While some questions are more difficult to answer than others, is there really an easy sales job interview question? If you’ve received the call for a phone interview or an in person interview, the odds are you are somewhat nervous about the questions you will be asked and how you should answer them. After all, you don’t want to make a mistake or answer a question in a way that could hurt your chances, right?

Tough Sales Interview Questions & How to Handle Them

Here are 7 tough sales interview questions and some insight into how you should answer them:

Question 1: Tell me about yourself

In other words, sell yourself. The interviewer wants you to give them your best elevator pitch about who you are and why you are an ideal candidate for the position.

Question 2: What motivates you to sell?

This question can be answered in many different ways. The key is to communicate the reasons why you are a motivated sales rep, where your passion comes from, and the character traits that make you a good fit for the company’s sales team.

Question 3: What made you want to work in sales?

“For the money” or “because I like it” are not good answers. Talk about your experience, why you are passionate about sales, and the skills you have that make sales an ideal career path for you.

Question 4: What is your sales strategy? What is your sales approach?

The interviewer wants to understand your process for developing leads and how you manage the sales process.

Question 5: What is your sales process?

Again, the interviewer wants to learn about how you approach sales, but not just on a surface level. They want to know how you build relationships with your leads, and how you close.

Question 6: Tell me about a time you failed. What did you learn from it?

All sales reps fail to close from time to time. Failure is also the perfect opportunity to learn from your mistakes. This is exactly what the interviewer is looking for in your answer.

Question 7: How do you handle rejection?

Rejection is part of the sales process. You will get push back and rejection at every stage, but how you handle it is the key to your success as a sales rep. The interviewer wants to know that you don’t take rejection personally, understand that it’s part of the process, and that you will have no trouble bouncing back.

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SalesForce Search is a sales recruiting company which specializes in the recruitment and placement of sales professionals. We recruit sales people in every sector of the economy including, software, manufacturing, financial services and medical devices. Find the right sales person for your organization, start your search here.