Different sales interview questions require different answers. There is no cookie-cutter approach to this. Learn why each question is asked, and what makes a GREAT answer!.
Our goal at Uvaro is to help you do well in sales, which is one of the most competitive fields in the software business. (Dont worry: We add tons of prep for sales interview questions and answers). Any business will have trouble making more money and getting employees to get along if they don’t have the right sales team working together as a unit.
From what we’ve seen, an employer may care more about how you handle stress and your ability to work with others on difficult tasks than about how well you know the product. It’s impossible to know what a hiring manager will ask before the interview, but we teach our graduates a lot of ways to make a good first impression.
Knowing why an interviewer asks certain questions is one of those moves. To help you get ready, here are the top 40 questions you should think about before the interview.
Interviewing for a technical sales representative role? You’ll need to come prepared to answer a wide range of questions that dig into your sales abilities, technical knowledge, problem-solving skills, and more. This comprehensive guide covers the 20 most common technical sales representative interview questions, along with tips for answering each one effectively.
Why Do You Want to Be a Technical Sales Rep?
This opening question allows you to explain your motivations and qualifications for the role. Focus on your interest in sales technology and customer service. Mention any relevant skills, education, or experience. And express enthusiasm for the company and position.
Example: “I’m excited to combine my background in computer engineering with my passion for connecting with customers. As a technical sales rep, I can leverage my tech knowledge to educate customers and find solutions tailored to their needs. Your company is doing innovative work in the industry, and I’d love to be part of your success.”
How Do You Stay Up-To-Date on Product Knowledge and Technical Skills?
Employers want to see that you have a plan for continuously expanding your expertise. Share how you currently stay updated through manufacturer trainings, industry events, online learning platforms, and more. Emphasize being proactive about seeking new technical knowledge.
Example: “I make it a priority to regularly engage with our product developers and engineers to understand the latest updates and features. I also leverage online courses to keep my technical knowledge sharp. Continuing to expand my skills allows me to better serve customers and address their evolving needs.”
How Would You Explain a Complex Product to a Non-Technical Customer?
This tests your ability to communicate technical details in simple terms. Avoid jargon and analogies are key. Focus on the essential features, capabilities, and benefits that relate to the customer’s needs and goals. Verify their understanding through questions and visual aids.
Example: “I’d start by getting a handle on the customer’s current challenges and objectives. Then I’d map out our product’s key attributes and how they address the customer’s needs in everyday language. I’d use comparisons to things they are familiar with and invite lots of questions. My aim is to make sure they walk away understanding the product’s value, not the technical intricacies.”
How Do You Prioritize Your Accounts and Opportunities?
Share how you analyze factors like customer potential, urgency of needs, competitive situation, and your relationship status to determine where to focus your efforts. Maintaining current accounts while prospecting new opportunities is key Tools like CRM systems can aid prioritization
Example: “I balance my time across three buckets – current customers, qualified leads, and new prospecting. Within each, I prioritize based on potential deal size, timeframe, and my existing rapport with the account. I use Salesforce to analyze these factors and track my outreach. This ensures I’m maximizing results across both retaining and acquiring accounts.”
How Do You Go About Learning a New Product or Technology?
Being adaptable and curious is important in technical sales. Describe your enthusiasm for tackling new products and share your methods for getting up to speed quickly. This can include hands-on testing, analyzing documentation, engaging engineers, and more.
Example: “When I need to ramp up on a new product, I dive right in. I’ll schedule demos and trainings with our engineers to understand its technical capabilities and how it addresses customer needs. I’ll play around with the product myself so I can speak firsthand about the user experience. And I’ll research competitive offerings so I can speak to our differentiating factors.”
How Do You Handle Customer Objections and Concerns?
Share your process for acknowledging objections, uncovering the root of the issue through active listening, addressing the concern with empathy, and presenting an alternative solution. Remaining positive and keeping the customer’s needs in focus is key.
Example: “First, I make sure I fully understand the objection from the customer’s perspective through active listening. I acknowledge their concern in a constructive, empathetic way. Then I draw on my product knowledge to position a solution tailored to address their specific hesitation. My goal is to find common ground and reshape our discussion to show how we can provide unique value.”
Tell Me About a Time You Successfully Handled a Difficult Customer.
Briefly outline a scenario where a customer was upset or challenging to work with. Share how you turned the situation around through patience, active listening, creative problem solving and ensuring the customer felt heard and valued. Emphasize resolving the issue and strengthening the relationship.
Example: “I had a client who was considering cancelling due to dissatisfaction with a product’s reporting features. I scheduled an onsite meeting to better understand their workflow and needs. Together, we identified workaround reporting options to bridge the gap until an update could be made. The customer appreciated our responsive approach and not only renewed but expanded their contract.”
How Do You Go About Developing Trust With a New Customer?
Building credibility is crucial, especially when selling complex technical solutions. Share how asking probing questions about their business, being transparent about capabilities, inviting open dialogue, and offering trials or demos can help establish a trusted advisor relationship.
Example: “Trust starts with taking the time to understand a customer’s organization, pain points and objectives on a deep level. Then it’s about establishing myself as an expert – someone who can talk through technical details in relatable ways and offer tailored solutions. Maintaining open communication and following through on commitments also builds trust over time.”
How Do You Determine What Solution Options to Present to a Customer?
This evaluates your sales process and customer assessment skills. Explain how you identify primary needs through discovery, then map available offerings against those needs to narrow down the right solutions to present. Customizing options is ideal.
Example: “Before proposing solutions, I dedicate time to the discovery process. This involves asking probing questions to pinpoint the customer’s issues, goals, and processes. Once I understand their specific requirements, I can effectively match potential options from our portfolio to those needs. I aim to present a targeted shortlist of solutions tailored to that customer’s particular circumstances.”
How Do You Go About Uncovering a Customer’s Unstated Needs?
Highlighting your probing and listening skills is key here. Share techniques like asking follow-up questions about workflows, pain points, and future plans to reveal the full picture. Building rapport to have open conversations is crucial.
Example: “I find unstated needs often revolve around pain points customers have just gotten used to or future growth plans not yet in motion. By asking questions to uncover frustrations with current solutions and plans for the coming year, I can better position how we can uniquely support them both now and in the future.”
How Would You Handle a Customer Interested in a Solution Not Ideal for Their Needs?
This shows how you balance educating customers while maintaining positive relationships. Acknowledge their interest, but guide them toward more suitable options by focusing on their actual requirements. Leverage demos and trials to illustrate alternative solutions.
Example: “If a customer is interested in a solution that I know isn’t a great match based on their needs, I would certainly show them that option but also present at least one other offering that is better aligned. This gives them a comparison point to realize which will truly add the most value. My aim is to guide them to the ideal solution.”
How Do You Go About Conveying the Value and ROI of Solutions?
Share how you translate technical capabilities into clear business outcomes like increased efficiency, cost savings, improved processes, etc. Use metrics, statistics, and case studies to demonstrate tangible value. Focus on their specific needs and goals.
Example: “I position solutions in terms of how they will tangibly impact the customer’s organization. If cost savings is important, I’ll pull hard numbers around how the solution drives efficiency. If it’s innovation they want, I’ll leverage examples of how we’ve driven leading-edge results for similar clients. Every point aligns back to their priority needs and KPIs.”
If a Customer is Deciding Between You and a Competitor, How Would You Differentiate Your Offering?
Highlight areas where you can beat competitors – this may be superior support, advanced features, ease of use, integrations, etc. Focus on their particular needs and where you have an advantage in addressing them. Provide concrete examples.
Example: “I would outline our standout capabilities in the areas that are most crucial to that particular customer based on their priorities. If they need ultra user-friendly tools, I would do a demo to showcase our UI. If API integrations are key, I’d detail our robust API capabilities and partner network. My goal is to leave them confident we are superior in the aspects most vital to their organization.”
How Do You Go About Developing and Retaining Customer Loyalty?
Share how you build loyalty through value delivery, education, stellar service experience, robust communication channels, and cultivating personal rapport. Give examples of specific retention tactics and metrics.
Example: “It starts with consistently providing solutions tailored to each customer’s evolving needs. Then it’s about maintaining an exceptional service experience – contacting them proactively, responding promptly to issues, and checking in to ensure satisfaction. Small gestures like sending customers articles on relevant industry topics also helps nurture the relationship on an ongoing basis.”
Why Do Customers Choose to Leave? How Do You Proactively Prevent This?
Address how you avoid churn by monitoring changing needs, staying communic
37 – What core values do you think you need to succeed?
Of all questions in this list, this one is the most tricky to answer quickly. You could use humor, or you could give a more systematic, step-by-step answer.
But remember that the interviewer needs to see whether youll be an asset to the company. If a company has a flexible and forward-thinking culture, you don’t want your answers to be rigid and full of sales platitudes.
- Speaks to your integrity, work ethic and character
- Matches your values with those of the company you’re interviewing with
- Tells the company and you why those values are important.
26 – How would you explain complex software to a prospect who is not as well-versed in technology?
A software company cares a lot about this question, which is why we teach our salespeople how to explain complicated ideas in simple terms.
The company wants to be sure that the sales team will close deals without making the customer think that they don’t understand the technology.
- This shows that you can figure out how much a prospect understands and meet them there.
- Demonstrates how you’ve broken down a difficult concept before
- Shows creativity in the way you make complex software accessible
SALES REPRESENTATIVE Interview Questions & Answers! (How to PASS a Sales Rep Job Interview!)
FAQ
Why should we hire you in tech sales?
What is a technical interview in sales?
How to prepare for a tech sales job?
How do you answer a technical sales representative interview question?
This question can help the interviewer determine your priorities and how you view the role of a technical sales representative. Your answer should show that you understand what skills are most important for this position, but it can also be an opportunity to highlight one or two skills that you feel particularly confident in.
Why should you ask a technical sales representative a question?
This question can help the interviewer determine how well you know your company’s products and services. It also helps them understand if you have a passion for what you do, which is an important quality in a technical sales representative.
Do technical sales representatives work independently?
Technical sales representatives often work independently, but they also need to collaborate with other members of their team. Employers ask this question to make sure you can balance both working styles and that you’re comfortable doing so. In your answer, explain how you feel about working alone or as part of a group.
What are technical sales interview questions?
Related Read: 106 Sales Terms To Help You Close While technical sales interview questions will focus primarily on your ability to close the deal, many technical sales roles also encompass supportive responsibilities that fall under the umbrella of sales engineering.
