What questions do you ask when interviewing for a sales position?
Sales interview tips
My favorite questions for sales people are where I lay out a scenario that I’ve seen other reps on my team encounter, and then ask them how they would respond to the situation. One fun twist on this is to actually role play it out if I want to see them react on their feet. I also like to ask them what positive and negative feedback they would offer to their prior boss or organization. This question can give me a feel for how they are to work with, and how open to coaching they are. Finally, I like to ask questions about the sales process at their last company, and ask about how their past customers went through the buying process.
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How do you successfully answer the question: “What are your weaknesses in your job?” I feel like I have never quite answered that question in a way that didn’t sound like I was avoiding answering but also don’t want them to get a bad idea of my work ethic right away.
Honestly, I think questions like this aren’t all that useful to ask. There are wrong ways to answer this question - like showing an actual weakness that would make the interviewer question that you will be able to do the job well. You can give an answer like, “I can get so into my work that I don’t come up for air and it can affect my personal life.” Non answers like this are obvious BS - everyone has weaknesses. But when you interview people, you can’t really fault them for not wanting to expose what their true weaknesses are.
To give an example, a good choice might be “I can be so detail oriented that I need to consciously stop so I can zoom out and see the big picture.” No one can really fault you for that and just being aware of it puts you ahead of most people.
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How do you expect people to dress when coming to interview with you? I think it’s hard to know how to dress when companies dress codes are so casual.
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For Badger, we have no dress code. In general, I suggest people coming in to interview to look clean and nice but there is no need to be overly dressed up.
For larger companies however, it will be different than if I was interviewing you for Badger. I always believe in dressing to impress, which means looking professional for your interview. It is never a bad thing to be the most formal person in the room because it shows that you care about the position and are willing to take that extra step. A quick tip: If you plan out and iron your outfit the night before, you will have more time in the morning, feel less stressed and get to the interview 15 minutes early 
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Thanks, Steve. I find that I like to look up pictures of the company through their Instagram or Facebook and see if they have any pictures of the office. I can usually tell how casual or dressed up people are in those so I try to dress just a little nicer than the “usual” for my interview.
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