A strong interview is an important step in finding better salespeople
, thereby creating better sales. Successful sales hiring requires special interview questions geared to weeding out average sales performers. You want the best of the best. You want highly-motivated individuals who can bring your business great prosperity and prestige. Ask the right questions in the sales hiring interview for the better sales you seek.
Before you determine the best interview questions for sales people, know what short-term and long-term results you need from your sales force.
Annual sales target What percentage of increase do you need to make the year profitable? Apply that percentage to your sales hiring questions and goals.
Team effort promotions Will sales reps work as a team in for certain projects and promotions? Youll want to ask some team player-related questions to determine the applicants ability to contribute.
Hierarchy expectations Know who will be answering to whom and what each sales manager would expect of their team.
Sales aptitude results Consider asking applicants to take a sales aptitude test as part of the interview process. The resume and interview cant determine the applicants deeper instincts like the sales aptitude test could.
Promotion Possibilities Will there be chances for sales representatives to move up in the ranks? If so, cater your interview questions to finding management material, too.
Now that youve done the background work, put together a strong set of interview questions for sales people that will make sales hiring a snap.
For the best sales hiring interview results, take advantage of the AHS Sales Hiring Course. It provides members with professional interview modules that have done the work for you. Questions can be catered to the specifics of your sales and sales team needs. The AHS interview modules will help you determine:
How many interview questions to ask for thorough information.
How many interviews to ask of each applicant. This number might surprise you. Never hire someone based on only one interview!
How to use the right questions in each interview. Initial questions for the first interview are different than the questions you save for last.
How to hone your interviewing instincts and trust your intuition about the applicants potential to be a top-performer, based on their interview question answers.
Always be more prepared for the interview than the applicant stands to be. Choosing the right interview questions based on your sales goals and sales team dynamic will help the top sales candidates shine. Consult the AHS Sales Hiring Course description for more interview question details.