was good giving me time to prepare for the interview as best i could. I felt the interview was fairly straight forward with there being no curve ball questions so to speak, with all the questions being similar to those of what i had prepared for, such as what can you tell us about QA? What do you feel your main responsibilities would be in such a sales role? etc. Overall the interview lasted no longer than 15 minutes and was simply told they would get back to me.

Didn't feel any of the questions were particularly difficult in this case as i had prepared for them in advance. However if i had not done so i may have struggled slightly.

Overall the questions asked were pretty basic and simple so if you prepare in advance you should breeze through the interview. So just make sure you know what the company does and stands for, have a clear understanding of why you are interested in the sales sector (or whatever the position is you are applying for) and make sure you know what your main skills are and how they would be fully utilized in such a role.

There was no assessment center.

During a telephone interview with a recruitment company for this role, I was asked questions on why I wanted to work for them, when I have sold before, when I have used initiative and when I would be free for an assessment centre. The assessment centre happened to be the week after my phone interview so it was a fast turn around.

Upon turning up to the interview (hard location to find, taxi driver didn't know it so make sure you know it), I walked into a boardroom style room, with a table full of other candidates. When myself and two others turned up, this table was full so I had to sit behind them and this made me less viable. We were all given simple English and maths tests, nothing to worry about. Then there were three talks from people within the company who gave us details on the company itself, the role, and how we could progress within the company. The day was assessed on how much we asked them, how we responded and how well we did on a one minute (pre-prepared) presentation of ourselves. There were no one-to-one questions, so if you didn't feel you knew the answer, you were fine. Also, I took a copy of my CV and application and this was not needed.
All candidates were in smart attire but the people already working there were casually dressed. Although I turned down the next stage (a one to one interview, and then another telephone interview), I am pleased that I went and it helped me learn a lot about assessment centres and how they are run.
It lasted two and a half hours, instead of the five hours I was told.

To do a one minute, no note presentation on myself, the company and the role using four of eight key words.

Learn about the company - the CEO, the people in charge of each sector. The main drive for people who were there was for money, they liked people who were money focused. You do not need any prior IT knowledge.

All given English and maths questions, these were easy and no preparation was needed. We were given time at the start and in-between each talk from a member of the team to do these.

The initial phone interview was more of a chat, really pleasant, and all went well, i was then invited to attend an assessment day.

I think I may have attended a 'bad seed' as far as Celsius recruitment days go. I arrived to the group interview to find approx 45 potential candidates sat in this one room, around the walls rather than in rows, all attending the same assessment. Recruiters from Virgin, as well as two other companies were sat more central in the room, at a desk, not speaking just marking down what they thought, almost like judges in a panel show! Very odd.

The first stage was to fill out paperwork, which was simple enough. We then were spoken to by a senior member of the Celsius team. He just told us all what Celsius was all about, he seemed pleasant enough.

The next task was a Q&A, he asked us why people get into sales, why the I.T sector, and why we think they hire graduates. Again this was pleasant enough, all be it for the fact that with 45(~) people to answer it was spread very thin.

We then were asked to stand up and give a one minute presentation about who we were etc.

We then were split into 5 groups, and asked to format a sales strategy for a company provided, being red letter days, asked to pick a manager and two assistant managers in the group, then pitched it to the bossman again.

After this we were asked to complete more paperwork while they went out of the room to speak, once back they called out a series of names, asked them to leave the room and ask no questions, then the ones left over were told they hadn't made the cut. I was unsuccessful at this stage, however I believe that the next stage would have been one on one interviews with Celsius staff and the outside recruiters. All in all I think they were good, just their day was overbooked, and would have worked better with fewer people.

None were difficult, the only hard part was getting an answer in edgewise in a group so large

Be prepared to go in and be 'larger than life', do not hesitate or let manners stand in your way, if you want to say something make sure you say it otherwise you may find it hard to make an impression!

As above, construct a sales strategy, and give a one minute presentation about ourselves.

Phone interview was with the recruitment agency (Certus) and I was spotted in the generic assessment day held by the recruitment agency. I later then had a quick one to one interview with them at the assessment day. I got invited for a trial day with them to see how I felt about being at the job and for the staff to see how I interact with their clients and colleagues.

What was the most difficult thing I have done
What are my weaknesses

Have to sound really optimistic and energetic at the initial one to one interview with management. The director had a very stern face on him so I managed to make him smile and laugh which I thought was a good sign. Give lots of examples to back up what you are saying, even if it is from the same job. It shows you are not just talk. Do mention you are money driven and can work under pressure or tight deadlines.

If you are offered the trial day, be really pro- active and energetic throughout the day, with clients or colleagues. The senior colleagues will be watching you throughout the day and providing feedback to management. If you impress them, they will pass on positive feedback and more likely to get the job I believe.

Split into a group of 6 and had to perform 2 exercises. The first exercise was to rate the level of importance of each question, and which should be used to qualify a sale with a potential client. The next exercise was how to go about gaining sales. There was a 30secs self- pitch after the exercises, it had to include education, qualification, location and why I would be good for a sales role.

The interview is beneficial to competitive and confident individuals but for many the atmosphere was stressful and at times, aggressive. It does not allow for people to shine but wants to bring their competitive nature out. It begins with group assessment where you describe your greatest non-academic achievement followed by the Nasa walking across the moon test ending with a timed 30 second pitch as to why Turnstone should hire your partner. The one on one interview is short, 3 minute presentation (not always required) and interrogative questions as to why you want to be in sales / start a career in sales.

You have 10 minutes to create a pitch as to why we should hire your partner

Make sure you are confident. It is what Turnstone are looking for and their interview is set out in such a way that they can see who is resilient, outspoken and their future employee. It is tough but the process clearly shows who suits a career in sales and centres on whether you actually want a career in sales.

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I applied for the job online by submitting my CV and after 2 weeks I received a call back from them where they interviewed my over the phone. After going through my CV, they invited me for an Interview at their Finsbury Place office in London. There were more than 15 other potential candidates on the day which built up pressure.

If you found out your company was doing something against the law, like fraud, what would you do?

I didn't like the role in particular as it needed too much relocation and the pay wasn't that good (base salary).
However if you do decide to go for the interview please ensure you do your research and ask as many questions as you can in the presentation and remember at any point of the day you are being analysed as a potential candidate and the more proactive you are the more chances of you getting the job.

On the interview day, to begin with we had a presentation to tell us about the company(at the same time asking us questions about the revenue, profit last year) to engage and pin point the potential candidates. You have to make sure you do your research as the selection process starts from that very first presentation. After this, I was sent to a meeting room where I had 3 people come to me and give me their brief and then asked me questions about myself, sales strategy etc. Two of them were rather calm and the other one was a little tough and giving me hard time.

Interview starts with a telephone interview. It’s the typical questions like, why do you think your right for the role ? Name 3 traits that make you good for the role ? What are your strengths and weaknesses? They also go through your CV so you can explain any gaps you might have or relevant skills in sales. If you pass this stage you get invited to the assessment centre. Just be open and honest. They like if you admit you are driven and money motivated. I was told at this stage that the interviewer would be extremely surprised if I attended the assessment centre and was not accepted onto their books.

What is your main weakness?

I answered with anxiety in trying new things. Which they took as a an acceptable answer.

Just try to enjoy it. Speak clearly during the group interview process and try to get your inner sales person across. (They care more about energy and enthusiasm rather than the details of the group exercisies).

At the Interview stage do not offend the interviewer by overly expressing why you think a job in recruitment is not as good as other sales jobs. Because no matter how much they liked you before that, their ego will get deflated and they won’t take you on.

Make sure you eat lunch as the whole process took around 4 hours plus with no food break.

It was arranged to start at 13:00

We were split into 3 tables with aroud 6 people per table and went through various exercises. The first was a timed exercise about surviving on the moon. (There is a trick to this one). The second was about how to tackle under aged drinking. For the third task we were split into pairs. We had 4 minutes to interview each other and then create a sales pitch that lasted 1 minute on why our partner would be a perfect sales candidate.

The time now is around 16:00 and we were split into two groups around 8 people were kept to move on to the panel interview stage. I was lucky enough to be called first for my interview which lasted around 20 minutes. You are interviewed by some one new whilst the person that conducted the telephone interview is also in the room. You get asked the same questions you were asked at the telephone interview stage whilst they pick apart your CV. They ask what type of sales your interested in which is where I made a “mistake.” I showed too much passion for media sales which made the interviewer question if I should work in advertising instead of sales. This seemed odd to me as I was simply trying to get across my understanding of the role. Finally the biggest mistake I made was the way I expressed not wanting to work in recruitment and my reasons for this. This is where I should have noted my audience is working in recruitment and not have bashed on their job in front of them.

It was disappointing to be told no at this stage, not because of lack of drive or passion for sales, but because of offending the interviewers ego about their current job. For a company that seems as though they care about training and improving its candidates this was very disheartening.

I received the opportunity to attend this interview through an agency. After registering with the agency and having a mock interview with them, they put my forward for this position.

The day of the interview, I was asked to attend the agency beforehand to practise. I then headed to the interview, which as a group assessment day.

Having to stand up and pitch about something that I knew absolutely nothing about was a really difficult thing to do.

Make sure that you are prepared for all possibilities, they could ask you anything.

At my assesment day, there were six other candidates and eight interviewers. We were first asked to get to know our partner and then stand up and introduce them to the room. The questions we had to ask them were things like; "what are your ambitions?" and "who's your greatest influence???? After this, we were each asked to stand up and present a product that we were required to bring to the interview and explain how it represented us now and in the future. I chose batteries (lots of energy, useful, rechargeable etc.), but other candidates chose all sorts of strange items.

The next part of the group interview was a task, which included the candidates acting as if they were on a hot air balloon that was going down, and it could only stay afloat if all but one of the people jumped to their death. Each candidate was given a piece of paper with a celebrity's name on it. I was Jennifer Anniston. I thought this was great as I knew a little bit about her, but then I realised that other candidates were celebrities such as Obama, David Cameron, Usain Bolt and Beyonce. We each had to stand up and pitch why we should be allowed to live, and then the whole group had to debate and come to a joint decision. After a vote, the Obama candidate won. At this stage, myself and another candidate were taken into another room where we were told that our applications had been unsuccessful.