There’s an age old saying which still stands true; ‘First impression lasts long‘. And it isn’t more evident during a Job Interview than anywhere else.

The moment you enter into that room, all that matters is how you perform in that particular moment. Research shows that an interviewer is highly likely to make up his mind in the first 5 mins of an interview. Rest everything is just a formality.

Hence it’s always a good idea to prepare for some of the mostly asked questions if you’re going for a Sales Interview… Let’s discuss a few of those here today!

Q.1 Tell me something more about yourself.

It has to be one of the most common questions across the globe. And trust me, when someone asks you this… they do want to know more about you i.e. something that’s not there on your resume.

The key here is to find a balanced answer between your personal as well as professional ambitions. Start with something personal & gradually move on towards your career goals. A touch of humour helps here!

Q.2 What do you know about our company?

This is one of the highly overlooked topics among today’s young gen. A bit of research is all it takes to master this. Start from the company’s website, & move to Wikipedia or other mentions on the web. Prefer to say it all in a summary, without missing any of the recent or trending topics.

This shows that you’re actually interested for the job & have come prepared. If you do your homework well, you’re bound to have a good impression on others.

Q.3 What are your career goals?

A candidate with well defined short-term & long-term career goals are thought to be clear thinkers & full of self-motivation. While preparing for this, it’s always a good idea to consult a few people who have already crossed that path. It’ll give you a lot more insights into what you want to become.

While discussing about all this with your interviewer, also don’t forget to mention why you want to go on the path & what motivates you to do so. Above all, be practical. Always.

Q.4 How would you generate, nurture & close a sales deal?

Irrespective of the setup you’ve been with, the core sales skills remain the same always. So the moment this question comes up… you should demonstrate your understanding of a sales pipeline with all the maturity you’ve got.

Talk about how you go about the entire process from start to finish & everything in between.

Q.5 Tell me an instance when you failed to deliver & how you dealt with it.

This is one of the trickiest questions to be asked and needs a bit of composure to clear. Sales & marketing folks need to be able to deal with their failures without breaking down. They need to be critical on their own work & learn from the same.

It’s always impressive to see someone accepting his own failure & know why he failed so. Not many people can do that, believe me. So more than the failure, it’s important for you to show the reason why you failed.

In today’s unpredictable world, it’s near impossible to predict what exact questions will be thrown at you during your sales interview. But the above questions will certainly help you get better prepared.

Preparation is the Key! If you prepare well & show some confidence, better results await you. Good luck 🙂

Let me know what you think I missed here & your feedback/suggestions if any. I’d be happy to read them all.