Interviews Go Both Ways – Here Are Good Questions to Ask in a Sales Interview
As a candidate, it is far too easy to feel all of the pressure of an upcoming sales interview on your own shoulders. “Will they like me?”, “Am I qualified enough?”, “Will I explain my experiences well?” – those are all questions that can race through our minds as we think about an upcoming interview.
Many candidates forget to appreciate that an interview goes both ways. Just as an interviewer is qualifying you for a job and the company, you should be doing the same. That requires you to have good questions to ask in a sales interview readily on your mind (or written down).
By the end of an interview, you should have a clear picture of what to expect with the sales job you applied to. You should also know what to expect with the company as a whole. Clarity means getting insight into the expectations of the job, getting a sense of the culture, understanding compensation structures, and anything else that is important to you in your career and workplace.
That’s a lot of pressure when you are likely already a bit nervous. Let us help guide you through good questions to ask in a sales interview. You will know if you want to take the job when you ask the right questions.
Identifying Good Questions to Ask in a Sales Interview
While we can certainly list out sample questions you can ask, and we will, it’s important that you first take a moment to think about questions you might uniquely be curious about. Those can be directly related to the company or your own professional goals. In order to develop good questions to ask in a sales interview, you need to start with some research. That will lead you to the information you personally need to be clarified.
First, you should have a high-level understanding of the company you applied to. Some questions you will want to find answers to, in order to get a wholistic understanding of the organization, are:
What is the history of the company?
This question helps you get insight into how long the company has been operating, which could be quite important to you. Perhaps the company is still in its startup phase – that impacts your job in a very distinct way, which can lead to specific questions you may want to ask in the interview (i.e. “What does specialization of labor look like?”). If you are expected to wear too many hats, and you are in a commissioned sales job, your income could be impacted by being spread a bit too thin.
What are the company’s values?
By understanding what a company’s values are, you are able to understand two things: do the values align with your own and do you feel like you can sell those values to customers with confidence. In a sales role, in order to feel like you are doing right by your clients, you need to believe in what you’re selling. Company values play a big role in that.
What do online reviews say about the company?
Using both the lens of a customer and a potential employee, find company reviews to see what experiences other people have had. Reviews should certainly be taken with a grain of salt, but they are a fantastic source of information to get clarified in an interview. Say, for instance, you see a common thread in customer or employee complaints – you can then ask the interviewer what the company is doing to overcome that issue. That certainly would make our list of good questions to ask in a sales interview.
What does the job description say?
While this seems like an obvious point, be sure you look at the job description with a fine-tooth comb. Each bullet point you read, visualize yourself doing that for many hours each week. What might you want to get more insight into when you are an employee versus a candidate?
What has your experience with the company been like so far?
The way a company treats and interacts with its candidates tells a story in and of itself. How have you felt as a candidate? What was highlighted about the company’s priorities through your interactions with them? Does that lead you to want to better understand anything? Maybe everything felt extremely rushed for you – learning why they are in a hurry to hire could be very helpful.
Now equipped with specific points to research, spend some time conducting research. While doing research, jot down questions you would want to ask that are unique to the job and company you applied to. Again, use the lens of an employee when you are developing questions – that will help you set your excitement aside for a moment, which can sometimes get in the way of us being appropriately critical. You spend a lot of time at work… you need to do some due diligence to ensure you enjoy that time.
Let’s dive into good questions to ask in a sales interview – regardless of the company or specific job.
Sample List of Good Questions to Ask in a Sales Interview
The following questions aren’t specific to your personal needs, goals, or values. That said, each of them leads to helpful information about any company or sales job. Of course, you may only have so much time to ask questions. Because of that, we suggest prioritizing your list of questions in order of importance to you or by need.
- How is the company hoping to grow in the future?
- What makes you take pride in your company?
- How does the company approach obstacles it needs to overcome?
- What do onboarding and training look like in this role?
- Can you describe what my typical day would look like?
- What separates your top salespeople from your average salespeople?
- How would you describe the company culture?
- What does your company do to support employee development?
- What are the current challenges your salesforce is faced with?
- How does leadership support the salesforce?
- How are leads generated for this role?
- What are my success measures in this role?
- What is the commission structure in this position?
- What differentiates your company from industry competitors?
- What is the average conversion rate of your leads?
The questions alone are certainly helpful. However, as you take notes to prepare for your interview, you need to be able to effectively prioritize questions. Here’s what you should be able to learn with the listed good questions to ask in a sales interview.
How is the company hoping to grow in the future?
This is a fantastic question for a couple of reasons. First, you can learn where the company is headed, which is helpful for a salesperson to know. Next, you get to see how aligned employees are with the company’s vision for the future. The more alignment, the better that company does at communicating with their employees. Pro tip: if you have multiple interviews, ask each interviewer this question to see if they answer consistently.
What makes you take pride in your company?
Who doesn’t want to work somewhere who’s employees exude pride in the organization? That is precisely what the above question should show you. For a salesperson, specifically, it is also a fantastic way to begin to understand how you will sell to customers. Everyone wants to be proud to tell their friends and family about their workplace. You also want to be proud when you are reaching out to prospective customers, too.
How does the company approach obstacles it needs to overcome?
All organizations have challenges they need to overcome. This question not only highlights the unity (or lack of unity) the company possesses when it approaches obstacles, it also gives you a sense of the humility leadership has in the organization. Are they forthcoming with obstacles they have had and how they have resolved them? If not, that could be a red flag for you. Any opportunity to uncover a red flag will always make a good question to ask in a sales interview.
What do onboarding and training look like in this role?
Your ability to be set up for success in your position is extremely important, given you are commission-based. Because of that, you will want to get clear insight into how you will be trained in the role. You can then evaluate if you feel like you will get the support and guidance you need to succeed. As a bonus question related to this one: you may also want to ask what the pay structure looks like while you are going through training.
Can you describe what my typical day would look like?
What you learn with this question is quite obvious. It’s important to ask nonetheless as job descriptions are written to attract candidates. The description an interviewer gives of a typical day will give you clearer insight into what you will do for 8-10+ hours a day… and if you will enjoy that.
What separates your top salespeople from your average salespeople?
The above question is a good question to ask in a sales interview as it’s one that gives you a guiding light for your own performance. Beyond that, it also shows your interviewer that you are eager to become a top performer. At the same token, you can see if the ways top performers separate themselves are things you are willing to take on. Perhaps they are working longer hours. Maybe they are more aggressive when they are speaking with prospective clients. You may or may not want to emulate those things.
How would you describe the company culture?
Every company has a culture that was either intentionally created and fostered, or it came to fruition naturally. The culture behind a company will absolutely impact you in your role – even if you are a remote employee. It’s important you spend time in your interview learning more about the culture you will potentially be a part of. Then you can identify if it aligns with what you’re looking for. In some organizations, the culture can vary widely from department to department. In that case, it is also worth asking what unique culture traits the sales division has, specifically.
What does your company do to support employee development?
When we aren’t growing, we aren’t as energized in our work. Because of that, it’s ideal to understand how your development will be supported in any job. Some organizations have an entire infrastructure behind employee learning and development, and others don’t. Knowing which is true with the company you’re interviewing with is a great way to set your own expectations.
What are the current challenges your salesforce is faced with?
While this question could deter you, it’s more so an opportunity to proactively identify the obstacle(s) you will be facing. Doing so allows you to intentionally spend time learning how to overcome it when you are navigating training. That’s what makes it such a good question to ask in a sales interview proactively.
How does leadership support the salesforce?
Your performance as a sales professional is directly tied to your income. That puts a lot of pressure on you to perform well. The support you do or don’t receive from your leadership has a significant impact on your performance. If you are struggling, it’s comforting to know whether leadership will help you identify resources to leverage that can help you better perform. Conversely, if you are performing extremely well, it’s nice to know leadership will reward that and find new ways to challenge you as a professional.
How are leads generated for this role?
In the sales world, there are many types of leads you could potentially be working with. Each type of lead is unique in how you interact with them. You could be left to generate your own leads. The leads could be provided to you. You could even have leads that are already quite interested in the product/service. Knowing which type of leads you are working with is vital to avoid potentially unpleasant surprises later.
What are my success measures in this role?
This is another expectation-setting question that makes a good question to ask in a sales interview. The answer gives you direct insight into what you need to do to be successful, and in turn, earn more. Success measures typically go beyond just conversion rates. Obtaining a full breakdown will give you the best odds of meeting (and exceeding) expectations.
What is the commission structure in this position?
Some organizations have uncapped commissions, others have a cap. Some organizations have commission structures that change over time, others don’t. All of those scenarios impact you in a big way. You deserve to be able to evaluate how you feel about the structure as soon as possible. This point that impacts you where it matters most – your wallet.
What differentiates your company from industry competitors?
The best salespeople are passionate about what they are selling. Passion can be heard and felt in their pitch and in every conversation. The way a product/service/company is different from the rest is what many people’s passion hinges on. The answer to the above question helps you begin to connect (or not) with the company you would be advocating for with prospective customers.
What is the average conversion rate of your leads?
Said differently, “will I be facing an uphill battle in this role?” If there is a very low conversion rate for leads, that is very telling that you could be struggling from an income perspective. That is particularly true if you are only paid when you bring on customers. Low conversion rates can also be a signal there’s a problem in the sales strategy the organization needs to overcome. If you do learn the role has a low conversion rate, seek to understand more. A good follow-up question is what leadership is doing to improve it.
You’ve Got the Questions, Now Crush the Interview!
Now equipped with an abundance of good questions to ask in a sales interview, it’s time to crush your interview! Maintaining the lens of being a candidate and an interviewer, you will also feel your nerves lower during your interview.
If you are still searching for the perfect sales job as the next step in your career, don’t fret. Let Sales Recruiters Denver help you find the right fit. With our team of experts, we can not only help you find a job but also help you feel confident as you work toward getting an offer from a company you’re excited to join.