Best Salesman Interview Questions
Q – 1 What are the basic powerful sales ability skills?
Ans- To succeed in sales remember these three listening and relationship building skills:
1) Sincerity – Listen without an agenda, it’s not about your needs.
2) Ethics – Don’t try to talk someone into something, listen to what they want.
3) Asking – Serve others by asking questions that will assist them in making a wise buying decision.
Q – 2 What is your psychology of selling?
Ans- Candidate should be well-versed and concise in describing his/her view of the entire structure of selling from qualifying a prospect, to handling objections, to closing.
Q – 3 How you rate yourself as a salesperson on a scale from 1 to 10?
Ans- A very low rating suggests poor self-belief. Too high of a rating may suggest a level of arrogance that may be resistant to suggestions of improvement. However, if they can explain why they deserve a high rating then they may just be confident and aware of their selling skills.
Q – 4 What makes a sales person good seller?
Ans- I am very detail oriented, and that helps me in sales in many ways. I make sure that I know everything there is to know about the product I’m selling, so that I can answer any questions a customer may have to their satisfaction. I also like to know my territory in and out, and I like to find out about my customers personally, so I can better serve them.
Q – 5 Are you comfortable with making cold calls?
Ans- I am comfortable making cold calls. I have found that some of my most interesting sales have been the result of a cold call, to someone who was rather unsure of their interest in my product at our first meeting.
Q – 6 What should you assume about your co-workers if you want to delegate successfully?
Ans- Job seeker should be able to view the positive potential of co-workers; does not rule out the possibility that a co-worker may want more responsibility; co-workers want to learn more; job seeker should recognize that the short term training investment will pay off in the long term.
Q – 7 Have you always met your sales goals?
Ans- The only time I wasn’t able to meet my professional sales goals was at a company where my supervisor set the goals extremely high, and none of the salesmen in our department were able to achieve them.
Setting the goals so high was his method of keeping us motivated, and unfortunately it worked to demoralize the team instead. I have always at least met my personal goals, and I work very hard to exceed them.
Q – 8 Sell me this object?
Ans- You might be asked to sell the interviewer an apple, a pen, a stapler or some other object. As with other hypothetical questions, there will be no right answer but the employer will be interested in the sales process that you follow, your verbal and communication skills, and your enthusiasm and creativity.
Q – 9 Explain how to approach to managing important projects?
Ans- You should have the ability to anticipate and resolve issues. The candidate should be able to organize his work into manageable steps.
Q – 10 When you are unsure of outcome when trying a new idea, how do you react?
Ans- Applicant should be capable of taking a calculated risk and have the ability to learn from it.
Q – 11 Have you ever used a new idea without being certain of the outcome?
Ans- Job seeker should have an ability to experiment and assess the results of that change.
Q – 12 How you can show to co-workers the importance of co-operation?
Ans- Answers should show the need for a healthy, self-respecting, functional team and how vitally important cooperation is for success in modern commercial life.
Q – 13 Explain psychology of selling?
Ans- Candidate should be well-versed and concise in describing his/her view of the entire structure of selling from qualifying a prospect, to handling objections, to closing.
Q – 14 How to contact or initiate communications with customers?
Ans- Applicant should appear to have the skills to build a healthy, professional relationship with customers and co-workers; should be enthusiastic to build a larger customer base.
Q – 15 If you had to turn down a request from a valued client, what would you do?
Ans- Be well-mannered; try to explain the situation to the client, adhere to company’s policies; try to remain reliable to customer.
Q – 16 When you did some thing extra, which was not part of routine, but you did it for the benefit of the customer?
Ans- Candidate should want to put in the extra effort to provide better and more complete service to customers.
Q – 17 Have you ever tried a new way of doing things?
Ans- Candidate should show that they are able to take risks in trying new solutions and ways of working; should be able to think beyond traditional thinking.; can develop innovation solutions to problems and enhance company performance.
Q – 18 Can you handle negative feedback from very angry clients?
Ans- Applicant should be able to manage customer complaints without being dominated; should not be over-whelmed by a disapproving customer.
Q – 19 How you handle a conflict between you and higher management?
Ans- Job seeker should appear to be able to reason logically and forcibly argue for what is best for the company, should be respectful to, but not intimidated by higher management.
Q – 20 Tell me about a situation, which you tried to solve a problem with ideas and methods that had not been tried before?
Ans- You want to hear answers that show that the applicant can come up with genuine ideas to handle problems; someone that can think “Out of the box”.
Q – 21 Which are most common excuses team leaders use to not delegate?
Ans- They can do it better them selves, can’t trust him/her to do it, he/she is not qualified enough, they don’t want anymore added responsibilities, I don’t have time to show anyone how to do it, No one to delegate to, I am the only one that can do it.
Q – 22 Which steps you take to ensure that the work you delegate is successful?
Ans- Job seeker should explain he knows how to outline desired results, ask for progress reports, sets interim deadlines, and does not overly focus on the methodology.
Q – 23 If you decided to delegate what type of instructions would you give your staff?
Ans- Clear instructions with decisive standards; everyone should know what needs to be done, when it should be finished, and the quality/detail needed. A job seeker should delegate the objective, not the procedure.
Q – 24 Is delegation a way to dump failure on the shoulders of a subordinate or as a dynamic tool for motivating and training your team to realize their full potential?
Ans- Employee should see delegation as an effective management skill which allows staff to use and develop their skills and knowledge to their full potential. A cynical view of this skill is a warning sign.
Q – 25 Sell me this pen?
Ans- Applicant should have the ability to pick out key features and benefits of a product and then “‘sell” them effectively under pressure.
Q – 26 WHich steps do you take to promote a business idea to your manager?
Ans- Applicant should have the motivation to inspire others with innovative ideas.
Q – 27 Market strategy is constantly changing, now what steps have you taken in the last three months to keep up with of current trends?
Ans- Answer should indicate that applicant knows how to keep up with changing trends and they should be able to recognizes the necessity of staying ahead in a constantly changing market.
Q – 28 Is your objective to sell the company or the product when target marketing a customer directly?
Ans- Applicant should understand the interaction between company, product quality, and reputation.
Q – 29 When was the last time you created a marketing innovation, which energized you, and why did it do so?
Ans- Applicant should display good judgment in creating new marketing techniques and enjoy the process and the rewards that result from the innovation.
Q – 30 Apart from financial considerations, what is challenging about marketing?
Ans- Applicant should understand the risks and challenges of new market developments.
Q – 31 What steps do you take when you have an idea to improve either a company service or product?
Ans- Applicant should understand why they need to go to their direct superior first. They should have a commitment to improving products and services which increases positive customer relations. They should want to create a feeling of loyalty and build trust with co-workers and customers.