SALES Interview Questions & Answers! (How to PASS a Sales Interview!)
Summary
TLDRIn this tutorial from passmyinterview.com, Richard McMahon demonstrates how to excel in a sales interview. He emphasizes the importance of showcasing skills like building long-term relationships, working under pressure, and adapting to change. McMahon provides insights into handling rejection positively and knowing when to walk away from a sale. He also highlights the need for confidence, product knowledge, and effective communication in sales. The video offers a set of 29 sales interview questions and answers to prepare candidates for success.
Takeaways
- 😀 Richard McMahon from passmyinterview.com is providing a tutorial on how to pass a sales interview.
- 🚀 Richard demonstrates a live sales job interview, emphasizing the importance of watching and taking notes on his answers to tough questions.
- 🤝 Richard stresses the significance of building long-term relationships with customers as a key to achieving sales targets.
- 💡 He highlights the importance of adapting sales skills to meet the target audience in a constantly changing world.
- 🌟 Richard believes in the value of teamwork in sales and the contribution to the success of the entire sales team, not just individual targets.
- 🏆 He presents himself as entrepreneurial, innovative, and capable of making a quick and positive impact on the organization.
- 🛠 Richard explains that to be successful in sales, one must have confidence, effective communication, and in-depth knowledge of the products and services.
- 👂 Listening skills are crucial in sales, as understanding customer needs is essential for building rapport and trust.
- 🔑 Richard distinguishes himself from other candidates through his product knowledge, relationship-building skills, and confident closing abilities.
- 🚫 He discusses the importance of knowing when to walk away from a sale, either when the customer is not genuinely interested or to create a sense of urgency.
- 📈 Richard learned from a mistake early in his career about the necessity of fully understanding the products and services being sold to effectively answer customer inquiries.
Q & A
What is the main purpose of the video tutorial presented by Richard McMahon?
-The main purpose of the video tutorial is to teach viewers how to pass a sales interview by demonstrating a live sales job interview and providing answers to tough sales interview questions.
What are the key skills and qualities Richard believes are necessary for a sales position?
-Richard believes that the key skills and qualities for a sales position include the ability to build long-term relationships with customers, working well under pressure, continual growth and improvement, adaptability, and being good at working with others as part of a sales team.
Why does Richard want to work in sales according to his reasons provided in the script?
-Richard wants to work in sales because he thrives in a pressurized environment, has ambitious personal goals that require high performance at work, and enjoys interacting with different people and building long-term relationships.
What does Richard consider as the first step he would take if he is successful in the sales position?
-Richard considers gaining an in-depth knowledge of the products and services offered by the company as the first step he would take if successful, in order to confidently answer customer questions and explain the benefits to them.
How does Richard define the difference between confidence and arrogance in the context of sales?
-Richard defines the difference by stating that while salespeople need to be confident to effectively communicate with customers, they must avoid arrogance. Confidence helps establish trust, whereas arrogance can push customers away.
What is Richard's approach to handling rejection in sales?
-Richard handles rejection with a positive mindset, viewing it as an opportunity to improve and develop. He uses the knowledge gained from rejection to enhance his approach with future customers.
What are the two situations Richard would consider walking away from a sale as described in the script?
-Richard would consider walking away from a sale if he feels the customer is merely trying to appease him without genuine interest, or if walking away creates a sense of urgency and scarcity, potentially leading to a better deal or closure.
What mistake did Richard share from his early sales career, and what lesson did he learn from it?
-Richard shared a mistake where he was unable to answer in-depth questions about the service he was selling, which led to losing the sale. The lesson he learned was the importance of fully understanding the products and services he is selling to be able to answer any customer queries confidently.
How does Richard plan to build long-term relationships with customers according to the script?
-Richard plans to build long-term relationships by spending time understanding the customers' needs, being a good listener, and providing them with the appropriate products and services. He also aims to make customers feel valued, which encourages them to become long-term advocates of the business.
What is the unique approach Richard takes to closing sales, as mentioned in the script?
-Richard's unique approach to closing sales is his understanding of when to close a sale with confidence. He knows the sales process well and is able to identify the right moment to close a deal effectively.
Outlines
😀 Introduction to Sales Interview Tutorial
Richard McMahon from passmyinterview.com introduces a tutorial aimed at teaching viewers how to succeed in a sales interview. He plans to demonstrate a live sales job interview, emphasizing the importance of staying tuned for insights into tackling tough interview questions. Richard outlines his approach to selling, highlighting the significance of building long-term relationships, working under pressure, continuous improvement, and teamwork. He positions himself as an entrepreneurial candidate ready to make a positive impact.
🚀 Richard's Sales Philosophy and Qualities
In this paragraph, Richard discusses the skills and qualities necessary for a successful career in sales. He emphasizes the importance of confidence, in-depth knowledge of products and services, good listening skills, relationship building, and an entrepreneurial spirit. Richard believes that these attributes are crucial for adapting to the ever-changing sales environment and for making a positive impact on an organization.
🏆 Richard's Unique Selling Points
Richard identifies what sets him apart from other candidates during a sales interview. He focuses on his comprehensive knowledge of the products and services, his ability to forge long-term customer relationships, and his confident approach to closing sales. He shares an anecdote about a missed sale opportunity to illustrate the importance of timing when closing a sale and asserts his readiness to excel in the role.
🤔 Handling Rejection and Walking Away from Sales
Richard addresses how he deals with sales rejections, viewing them as opportunities for improvement rather than setbacks. He also discusses the strategic decision to walk away from a sale, either when a customer is not genuinely interested or as a tactic to create a sense of urgency and scarcity, potentially leading to a successful sale.
📚 Learning from Sales Mistakes
Richard recounts a significant early mistake in his sales career where a lack of product knowledge led to a lost sale. He uses this experience to stress the importance of thorough product understanding and continuous learning. He assures that he has adopted a proactive approach to improvement, learning from mistakes, and enhancing his sales capabilities.
🛠 Preparing for Common Sales Interview Questions
The paragraph provides guidance on how to answer a series of common sales interview questions. Richard suggests focusing on communication skills, understanding of the sales process, product knowledge, and the ability to work under pressure. He also covers how to demonstrate the ability to make a quick impact, close sales confidently, and handle rejections positively. Additionally, he advises on when to walk away from a sale and how to balance relationship building with finding new leads.
📈 Advanced Sales Strategies and Interview Tips
Richard delves into more complex sales interview questions, such as overcoming customer objections, researching prospects, and selling a product in an interview scenario. He also discusses how to approach the first month in a sales role, handle stress and pressure, and decide when to stop pursuing a client. The paragraph concludes with a reminder to download his set of 29 sales interview questions and answers for further preparation.
🔑 Final Thoughts and Encouragement
In the concluding paragraph, Richard encourages viewers to utilize his resources for sales interview preparation, available for download on his website. He emphasizes the importance of subscribing to his channel for more content and invites viewers to ask questions in the comments section. Richard ends with well-wishes for viewers' success in their sales interviews.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Sales Interview
💡Sales Skills
💡Long-term Relationships
💡Sales Targets
💡Adaptability
💡Sales Team
💡Entrepreneurial Spirit
💡Sales Rejection
💡Product Knowledge
💡Closing the Sale
💡Sales Mistakes
Highlights
Introduction to a sales interview tutorial by Richard McMahon from passmyinterview.com.
Live demonstration of a sales job interview to provide insights into answering tough questions.
Emphasizing the importance of building long-term relationships with customers for successful sales.
The necessity of enjoying work under pressure and having a plan to achieve difficult sales targets.
The value of continual growth and adaptability in the ever-changing world of sales.
Importance of teamwork in sales and contributing to the success of the entire team.
Three main reasons for wanting to work in sales: pressurized environment, personal ambitions, and interacting with diverse people.
Essential sales qualities including confidence, communication skills, and product knowledge.
The significance of good listening skills and building customer relationships for long-term success.
How entrepreneurial spirit and adaptability are key to staying ahead in the sales industry.
Standing out from other candidates through product knowledge, relationship-building, and confident closing skills.
Handling rejection positively as a means to improve and develop in sales.
Strategic decision points for walking away from a sale to maintain control and create urgency.
Learning from past sales mistakes to improve knowledge and customer service.
Providing a comprehensive set of 29 sales interview questions and top scoring answers for preparation.
Advice on how to answer common sales interview questions effectively.
Encouragement to subscribe for more interview tips and the offer to download a guide for sales interview preparation.
Transcripts
hi there my name is richard mcmahon from
the interview training website
passmyinterview.com
and in this tutorial i'm going to teach
you how to pass a sales
interview so in a minute i'm going to
walk through this door
and undertake a live sales job interview
so make sure you stay tuned take notes
and look at the answers that i give to
the tough
sales interview questions because they
will help you to pass your own
sales interview so let's now go into
this interview room
and undertake the sales interview here
we go
come in hi there nice to meet you i'm
richard hi how you doing
nice to meet you hello nice to meet you
please take a seat thank you very much
hello richard my name is joshua this is
andrew
today we're going to be asking you a
number of interview questions to assess
your suitability for this sales role
to start with can you tell me about
yourself yes no problem at all thank you
very much for
inviting me to be interviewed for this
position i believe i have
the skills and qualities needed to be
effective
in this sales position long term i have
studied the job description in detail
and i believe i have the experience and
the attributes necessary
to come into the organization and make a
positive impact straight away
so the skills and qualities that i have
built up is being able to
build long-term relationships with
customers
and clients i understand as a
salesperson the only way
that you achieve difficult sales targets
is to
build long-term relationships find out
what your customers clients
need and then present them with
appropriate products and services
i am also the type of person who enjoys
working under pressure so if you give me
difficult sales targets to achieve i
won't be flustered by that
i will put a plan of action in place to
make sure that i achieve those
i'm also the type of person who wants to
continually grow
improve and develop and i am always
looking for different ways to adapt my
sales skills
to meet the target audience because i
understand we live in a world
where everything is always changing so
you can't sit still as a salesperson you
have to be able to
adapt and change all of the time
i am also good at working with other
people as part of a sales team
so i'm not just focused on my own sales
targets and objectives
i will help other people as part of the
sales team to achieve theirs as well
because at the end of the day
we work for the same organization i
believe strongly that if you hire me in
this sales position
you will have somebody who is
entrepreneurial who can come up with
different ways to make great sales who
will build long-term relationships
with your customers and who will also
make a quick and positive impact
on your organization okay thank you
thank you
why do you want to work in sales i want
to work in sales for three reasons the
first reason is
i want to work in a pressurized
environment and sales obviously gives me
exactly that so working in a pressurized
environment i will come into work each
day
i will have difficult challenges and
targets to meet
and i prefer to work in that type of
environment where i am improving and
developing continually
the second reason why i want to work in
sales is because i have ambitious plans
outside of work
and i know the only way i will achieve
those is if i perform to a high standard
within this sales position
so for example my partner and i is
saving up to buy a house
and we need to get a deposit together so
we are both really committed to our work
and we know that if we do well for our
employers then we will achieve our
external goals
the final reason why i want to work in
sales
is because i will get to interact with
lots of different people
on a daily basis and i will get to build
long-term relationships with them
i am a people person and i enjoy
interacting with others
finding out what their needs are
listening to them and then giving them
the products and services that they need
and also making sure that i work on
customer retention
because in sales it's important that we
you know we build
lifelong value of our customers and and
encourage them to become advocates
of our business so those are the three
reasons why i want to work in sales
thank you what skills and qualities are
needed to work in sales
to work in sales and more importantly to
be successful in sales you need to
possess a variety of different skills
and qualities first and foremost
you need confidence people buy from
people
now there's a difference between
confidence and arrogance and in sales
you have to be confident
but you also have to communicate
effectively
with your customers and find out what
they need
so if a customer a potential customer
does not feel
confident whilst dealing with you
they're not going to buy from you
so you have to have confidence and that
also leads on to confidence
in your products and services and the
only way that you will achieve that
confidence
is to have an in-depth knowledge of the
products and services that you are
offering
your customers because if you don't have
that knowledge you can't answer
any questions that's one of the first
things i will be doing
if i am successful is finding out as
much as possible
about the products and services that we
offer you also need to have
above everything else i would suggest is
good listening skills
in the past as salespeople we would we
would talk a lot
to tell customers what we think they
need things have changed do you have to
listen
yes you have to ask appropriate
questions
relevant questions to try and you know
progress a sale and also to close it but
you have to be a good listener
so always listen to the customer because
they will then feel valued
you also have to have relationship
building skills so i would be looking
to come into this position and build
long-term relationships with with
customers
because then that helps your
organization you don't have to spend as
much on advertising
because the lifelong value of the
customer increases
you also have to have entrepreneurial
spirit you have to be adaptable come up
with different ways
to improve your sales figures and be
positive
in your work and also be adaptable and
changeable because the sales environment
is changing all of the time so you have
to stay ahead of the curve
and make sure you know what is going on
right now
and what your customers need so those
are the qualities that you need
to be effective in sales and i believe
obviously that i have those
great thank you what makes you stand out
from the other candidates
the things that make me stand out from
the other candidates first and foremost
is my
knowledge of the products and services
that i am selling
so what i plan to do if i am successful
is come into the organization
and spend a lot of time learning about
the products and services
you offer and how they are going to
benefit our customers
so i will be spending time in the
evenings and at weekends
getting to know your products and
services inside out because then i can
answer any questions customers have and
explain the benefits
of the products and services to them and
how they will impact
on their daily lives the second thing
that i believe makes me stand out
is my ability to build long-term
relationships with customers and clients
i believe to be effective in sales
nowadays long term
you have to be prepared to build up
long-term relationships
because i will have a responsibility to
encourage customers to come back to the
business time and time again
because then you don't need to spend as
much money on
advertising customers buy from people
people buy from people
so i have to build up good relationships
with people build up that rapport with
them
and i want them to become a long-term
advocate of our business
i want them to recommend our products
and services
to other potential customers the final
thing that makes me the standout
candidate
that makes me different from the other
candidates is the fact that i know
when to close a sale i am a confident
closer
and i know when to do it i understand
the sales process
and i know when the time is right to
close
the sale i believe the art of closing
is lost on a lot of sales people i'll
give you an example
at the weekend my partner and i were in
a shop and we wanted to buy a picture to
put on the wall and i was discussing the
picture that we liked
with the sales assistant now
he was asking me lots of questions and i
was clearly ready to buy
now when i was ready to buy another
customer walked into the store
and he left me to go and tend to them
and he lost the sale
i know when to close a sale and to take
my time with the customers
and to make sure that i get that sale
over the line so those are the three
things
that make me stand out from other
candidates my knowledge of the sub
of my knowledge of the products and
services my ability to build long-term
relationships with customers
and my ability to close a cell with
confidence thank you
how do you handle rejection i always
handle rejection with a positive mindset
so i see rejection as an opportunity to
improve
and develop so i will take the knowledge
that i have gained
from dealing with that particular
potential client or customer
and i will use it to my advantage when
dealing with similar
customers and clients in the future i'm
confident in my conversion rate
so i always see rejection as an
opportunity to try and improve that for
the future
so i handle it positively and always
look for ways to improve
for later on great thank you
at what point would you consider walking
away from a sale
ordinarily there are two situations
where i would consider walking away from
a sale the first one
is where i feel the customer is trying
to appease me
so they are telling me what they think i
want to hear they are being polite
i have the experience to know when that
is happening i obviously don't want to
waste their time or
our time so i would walk away from a
sale then
and that can be at any stage during the
sales process you get to know you get to
feel
when a customer is doing that the second
situation
where i would walk away from a sale or
consider walking away
is where i feel it gives me more control
the prospect the potential customer
really wants this product or service
and they are perhaps discussing
negotiating the price
by walking away or giving the impression
i'm walking away
that creates urgency and it creates
scarcity
and you are more likely to close a sale
then and get the price that you want
by giving the impression you are walking
away
i have the experience and the knowledge
to know based on each situation
and each communication when to walk away
and i have the confidence to do so
thank you tell me about mistake you've
made in sales and what you've learned
from it
perhaps the biggest mistake i made in
sales was when i first started out
i worked for this great organization and
i was talking to
a customer and he clearly wanted to buy
one of our services
now it was going really well and i was
about to close the sale and then he
started asking me some questions some
in-depth questions
about the service that we offered and i
couldn't answer them i got into the
organization
thinking that i i knew everything and i
could close every sale
and i got found out so that was a
mistake that i made and as i said
previously when i come into an
organization now one of the first things
i will do
is spend my own time learning as much as
possible
about the products and services that i
am selling so i can answer questions
about what's involved and also the
benefits
that the product or service has to the
customer so i make sure i'm fully
knowledgeable
i'm the type of person who is always
open to improving
and developing so if a mistake is made i
will always be positive about it and i
will look to improve the next time
thank you so you can see that my sales
interview
is going really well and before i give
you some more
sales interview questions to prepare for
if you would like to download
my full set of 29 sales interview
questions and top scoring answers
including the ones that i have just
covered within the video so far click
that link right now
in the top right hand corner of the
video and it will take you through to my
website
passmyinterview.com and as i say you can
download my full set
of 29 top scoring sales
interview answers so let's now go on
to those 29 questions and i'll give you
some tips for answering them
so the first question they asked me was
tell me about yourself
now in your answer to this first sales
interview question
my advice is to talk about the skills
the qualities and the attributes that
you have
talk about any previous sales experience
you possess
and also talk about the type of person
you are
and what you are going to do in the role
if they hire you the second question
they asked me
in my sales interview was why do you
want to work in sales
now my advice is to focus on the fact
that sales
is a challenging environment and that
you prefer to work
in a situation where the pressure is on
to meet
difficult sales targets the third
question they asked me was
what skills and qualities are needed to
work in sales
so when you answer this difficult sales
interview question
talk about the fact that you need
communication skills also the ability
to be able to listen intently to your
customers
or your clients because that allows you
to then focus in on
their needs also talk about the fact
that you need an understanding of the
sales process
also you need to have a knowledge of the
products and services
you are selling because then you can
answer any questions
the potential customers and clients may
have also the ability
to source new sales prospects and also
build relationships ongoing
relationships
with you know current customers because
you want
to increase the lifetime value of their
custom also talk about the ability that
you need
to be able to work under pressure in
sales and being able to close a sale
that's really important
sales interview question number four
they asked me in the interview what
makes you stand out from the other
candidates
so i'd be saying that i am able to make
a fast and immediate
impact in the sales role i'll talk about
the fact that i would be able to learn
the products and services quickly
so that i can then increase the sales
conversion rate also the fact that i
have
a track record of achievement in sales
that i have a thorough understanding of
the sales process and also again
talk about the fact that you can close a
sale with confidence
it's very very important in sales the
fifth
sales interview question they asked me
was how do you handle sales rejections
so i would be saying that i can handle
sales rejections
in a positive manner and that i actually
see
rejection as an important part of my own
professional development
i would also be saying that you will
always look to learn
from the experience of rejection but you
also have confidence
in your conversion rate so other sales
interview
questions that i recommend you prepare
for question six at what point would you
walk away from a sale
and don't be afraid to walk away from a
cell you have to learn
the art in sales of understanding when
somebody is just being polite and they
are clearly wasting your time
and you need to be able to move on if
you don't think that this is going to
close question 7
of the sales interview tell me about a
mistake you made in sales and what you
learned from it
my advice is to not say i don't make
mistakes in sales we all do
but we have to learn from the experience
sales interview question number eight if
you are successful
how much time would you spend
cultivating customer relationships
versus
searching for new leads or clients and
why
i would be answering that question by
saying that i would focus on
60 new clients and 40
building relationships or around that
figure even 50 50 would be fine
because it's really important that you
cultivate customer relationships and
spend time doing that
because then they will spend more money
with you and it will save
the organization advertising funds which
is really important
don't forget you can download all of the
answers to these the model answers
by clicking the link in the top right
hand corner of the video when you're
ready
you can download my full set of 29 sales
interview questions and top scoring
answers
question 9 of your sales interview what
are the first three questions you would
ask
a potential sales prospect so when
before you're going to speak to them on
the phone
what questions would you ask them it's
really important that you're prepared
question 10 of your sales interview how
do you overcome customer objections not
rejections but
objections so we want to you know all
customers are going to put objections in
the way how do you overcome these
sales interview question number 11 what
steps do you take to research prospects
before you speak to them on the phone
what specific information do you look
for like i would be
going on to linkedin and having a look
at their profile perhaps to find out
what they do
the different kinds of business they're
in and how you can help them
increase their sales conversions sales
interview question number 12 sell me
this pen wow
this is a common sales interview
question it's very difficult to answer
and i've actually got a video for you
that you can watch if you click that
link when you're already at the top of
the video
it will take you through to my other
video here on youtube and actually
answer this question in a live interview
setting
sales interview question 13 if we hired
you
in this sales position what would you do
in the first month
of working here so you should have a
plan of action in place of what you
would do
if they hire you question 14 in sales
you will have to deal with pressure on a
daily basis so how do you deal with
stress and pressure
that comes with this sales position
sales interview question 15 at what
point would you stop
pursuing a client sales interview
question
number 16 have you ever turned a
prospect away if so why
and by the way you are unlikely to get
our 16 questions
or more you won't get asked 29 during
your sales interview
but the ones i'm going through are the
most common sales interview questions
that have been asked over the last few
years during all
sales roles and it won't take you long
to prepare for these
and again you can download the answers
by clicking the link in the top right
hand corner
of the video but if you prepare answers
for all of these i strongly believe
you will pass your sales interview sales
interview question number 17
tell me about a time when you lost a
sale question 18 what's the best way
to establish a relationship with a sales
prospect
question 19 explain the steps you take
from the beginning of the sales process
to the end and sales interview question
20 tell me about a time when you managed
to achieve
difficult sales targets that's a very
common sales interview question just a
few more
21 how would you respond to a period of
poor sales
now that's a tough one that's a
difficult one sales interview question
22
tell me about an objection you had to
overcome while selling
that's a behavioral interview question
question 23 of our sales interview
why have you chosen our company over
others why do you want to work for us
why do you want to leave your job what
are your strengths what are your
weaknesses
why should we hire you where do you see
yourself in five years and also
that's the end of your sales interview
do you have any questions you'd like to
ask us
so as i say make sure you check that
guide out right now by clicking the link
in the top right hand corner of the
video head over to my website
parsemyinterview.com
and you can download my full set of 29
sales interview questions and top
scoring answers
and i'll give you the answers to all 29
questions the model answers including
the ones
i answered right at the start of the
video when i was covering a sales mock
interview
i hope you enjoyed that and you found it
useful don't forget to subscribe that's
really important
we have over half a million subscribers
now and lots of you are passing your job
interviews
as a result of the content if you have
any questions put them in the comments
section below the video and don't forget
to give the video a like because that
tells me you find the content useful
thanks for watching
and i wish you all the best for passing
your sales interview have a brilliant
day
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