How To Answer Difficult Sales Interview Questions | Kathleen Steffey - 1456

Jun 7, 2021

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Going into an interview can be tough. Whether it’s your very first interview or your twentieth, the nerves never go away completely. You don’t want to sound like an idiot, right? But what if you had a cheat sheet and knew the most common questions salespeople tend to mess up? That’s exactly what we did for today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist. Today we’re joined by Kathleen Steffey, founder, and CEO of Naviga Recruiting, to learn how to answer difficult interview questions and secure your next sales gig.

Question One: Anything related to your sales process.

A VP of Sales might ask an interviewee about their selling process from beginning to end. Even if that salesperson knows their approach, they often just don’t know how to articulate it.
If someone can’t walk through their process, a leader might think they lack depth or aren’t methodical.
Think about your process in advance, write it down, and go from there.

Question Two: Tell me where you came in against quota?

You have to know when you came in against quota, whether it’s over or under. If a sales rep doesn’t know their numbers, it’s considered a big negative.
What if your business doesn’t measure by quota? (Yes, those companies exist.) Create your own measurable goals that define success, and know if you’ve achieved those goals.

Question Three: What is your prospecting strategy?

Ten years ago, people could get away with merely pounding the pavement or cold calling. But in today’s marketplace, if you’re not handling prospecting in an integrated manner, you’re viewed as antiquated.
Know your strategy, and if your strategy is purely through one pipeline, you likely want to reevaluate your strategy.

Question Four: How do you differentiate yourself in the selling process?

If you’re meeting your numbers, you might not have ever had to think about this. But the sales process has changed where you have to be creative to be successful.
Show an interviewer you're different; show them your resilience and prospecting skills through your process. It wins, especially for salespeople.

Find Naviga Recruiting on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and connect directly with Kathleen on LinkedIn.

This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio.

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This course is brought to you in part by the TSE Sales Certified Training Program, a course designed to help new and struggling sellers to master the fundamentals of sales and close more deals. Help elevate your sales game and sign up now to get the first two modules free! You can visit www.thesalesevangelist.com/closemoredeals or call (561) 570-5077 for more information. We value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey.

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Mentioned in this episode:

HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS

HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS hubpspot.com/marketers bluemangostudios.com