Sales job interview questions can greatly vary from one employer to another, and most of these have been based on the knowledge and core competencies required of the position (including skills and abilities) in all sales jobs. However, requirements will usually vary on the organization, the product and/or service, the scope of the market, and the seniority of the position.

You can expect sales job interview questions to follow these general topics:

• Sales and marketing principles, strategy, techniques, and tactics;
• Computer and software applications
• Sales control systems
• Administration processes
• Basic business principles

Most sales job interview questions and answers are based on your resume or CV, naturally, because your interviewer will want to probe your qualifications and experience for the position. Your answers should therefore focus on selling yourself in a way that would tell your interviewer you can fill their needs for a good salesperson.

Popular sales job interview questions and answers

You can look forward to the popular sales job interview questions below:

"Describe a typical sales cycle in your previous company?"
"How many appointments did you make in a typical work week?"
"How much time do you spend on one customer/prospect in each appointment?"

When answering these sales job interview questions, brainstorm for the most appropriate answers and follow this structure for your response:

• Describe in specific the situation or task you were involved in
• Detail how you got out of the situation, including the action and steps you took
• Outline the results corresponding to the actions and steps you discussed, including the accomplishments and learning.

Here are more sales job interview questions that you could answer using your own experiences:

"Describe a challenging work issue you were facing, and how did you deal with it?"
"How do you handle conflict?"
"Cite the ways you can contribute to our organization?"
"Tell me about a time when you tried but failed."
"What are the things that you find difficult to do?"
"What are your short and long term goals?"
"What do you like most about sales?"
"How do you intend to improve sales?"
"How do you respond to repeated rejections?"

Prepare pertinent answers to the most popular sales job interview questions, and you can guarantee spontaneity and confidence during the interview.