If you’re ready to take the next step in your career, you have a lot of skills, traits, and goals that don’t always make it to the final draft of your resume. How can a one-page document really show not only your skills and experience, but also how you talk to people and your desire to learn?
This idea is exactly what inspired Vendition to make Candidate Profiles, a way for people looking to become Sales Development Representatives (SDRs) to make personalized profiles that show off their personality and skills in addition to the usual things that go on a resume. Find out more about why you should make a Vendition Candidate Profile and what to put in it to make yourself stand out during the hiring process.
Hiring top sales talent is crucial for any company’s success However, identifying those superstar sellers amongst a pool of candidates can be challenging This is where asking the right vendition interview questions becomes vital.
Vendition is an expert when it comes to sales hiring. They utilize technology to streamline the recruitment process and provide companies access to pre-vetted sales candidates. Through their experience Vendition has crafted a methodology of intelligent interview questions that help pinpoint successful salespeople.
In this article, I’ll walk through the top 15 vendition interview questions to identify and hire exceptional sales talent for your team. I’ll explain why each question is insightful and provide tips for analyzing responses. Let’s dive in!
1. Why are you looking to make a career move right now?
This question reveals the candidate’s motivation for changing jobs. Strong responses will demonstrate ambition, growth mindset, and intentionality about progressing their sales career.
Listen for answers focused on seeking new challenges, skills development, increased responsibilities, etc. Generic reasons like higher compensation may be red flags. Probe deeper into their reasoning to gain more context.
2. Walk me through your ideal sales process from prospecting to closing a deal.
This vendition interview question evaluates the candidate’s sales methodology and qualifications. Their response should align with proven sales best practices and showcase strategic thinking.
Pay attention to how they prioritize steps, qualify leads, build rapport, overcome objections, negotiate pricing, and ultimately seal the deal. Top performers will describe a concrete, customized process versus vague generalities.
3. What sales metrics do you track and how do you utilize them?
Sales is a numbers game, so this question reveals how data-driven they are. Skilled salespeople constantly track activity metrics like calls made, emails sent, meetings booked, proposals created, etc. as well as result metrics like opportunities created, deals closed, accounts acquired, and revenue generated.
Listen for metrics aligned with their role and company. Probe into how they leverage metrics to guide strategy, identify issues, and improve performance. Data-backed responses demonstrate analytical abilities.
4. How do you stay motivated when facing rejection?
Handling rejection is an indispensable sales skill. This question tests resilience, perseverance, and self-motivation. The best answers will share specific tactics for bouncing back after hearing “no” or dealing with other adversities.
Examples may include positive self-talk, focusing on controllable actions, celebrating small wins, finding inspiration from others’ success stories, and reminding themselves of the bigger purpose. Avoid candidates who get defensive or lack strategies for rejection.
5. Tell me about a time you lost a sale. What could you have done differently?
This behavioral question reveals introspection, accountability, and commitment to continuous improvement. The ideal candidate will openly discuss losing a deal without blaming external factors. You want someone who takes ownership of the outcome.
Listen for specifics around what they would change in their process, skills, or approach to turn the loss into a win next time. Their lessons learned are far more important than the loss itself. Top salespeople constantly seek to uplevel their game.
6. How do you go about developing a territory?
For field sales roles covering a geographic territory, this is a key vendition interview question. It demonstrates strategic planning and business development skills. Strong candidates will share proven tactics for identifying potential accounts, establishing contacts, earning referrals, and driving new opportunities.
Examples may include researching target companies, leveraging existing relationships, attending local events, sending personalized outreach at scale, and developing territory-specific marketing. Look for thorough, nuanced responses.
7. Tell me about a time you successfully overcame a prospect’s objection. What was the objection and how did you handle it?
This is a classic behavioral interview question adapted for sales. It reveals negotiation skills, persistence, creativity, and emotional intelligence. The candidate should walk through a specific example of an objection they faced and how they tactfully resolved it.
Great responses will showcase commercial insight, active listening, tailored messaging, and consultative problem solving. A top salesperson turns objections into opportunities to create win-win solutions. See if their example demonstrates these abilities in action.
8. Describe a time you went above and beyond for a customer. Why was this important?
Customer success is vital in sales, especially for building long-term relationships and securing referrals. This question highlights candidates truly committed to customer-centricity and exemplary service.
Look for an example that shows deep understanding of that customer’s needs along with extra effort to deliver an optimal experience. It could be something as small as a personalized thank you or as big as reworking a contract on their behalf. Dedication to the customer should be the driving motivation.
9. How do you stay up-to-date on industry trends, new products, and competitors?
Sales professionals must maintain cutting-edge market knowledge. This question uncovers research skills, strategic focus, and competitive drive. There are many ways top performers stay informed from reading blogs, to setting Google alerts, to connecting with peers, among others.
Seek candidates who proactively employ multiple strategies to continuously expand their industry IQ. They should nerd out and get excited when discussing the latest developments. Curiosity and hunger for knowledge are differentiators.
10. What sales skills or qualities do you want to improve this year?
Growth-oriented salespeople are always looking to uplevel their skills. This question reveals self-awareness of strengths/weaknesses along with commitment to sharpening their sword. Even top talent have areas they want to develop whether it’s negotiating, cold calling, using CRM, managing stress, etc.
Look for realistic self-assessment and specific skills they’re targeting to make them even stronger. You want lifelong learners who raise the bar every year through continuous improvement. Complacency and stagnation are red flags.
11. How do you build rapport and connect with prospects quickly?
Connecting with prospects is a vital sales skill, especially during cold outreach. This question illuminates their ability to relate to different personalities and form meaningful relationships. Great responses will share techniques for establishing trust fast through warmth, active listening, and natural conversation.
Seek candidates who take a genuine interest in people and build organic connections versus relying on canned pitches. They should share how they identify motivations, challenges, and goals to tune their messaging. Rapport creation is a human skill essential to sales success.
12. How do you manage your sales pipeline? Describe your approach.
This vendition interview question cuts to the heart of pipeline management – the salesperson’s #1 priority. Their response will demonstrate organization, attention to detail, and process optimization.
Listen for usage of tools like CRM to track each stage of their pipeline from leads to qualified prospects. Top performers will share best practices like tagging leads, monitoring close rates, and forecasting revenue to maximize efficiency. The better they manage their pipeline, the more deals they’ll close.
13. Tell me about a time you struggled to make your quota. How did you respond?
This behavioral question reveals perseverance, problem-solving, and accountability when faced with adversity. Making quota consistently is extremely challenging, so see how they react when struggling.
The ideal response will show self-reflection, tactical adjustments, and relentless work ethic to power through roadblocks. Perhaps they focused more time on ideal prospects, tightened up sales stages, sought mentorship, or implemented motivational techniques. Highlight solutions over problems.
14. How do you motivate yourself to exceed your sales goals?
Self-motivation is imperative for salespeople to thrive independently. This question examines their grit, determination, and inner drive to succeed. Top performers will share how they set stretching goals and tap into passion, purpose, competition, milestone tracking, positive self-talk, incentives, etc. to maximize performance.
Look for strategies you can foster in your own sales culture. The candidate should get energized discussing how they dig deep to crush numbers day in, day out. Lack of motivation is a major red flag.
15. Where do you see your sales career in 5 years?
This question gauges ambition, vision, and fit with your company’s growth trajectory. Rising stars will express excitement about taking on more responsibility, developing new skills, spearheading initiatives, and progressing into sales leadership roles.
While the path may vary, exceptional candidates will have a vision for advancing their careers. Ensure their aspirations align with opportunities at your company. Top talent want to join organizations where they can maximize their potential.
Assess Interview Responses Like a Pro
When evaluating vendition interview responses, focus on critical thinking, strategic insights, and specific examples that showcase ability. Watch for red flags like generic or vague answers, blaming external factors, indifference, and lack of accountability.
Use these top vendition questions as a framework, but also dive deeper with well-placed follow-up questions to gain additional context. Don’t just listen for desired keywords – interpret what responses reveal about work ethic, problem-solving, interpersonal skills, motivation, and core competencies.
The best candidates display energy, poise, and passion that comes through over the course of the interview. Keep an open mind, but trust your intuition. With the right interview approach, you will identify sales super
Intro to Vendition’s Paid Sales Apprenticeship Program
How do I prepare for a vendor interview?
Write down a list of questions, and send it beforehand. Take the time to write down questions you have for each of your vendors so you can stay on track. As a courtesy to them, it’s a great idea to send over your questions via email beforehand so they can prepare accordingly. If you don’t know what questions to ask, that’s OK!
How can Vendition help you get a job?
As a college grad, you’ll likely have little to no related work experience. To help you stand out, Vendition will help you explore transferable skills that you can bring into your new role. Simultaneously, you will complete an introductory training to tech sales, arming you with sufficient knowledge to answer interview questions effectively.
How can Vendition help you get a tech sales job?
Vendition’s core team includes Career Advisors who work tirelessly to provide you with the best learning experience as you prepare to launch into your SDR role. Consider them your allies in navigating roadblocks that may prevent you from landing a tech sales job. With their help, you can approach interviews with confidence!
What questions should you ask a vendor?
Other types of vendors may want to ask customers if they feel the vendor sells high quality goods, goods that are top of the line or gives services to their customers that are considered to be the industry standard or better.
