Sales Interview Questions & Answers

My initial telephone interview was with Jim Selley recruitment manager and lasted about 30 minutes. It was competence based questions where you were asked general questions like why have you applied for the job, where have you were before. What targets have you have to achieve, how successful you were. Examples of where you have worked hard etc. I was then invited to do a maths and English test online. This I found fine, you may want to have google open as there were some word association tests and some unusual words used. I then took part in a sales role play over the telephone where I was asked to play the part of a travel agent selling a trip to mexico, I had to identify which holiday was most applicable and sell it to the caller. I passed this stage and then had another online quiz which was more of a personality test this is very straight forward.
The face to face interview was took by Jim Selley and Geoff Spours contact centre manager. I would definitely recommend you wear shirt and tie as everyone is well dressed as you would expect. I would say theres a greater men to women ratio. The people all seemed nice and friendly.

I don't think any questions were difficult it was more a chance to get to know each other. They asked me about my history and my CV. I asked if they were looking for me to identify anything particular and he said no. I should have asked what is it your specifically looking for me to demonstrate as I felt Jim got a bit closed off when I asked this and he was like no just a general idea of your history. This left me in the dark about what they wanted me to show and I felt I waffled on a bit. I can sell Im a top seller in my current role but nerves got the better of me and all of my facts and figures went out of my head. I was asked about specific results and I actually under sold myself. I think the warmth of the office had a big impact as it was making me feel sick. I know if I was given the opportunity I would have earned £45,000 in year one as Im hard working, conscientious and thorough. Ive a sound understanding of mortgages having worked for Abbey in the past and Im very determined. Its a shame that they couldn't see this due to my nerves. I felt slightly uncomfortable selling myself as its a long time since I had a interview.

Find out about company knowledge and sell yourself at interview. Have some questions ready for the end about the business. I had these ready but time was running out so I didn't ask them. There was a maths and English test online and sales role play. All very straight forward, when selling the holiday make sure you offer the travel insurance and extra leg room and asked if they wish to book. Have a pen, paper and calculator ready for the online tests

there's no assessment day,.

20 minute initial phone interview through the recruitment agency which entailed how motivated, creative, and how much of a leader I was; next on that interview was what my 3 strengths were. After this I was invited to an assessment day in London. On the assessment day we were told about what the day would entail, and then given information about Amari by a regional head. Next were 3 teamwork exercises. Then we had to do a 3 min. presentation about why we should be sales-people; also an informal 1 on 1.

What internationally famous person has had the biggest influence on your life?
What is your greatest non-academic achievement?
What is it that you, specifically, could offer Amari that no one else could?

Focus less on trying to find out information on Amari--they divulged that they intentionally keep that close to the chest--instead focus on your own strengths, weaknesses, and what you can offer as a member of a sales-team.

Three team exercises: (1) You're on a life raft and you have to sell yourself as one of the people who won't be thrown off into shark-infested waters. This must be decided in twenty minutes (2) Your plane has crash landed in a desert 85 miles southwest of a town. You have 15 items and you must rank them in order of most to least importance in ten minutes amongst your group. (3) You and your group members interview one another, determining your strongest assets/skills. You then take these assets/skills and compile them all into a list and determine what ordering make the best sales-person. Whichever person in the group is closest to this ideal sales-person then presents your group's findings to the other groups and fields questions.

The initial phone interview was more of a chat, really pleasant, and all went well, i was then invited to attend an assessment day.

I think I may have attended a 'bad seed' as far as Celsius recruitment days go. I arrived to the group interview to find approx 45 potential candidates sat in this one room, around the walls rather than in rows, all attending the same assessment. Recruiters from Virgin, as well as two other companies were sat more central in the room, at a desk, not speaking just marking down what they thought, almost like judges in a panel show! Very odd.

The first stage was to fill out paperwork, which was simple enough. We then were spoken to by a senior member of the Celsius team. He just told us all what Celsius was all about, he seemed pleasant enough.

The next task was a Q&A, he asked us why people get into sales, why the I.T sector, and why we think they hire graduates. Again this was pleasant enough, all be it for the fact that with 45(~) people to answer it was spread very thin.

We then were asked to stand up and give a one minute presentation about who we were etc.

We then were split into 5 groups, and asked to format a sales strategy for a company provided, being red letter days, asked to pick a manager and two assistant managers in the group, then pitched it to the bossman again.

After this we were asked to complete more paperwork while they went out of the room to speak, once back they called out a series of names, asked them to leave the room and ask no questions, then the ones left over were told they hadn't made the cut. I was unsuccessful at this stage, however I believe that the next stage would have been one on one interviews with Celsius staff and the outside recruiters. All in all I think they were good, just their day was overbooked, and would have worked better with fewer people.

None were difficult, the only hard part was getting an answer in edgewise in a group so large

Be prepared to go in and be 'larger than life', do not hesitate or let manners stand in your way, if you want to say something make sure you say it otherwise you may find it hard to make an impression!

As above, construct a sales strategy, and give a one minute presentation about ourselves.

I received a call and was interviewed on the spot according to role requirements and I was subsequently invited to an assessment day after being sent an e-mail with how the day will go. At the assessment day, there were 20 people waiting outside. The company specialise in placing graduates interested in working in sales in companies recruiting graduate level sales people and offer a bit of training as well, even though I was looking for a specific role. After passing the tests, I requested more information about the role I applied for but my personal recruiter (who was really nice) told me that i couldnt go for any of these positions.
After being sent to a 13k job, I decided not to take the position, considering I had full-time experience and being a graduate. Although the training I was offered on the day was really helpful, I decided not to take it any further and will look further, even though I appreciate the advice given by the team.

I can't say there was a specific difficult question, just the regular interview questions and the group discussion was really constructive.

If you are looking for good training and a company that will put you in a sales role, then this company is right for you. But if you are looking to interview for a specific job and get it, then you should look somewhere else. It is very possible you will end up in an underpaid sales role.

We were split into three groups of five and given 15 minutes to prepare a presentation on the subject selling holiday packages.

The first interview was held with the head of UK and Ireland sales. Like most interviews he had a list of questions in which we were going to run through which are apparently asked to all candidates to make the process fair. The very first questions were regarding the company asking me what I knew about the company, the role and the product in which I would be selling. The questions then became more challenging asking me what my greatest non-academic achievements were. To name a time I have had to explain a difficult concept to someone, when I have worked well under pressure etc. There were many questions regarding why I thought relationships were important in sales and how I would go about building those relationships with clients. This stage of the interview lasted around 45 minutes. I was successful at this stage and invited back for a second interview with the UK sales director, this time however I had to prepare a presentation for the product I would be selling, the EZ-GO golf buggies. The presentation lasted 15 minutes with questions being asked after regarding the presentation. This is pretty much all the second part of the interview consisted off.

Explain to me the steps you would take to build a strong relationship with a client?

I would say just make sure you know the company, its a big organization so make sure you know exactly what you would be doing and selling as well as knowing exactly what they do, research their competitors and why it is you want to have a career in sales and with their company. Make sure you have a clear understanding of how relationships sell products and why it is so important to establish strong relationships with clients and how you would go about doing this. As there seemed to be many questions surrounding it in the first interview.

There was no assessment centre however there was a presentation. They send you an email in advance about what the presentation will be about.

The role I was applying for was in the online division. My initial phone interview took a brief 10 minutes and was with their head of HR. It was a simple straight forward interview where we simply quickly ran through my CV looking mainly at my previous work experience. Then I was invited down for an interview at their head office which was to take place with herself and the head of the sales department. The actual interview lasted around 30 minutes and started of with me being asked to quickly run through my CV, after this we went through some questions that had already been set out. These were questions such as what I knew about the company, what is it that appeals to me about the company, name a time when I have given excellent customer service and what does excellent customer service mean to me. After the questions they then went through the role, what it entailed and asked if I had any questions.

Describe to me a time you have given great customer service and why was it great?

Be well prepared and you should be fine. Make sure you know the company, what they do, their competitors and why it is you want to have a career in sales. Customer service seemed to come up a lot in the questions, so make sure you have a good understanding of what makes good customer service and try to think of a time you have given good customer service.

There was no assessment centre

My initial phone interview was with the manager of the summits division (the division in which i would be working)which lasted around 15 minutes. We ran through my CV and I was asked generic questions like what I knew about the company, why I want to pursue a career in sales, why I would be successful in such a role etc. I was successful at this stage and was invited back for a one to one interview at their head office in London with the same person. Again the interview took the same format asking similar questions, however at one stage we did a bit of role play where i was asked to sell him a holiday package. A few days later i recieved a phone call inviting me back for a second interview which was to be held with the CEO of the company. I was told to prepare a sales pitch and sent some information over to help with this. This was the final stage of the process and was simply doing a pitch with the CEO with a few simple questions similar to that asked in the first interview.

When asked on the spot to do role play of how i would go about selling him a holiday package

Be well prepared and you should be fine. Make sure you know the company, what they do, their competitors and why it is you want to have a career in sales. Also make sure you have a clear understanding of what motivates you and what you career aspirations are.

Prepare a sales pitch as if i was selling the product to one of their clients

Following the initial application, I was invited to take online tests. One was numerical and the other was a logical reasoning test. Successful at this stage, I was given a sales task, where I had to create a Powerpoint presentation in order to sell one of TR's products to a client. Along with this, I had to send in a write up of the process I would go through. Following this was an invitation to a telephone interview. The telephone interview was competency based and not too challenging. We spoke about the client task I had done before as well. It was based on experience and how it could apply to the role within the Graduate program. The interview lasted for about half an hour and was with one of the Graduate coordinators. Following this, I was invited to an assessment centre which I enjoyed thoroughly.

Nothing springs to mind.

Make sure your personality shines through, even if you don't have financial experience or knowledge ensure that you are willing to learn!
Show creativity and innovation and do not be afraid to think outside the box.

The day was split up into about 4 tasks which were all scored. The first task was a presentation stating why we thought TR should hire us. Creativity was rewarded. This was followed by Q&A and an interview with two people. This was mainly CV based. Next was a group activity. Half of the 24 people were cut at lunch so we were left as the final 12. After lunch we were given an hour to prepare for a role play which we were to do after we had the opportunity to showcase a skill which we had learned in the seven days before the assessment centre. I don't think this part was assessed.

Interview starts with a telephone interview. It’s the typical questions like, why do you think your right for the role ? Name 3 traits that make you good for the role ? What are your strengths and weaknesses? They also go through your CV so you can explain any gaps you might have or relevant skills in sales. If you pass this stage you get invited to the assessment centre. Just be open and honest. They like if you admit you are driven and money motivated. I was told at this stage that the interviewer would be extremely surprised if I attended the assessment centre and was not accepted onto their books.

What is your main weakness?

I answered with anxiety in trying new things. Which they took as a an acceptable answer.

Just try to enjoy it. Speak clearly during the group interview process and try to get your inner sales person across. (They care more about energy and enthusiasm rather than the details of the group exercisies).

At the Interview stage do not offend the interviewer by overly expressing why you think a job in recruitment is not as good as other sales jobs. Because no matter how much they liked you before that, their ego will get deflated and they won’t take you on.

Make sure you eat lunch as the whole process took around 4 hours plus with no food break.

It was arranged to start at 13:00

We were split into 3 tables with aroud 6 people per table and went through various exercises. The first was a timed exercise about surviving on the moon. (There is a trick to this one). The second was about how to tackle under aged drinking. For the third task we were split into pairs. We had 4 minutes to interview each other and then create a sales pitch that lasted 1 minute on why our partner would be a perfect sales candidate.

The time now is around 16:00 and we were split into two groups around 8 people were kept to move on to the panel interview stage. I was lucky enough to be called first for my interview which lasted around 20 minutes. You are interviewed by some one new whilst the person that conducted the telephone interview is also in the room. You get asked the same questions you were asked at the telephone interview stage whilst they pick apart your CV. They ask what type of sales your interested in which is where I made a “mistake.” I showed too much passion for media sales which made the interviewer question if I should work in advertising instead of sales. This seemed odd to me as I was simply trying to get across my understanding of the role. Finally the biggest mistake I made was the way I expressed not wanting to work in recruitment and my reasons for this. This is where I should have noted my audience is working in recruitment and not have bashed on their job in front of them.

It was disappointing to be told no at this stage, not because of lack of drive or passion for sales, but because of offending the interviewers ego about their current job. For a company that seems as though they care about training and improving its candidates this was very disheartening.