62 Sales Interview Questions to Ask Sales Rep Candidates

Hiring a great sales rep can make a huge impact on your team‘s success – but hiring the wrong one can be an expensive disaster. According to a DePaul University study, the average cost of a bad sales hire is $114,957 when you consider recruitment, training, compensation and lost opportunities. That‘s why asking the right interview questions is critical to making the best sales hires.

But what exactly should you ask to separate the true sellers from the duds? We analyzed research from sales leaders and organizational psychologists to share the 62 most effective sales interview questions, organized into four types:

1. Technical Skills & Experience Questions
2. Situational & Behavioral Questions
3. Motivation & Culture Fit Questions
4. Unconventional & Creative Questions

We‘ll share examples from each category, discuss what to listen for in responses, and review common pitfalls and questions to avoid.

Whether you‘re building your sales team from scratch or looking to add a few new reps, these strategic questions will help you find the sales rockstars you need.

Technical Skills & Experience Interview Questions

The foundation of a good seller is their technical aptitude – how well do they know the essential skills, techniques, and tools of selling? These questions help you assess a candidate‘s sales savvy and relevant experience. Some key areas to probe:

• Sales process knowledge
• Prospecting and lead generation
• Pipeline management
• Sales technology and tools
• Handling objections
• Closing techniques

Try questions like:

1. How do you typically find new leads and prospects?
2. What CRM systems have you used, and how do you leverage them?
3. What‘s your approach to moving a prospect through the sales funnel?
4. How do you research a prospect before a sales meeting?
5. What techniques do you use to build rapport with new prospects?
6. What are the most common reasons you lose a deal?
7. Tell me about a complex sale you worked and the steps involved.
8. What‘s your process for forecasting your sales each month/quarter?
9. How do you decide when to walk away from a bad-fit prospect?
10. What are your strategies for re-engaging stalled or unresponsive leads?
11. Describe a time you had to explain a complex product or service.
12. How do you use content/collateral in your sales process?
13. What metrics do you track to measure your own performance?
14. What‘s the typical length of your sales cycle in days?
15. How do you continue to develop your sales skills and knowledge?

What to Listen For

The best candidates will give specific, detailed answers that demonstrate their knowledge of fundamental selling concepts. They should be able to clearly articulate their process and the reasons behind it.

Be cautious of candidates who give vague, general responses or can‘t provide concrete examples. Also beware of answers that seem overly rehearsed or too textbook – the best sellers customize their approach rather than just reading from a script.

Situational & Behavioral Interview Questions

Asking a candidate how they‘ve approached real-life sales situations can be incredibly revealing. These behavioral questions allow you to see their sales skills in action and how they perform under pressure.

Focus your situational questions on common sales scenarios and challenges, like:

• Overcoming objections
• Negotiating with prospects
• Dealing with rejection/failure
• Hitting (or missing) quota
• Collaborating with teammates
• Solving customer issues

Some specific questions to consider:

16. Tell me about a time you turned a "no" into a "yes" with a prospect.
17. Describe how you handled a sales call that didn‘t go as planned.
18. How did you land the biggest deal of your career? Walk me through the steps.
19. What‘s the toughest deal you‘ve ever closed and how did you get it done?
20. Tell me about a month or quarter where you missed your sales target. What happened and how did you recover?
21. Describe a time you got creative to close a stalled or unresponsive deal.
22. How do you build a strong referral network and get introduced to new prospects?
23. Tell me about a time you collaborated with colleagues in other departments to win a deal.
24. Describe a situation where you disagreed with feedback from your sales manager. How did you handle it?
25. What‘s the angriest a client or prospect has ever been with you? How did you fix the situation?
26. Tell me about a time you had to deliver bad news to a customer. How did you approach that conversation?
27. Describe a sale that required you to influence and negotiate with many stakeholders across a prospect‘s organization.

Evaluating Answers

Strong candidates will have no problem recalling specific examples and providing play-by-play details of how they navigated tricky situations. Listen for stories that showcase important sales skills like active listening, creative problem-solving, and objection handling.

The best answers will highlight the impact and results the candidate achieved, not just their process. Listen for clear business outcomes like closed deals, upsell revenue, or rescued accounts.

If a candidate struggles to come up with examples or glosses over key details, dig deeper with follow up questions. And if all their stories paint them as the hero who always saves the day singlehandedly, that could be a red flag that they‘re not a team player.

Motivation & Culture Fit Interview Questions

Sales can be a tough, grueling job – it takes a specific type of personality to succeed. These questions help you understand what makes a candidate tick and how well they‘ll mesh with your team and culture. Areas to probe include:

• Motivation and drive
• Coachability
• Resilience/tenacity
• Integrity and ethics
• Collaboration skills
• Passions outside of work

Try questions like:

28. What‘s the best/worst part of working in sales?
29. Aside from money, what motivates you to succeed in your job?
30. What are the top three factors you look for in a sales role?
31. What traits do you think make a salesperson successful?
32. Tell me about a time you set a stretch goal for yourself and achieved it.
33. How do you stay focused and motivated during long days of cold calling or rejection?
34. What‘s the toughest piece of criticism you‘ve ever received? How did you handle it?
35. Describe a time you helped a colleague or collaborated on a challenging project.
36. What are your favorite questions to ask to get to know a new prospect?
37. How do you like to be recognized for your successes at work?
38. Outside of work, what‘s something you‘re passionate about?
39. What are you doing to grow and develop in your sales career?
40. Tell me about a professional failure you‘ve experienced. What did you learn?
41. What‘s one thing most people misunderstand or underestimate about you?

Red Flags to Watch For

The best candidates will demonstrate a genuine passion for both sales and your specific industry/product. Look for people whose eyes light up when they talk about their successes and the thrill of the chase.

Be wary of candidates who seem more focused on the earnings potential than the actual work, or who lack enthusiasm when discussing past roles. Lone wolves who brag about succeeding all on their own likely won‘t be strong collaborators.

And while confidence is key in sales, watch out for candidates who can‘t admit to any failings or areas for growth. Coachability and openness to feedback are essential traits in top sellers.

Unconventional & Creative Interview Questions

Unexpected questions can keep candidates on their toes and give you a glimpse of how they think. While these shouldn‘t make up the bulk of your interview, a few curveball questions can yield valuable insights. For example:

42. If you were hiring for this role, what skills or traits would you look for?
43. Pitch me something in the room right now as if I were a prospect.
44. What‘s the last great book you read or podcast you listened to?
45. If you could have one superpower to help you in sales, what would it be?
46. Teach me something most people don‘t know how to do in 5 minutes.
47. If you started your own company, what would it be and why?
48. What‘s the biggest misperception people have about salespeople?
49. You can invite three people, alive or dead, to dinner. Who would you pick?
50. Describe your most memorable travel experience. What made it special?

Using Unconventional Questions

The key with creative questions is to use them sparingly – one or two per interview at most. Their value lies in seeing how a candidate reacts and reasons through their response extemporaneously.

Don‘t necessarily look for a right answer, but rather evaluate their thought process and ability to think on their feet. Did they get flustered or freeze up? Or were they able to stay poised and articulate a clever response? How long did it take them to formulate an answer?

Exceptional candidates may even find a way to relate their answer back to the role or your company. If they can skillfully spin an off-the-wall question into an opportunity to sell themselves, that‘s a great sign.

Interview Questions to Avoid

Not all questions are fair game in an interview. Some can introduce bias (intentionally or not) or put your company at legal risk if a candidate feels discriminated against. Avoid anything related to protected characteristics like:

• Race, ethnicity or nationality
• Gender or sexual orientation
• Religion or creed
• Age
• Disability status
• Marital or family status

Also skip anything overly personal that‘s not directly related to the role, like:

51. Are you married? Do you have kids?
52. How old are you?
53. Do you attend church?
54. What country are you from originally?
55. Have you ever been arrested?

It‘s also best to avoid vague, cliched questions that don‘t relate to the specific role, such as:

56. What‘s your greatest weakness?
57. If you were an animal/ice cream flavor, what would you be?
58. What was your least favorite part of your last job?
59. Why should we hire you over other candidates?

Training Interviewers is Key

Everyone involved in the hiring process should be trained on questions to avoid and how to focus the conversation on job-relevant topics. Provide sample questions to use, and consider sitting in on interviews with less experienced managers to provide feedback and coaching.

If a candidate does share personal information unprompted, train interviewers to steer the conversation back to role requirements. The goal is to create a structured, consistent interview process that objectively assesses candidates based on their ability to perform the job.

Tips for Evaluating Candidate Responses

Knowing what to ask is just part of the battle – you also need to know what to look for in answers. Some tips:

Seek Specificity

The best candidates provide detailed examples and walk you through their thought process. Generic, high-level responses can be a sign that the candidate lacks the relevant experience you need.

Probe Deeper

Don‘t let the candidate off the hook with a shallow first response. Ask follow up questions to better understand the situation and the candidate‘s role in navigating it. The best sellers are used to overcoming objections, so keep probing until you‘re satisfied.

Involve Others

Bring in colleagues to interview the candidate as well, especially those who would work with them directly. More eyes and ears in the room means you‘re more likely to spot any potential red flags – or exceptional strengths.

Consider the Whole Picture

Don‘t get swayed by one great answer (or one flop). Evaluate the candidate‘s responses as a whole, looking for consistency and an overall picture of their skills and experience. Use a scorecard to objectively rate them on the most important qualifications.

Creating Your Custom Interview Question Sets

These 62 questions are a great starting point, but the most effective interviews are tailored to the specific role and company. Consider these factors when building your question list:

• The sales role (SDR vs AE vs Manager)
• Industry and company size
• Most important skills for success
• Your top sources for leads
• Sales process and technology
• Team culture and values

Start by choosing 8-10 questions to cover the core competencies for the role. Then identify 3-5 questions that relate to your company‘s unique needs and culture. Finally, consider the interview format – for a 30-minute phone screen, you may only have time for your top 5 questions.

Be sure to get input from the hiring manager and relevant stakeholders on which questions to include. Review previous interviews to see which questions have yielded the best signal in the past. And use the same set of questions for all candidates so you have a consistent basis for comparison.

Hire Your Next Sales Superstar

Recruiting top sales talent is both an art and a science. Asking the right questions is a big piece of the puzzle, but it‘s just one part of a comprehensive hiring strategy. From sourcing strong candidates to objectively assessing responses, there‘s a lot that goes into landing great salespeople.

By incorporating these 62 questions into your interview process, and training your team on what to look for, you‘ll be well on your way to building the high-performing sales team you need. Customize your question list, dig deep into candidate examples, and trust your gut on cultural alignment.

With the right process in place, you‘ll be able to spot the sales rockstars you need to crush your revenue goals, so you can stop wasting time and money on bad hires.

Want even more sales interview questions to add to your arsenal? Download our complete list of the top 100+ questions asked by the world‘s leading sales orgs. Happy hiring!