Have a Sales Job Interview? Ask These 36 Questions

Wondering What Questions to Ask in Your Next Sales Job Interview? We’ve Got You Covered.

The job interview isn’t only about a hiring manager qualifying you on your experience, skillset, and interest in the role. It’s also an opportunity for you to figure out whether or not this career move makes sense for you.

Now, when you go in for a job interview, there may be a few questions you really care about having answered…but that you should probably save for later in the interview. You know, the ones that pertain to money, time off, and benefits. Hold off on those for a bit.

Instead, when you have your first interview with a hiring manager there are other questions you want to ask to learn more about the sales role and company. And if everything lines up, that’s when you want to qualify around salary, PTO policy, and benefits.

You want to learn more than what you read in a job post. Asking well thought out questions is a great way to build rapport with the hiring manager, show that you’ve done your homework, and get the information you need to decide if this is a company you see yourself being a part of.

So with that in mind, you should always be prepared to ask questions in a job interview!

There’s nothing worse than when the interviewer asks a candidate, “What questions do you have for me?” And the response… “Nope, nothing I can think of.”

That’s a big red flag for any hiring manager! You should always have questions prepared. So to help you out, we compiled a list of questions that you should be prepared to ask in any sales interview.

Questions About the Company

Asking questions about the company shows that you’ve done your research. You have basic but comprehensible understanding of what the company does and what they sell. Make sure you read up on the company before the interview. Check out the company’s press releases, awards and recognition, and their social media pages like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.

Ask questions that help you learn more about company’s products/services, the leadership team, corporate culture, plans for company growth, career progression, and whether or not the company is public, private, or VC funded.

Here are some questions to ask:

1. How do you stack up against your competition? What are you doing differently?

2. What is the leadership style like?

3. How are you promoting the company?

4. If I perform well here, what is the growth potential?

5. Can you tell me about your company culture?

6. What can you tell me about the company’s plans for growth?

7. What challenges did you face as a company going from private to public? (if applicable)

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Questions About the Hiring Manager

You always want to do your research on who you are interviewing with. Whether it’s one person or multiple team members, make sure you take the time learn more about them. Before meeting them, read their company bios on the website, connect with them on LinkedIn and dig a little deeper into their backgrounds. Look for any commonalities you may share, what their previous experience is, or fun facts. It’s a great way to break the ice and build rapport.

Ask questions that are personalized to learn about their experience at the company:

8. What brought you here to join this company?

9. What do you like most about this company?

10. What keeps you motivated each day?

11. How would you describe your management style?

12. Since joining how has your role changed?

{Watch this Video: How to Prepare for a Sales Job Interview}

Questions About the Sales Position

The interviewer may break down the major responsibilities of the role, but you want to dive a little deeper. You want to not only uncover the core functions, but learn more about some of the challenges, as well as what top producers are doing to be successful.

Don’t leave the interview without asking at least one of these questions:

13. What is the day-to-day like?

14. What type of support is in place for the reps?

15. What are the characteristics of your top sales professionals?

16. What are some of the challenges that your salespeople face?

17. What are some of the biggest wins your sales team has experienced?

18. The last rep that you let go, what didn’t they do?

19. How is the team doing towards goals and quotas?

20. How many members are hitting quota?

21. What is the biggest objection the sales team faces? How do you overcome that?

22. Why is this role open? Is this a new position or has someone been promoted?

23. What does the first 30/60/90 days look like?

24. Where have people gone wrong or have had trouble in this role?

25. Who is the top producer and what are they doing to be so successful?

26. What does it take to be successful here?

27. What are the biggest challenges in the first 30/60/90 days?

28. Who are the decision makers that I will be calling into?

29. What type of objections do the sales reps face on a daily basis? How do they overcome them?

30. What does your training look like?

31. Who will I be working most closely with? Who will I report to?

{Related Article: 30 Ways to Ruin an Interview in 30 Seconds}

Questions to Close the Interview

If you’re in sales, then you know how important it is to close a meeting/demo/deal. The same goes for the interview. You want to close the interview, overcome any concerns, and inquire about next steps.

Here are some questions to help you close the interview:

32. Can I answer any other questions for you?

33. What are the next steps in the interview process?

34. When should I expect to hear from you?

35. Do you have any questions or concerns about me moving forward in the interview process?

36. If I do not hear from you by Friday, could you I reach out to you directly?

{Related Article: How to Close an Interview So You’re Never Left Wondering}