Sales Job

12 Best interview questions and answers for sales manager the position!

If you are wondering what are some of the best interview questions and answers for sales managers, look no further, here is all the help you can in clearing your ambiguities and giving better answers at the time of the interview.

To land a sales manager job in a company, one will have to go through several rounds of interviews and tests. Resume and experience could get one in the door but the interview process is where it really counts and that is where you will have to shine. By applying the right interview techniques, you will increase your chances of getting hired fast.

As an aspiring sales manager, learning and understanding the top interview questions and answers for the sales manager are imperative. One of the most common questions that may be asked during the interview is, “why do you want to be a sales manager?”

Selling is a fun job, but you’ve got to be good at what you do. Here are some of the best sales manager interview questions and answers which will help you nail your next sales manager job interview! Take a look at these if you are preparing for an interview. 

Interview Questions and answers for Sales Manager

Like in any interview, it is necessary to demonstrate your ambition. Let the hiring manager know that you have career growth objectives and how they align with the position. Show that this job fits into your overall plan for progress in your career. 

Almost everyone wants to know what are the best interview questions and answers for a sales manager position. Most of the candidates take interviews seriously because it is a way of benchmarking themselves when they think such kinds of questions will come. However, many people find it difficult to tackle all kinds of questions that come during the interview, especially when they are to answer the questions on the spot.

Like in any other interview, typically you’ll begin with customary ice-breaking questions. As you progress further, more industry-specific and/or role-specific questions may come up. Let’s look at some of the most common interview questions and answers for sales managers.

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Give a quick summary of your professional life and quickly talk about your educational background. This is when you lightly touch upon achievements in your previous role. The trick is to brush through your resume but make sure to keep it brief. Most importantly, talk about what drove you to apply for the given role.

2. Tell us about your professional achievements from your previous role.

This is a great opportunity to leave a positive impression and to showcase your best qualities. Talk about how you managed to hit your sales targets in your previous role. Support your claims with actual numbers- “I was able to increase the quarterly sales revenue by X%”. 

You can also mention any projects that you spearheaded. Talk about how you led a team of X (no. of) people for a given project and what goals you were able to achieve in the process.

3. What motivates you to work in sales?

The purpose of this question is to check whether a candidate is even a fit for the sales industry. As a result, simply answering with a vague “It is something I like” will leave a very bad idea.

You need to show your dedication to your role and experience in the field. Was there a particular situation that led you to develop an interest in the field? Perhaps, you get an adrenaline high from selling your products.

4. As a sales manager, what leadership skills would be most useful?

Put yourself in the shoes of the interviewer. What leadership skills do you think they would expect you to have in this role?

It is important to develop soft skills such as active listening, negotiation, communication, and the ability to influence others. As a sales manager, not only are you delegating tasks to your subordinates, you are also coaching them. Soft skills focused on coaching and training sales reps along the way are important attributes that sales managers need to have.

Team building, conflict resolution, and collaboration are some other skills that are found to be ideal. Most importantly, demonstrate your decision-making skills and problem-solving skills with relevant experiences from the past.

5. How would you describe a product and what our company does, to a subordinate?

Here, the interviewer wants to assess how a candidate takes the role of coaching subordinates. How you deal with subordinates speaks a lot about whether you will be a good fit for the role or not.

Remember, a good sales manager is one who is empathetic, and supportive of his subordinates. One of the key responsibilities of a sales manager is to provide the necessary support and guidance for growth in their role. When you answer this question, you need to showcase that you are capable of coaching and leading your subordinates.

6. Tell us about a time when you were unable to achieve your targets. How did you handle the situation?

Before you take on the responsibility of handling challenges at a team level, your interviewers would want to know if you are capable of doing so.

Do you have any previous experience (s) of having handled a tough or challenging situation in the past? Demonstrate examples of how you were able to tread through a challenging situation with success. Perhaps, you discovered a new approach to handling such situations. Or, you probably consulted with your supervisor to find out a solution.

The idea is to show your problem-solving skills to your interviewers. That you will be able to handle the challenges you will face in your role.

7. If you were to hire a sales rep, what qualities will you look for, in them?

With this question, the interviewers want to know the kind of team you visualize as a leader. What qualities do you look for in a sales rep? This tells interviewers what kind of attributes you value in a sales professional. Apart from that, the question is also used to assess a candidate’s talent acquisition skills.

Highlight relevant skills and attributes you’d look for in a sales rep to make a good sales team. Don’t forget to add the sore points you’d watch out for. This shows how you practice due diligence in making important decisions.

8. How would you train a newly recruited sales rep?

An integral part of a sales manager’s duty is to train and coach a newly recruited sales rep. The goal of your training strategy is to build a powerful team of adept sales reps. Not only should they have in-depth knowledge of the products, but they should be well-versed with the tools you use as a part of the sales process, as well.

As their manager, you need to ensure that the sales reps are provided with the support and guidance they need to give optimum performance. Most importantly, it is your duty to acquaint reps with the team members as well as other teams. The idea is to foster an environment where sales reps can actually benefit from the training.

9. How would you deal with a subordinate who has not been meeting sales targets?

Managing sales reps’ performance is one of the very responsibilities for which you will be hired. If you can’t even perform this duty effectively, then you may not appear to be a good fit for this role.

If a sales rep is not meeting sales targets, you need to carefully assess their performance. Where is it that they may be going wrong? Here, as a sales rep, you may need to step up and point out the glitches in your subordinates’  approach. Help them correct their method of operating.

When this also doesn’t work, having that uncomfortable conversation with your subordinate is the only solution.

10. How do you carry out sales forecasts?

Here, the interviewers want to know if you are well-versed with the latest techniques and processes for sales forecasting. In sales, making data-backed decisions is crucial and pretty much the norm. Ideally, sales forecasts should be driven by data. Maybe you can elaborate on how you conducted sales forecasts in your previous role. This will leave a good impression on your interviewers.

11. Which sales tools are you familiar with?

Sales managers need to be technologically well-versed. Tools such as CRMs, cloud phone system, and automation tools come in handy for sales professionals.  Naturally, interviewers will pick a candidate who knows how to use these sales tools than someone who will need to understand everything from scratch. You can showcase your know-how of these tools by sharing simple, daily use cases from your previous role.

12. What makes you a good fit for this role? 

This is a question to not only assess your skills, qualifications, and experience. It is also meant to understand whether a candidate is well-acquainted with the roles and responsibilities they will have to undertake. Your answer to this question should demonstrate your readiness to take on the role. Do good research around the company and show your interviewers that you’ve done your homework. Most importantly, show them how you will be a good fit for not just the role but will easily adapt to the company culture as well.

Sales Manager Interview Questions- The Wind Up

As a candidate for the position of sales manager, you need to answer different types of behavioral, role-specific, and industry specific-questions. Being prepared ahead of the interview will help you a great deal, here. So, what are you waiting for? Start brush-up your interview skills with these questions.

FAQs

Why do you want to be a sales manager?

Interviewers often ask to explain why you are applying for the job as a sales manager. This is your chance to show that you’ve researched the company and that you have a good understanding of the products, services and customers.

You can also make your case by telling a compelling story. Sell the benefits of the job, not just the perquisites. For example: “I love sales because I can have an impact on people’s lives. With every sale made and every person helped, I will be making a difference for someone.”

What qualities should a hiring manager look for?

While hiring a sales manager as a part of the sales team, the hiring manager should make sure to employ someone who possesses –

  • Good people skills
  • Good leadership qualities
  • Honesty
  • Market analysis
  • Communication skills 
  • Time management skills
What are the common interview questions?

Some of the most common interview questions for a sales job could range from asking about why you are interested in the sales job to how you have had previous experience with sales, increasing revenue, reducing cost etc. 

Another common interview question is, “Give an example of a time when you had an ethical dilemma on the job. How did you handle it?” so make sure you have a good answer prepared in advance.

The most important thing about ethical dilemmas on the job is to always be honest, even if it initially hurts. Salespeople are often tasked with doing or saying things that stretch their moral boundaries, and it can get confusing to know what’s right to do and what’s wrong.

Is the sales manager an important part of the sales team?

The sales manager provides a vital link between the sales team and company management. They are essential in implementing the company’s strategic goals they play an important part in supporting the salesforce. Sales managers work with their team to be sure that all goals are being met.

What is company culture?

Company work culture is the personality of a company, and how employees and management behave within the business. It is not just a perk, it is the foundation of a successful business. It is the shared values and beliefs of the organisation. Company culture makes a company more attractive to top talent and makes employees happier and more engaged. 

Sandy leads the US Sales team at JustCall and he has been integral in growing JustCall’s ARR by 5X while bootstrapped. He is a big believer in using tech to enable sales and is the first person to try out every new feature in the JustCall stack. While he’s not writing high performance email cadences for his team, he dabbles in blogging about Sales Strategy, Sales Tech and Sales Training.

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