Basic Auditor Sales Interview Preparation Guide

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This sales interview question serves two purposes: It shows how much research the candidate did before meeting with you, and it demonstrates their creative thinking and entrepreneurial capabilities.

Everyone has bad spells, so beware of someone who claims they’ve never experienced a downturn. Nothing’s wrong with a temporary slump as long as the candidate learned from it.

Don’t go to a sales interview if you have reservations about sales as a career track. If you do make it to the in-person, give your interviewer a real answer to this question—think, what drew you to sales and why is it your future?

Preparing to deal with objections instead of winging it is critical. Listen for evidence of a process.

The right answer here will depend on your company’s process, but in general, the more tenacious and persistent a rep is willing to be, the better. Trish Bertuzzi, founder of The Bridge Group, recommends six to eight attempts before throwing in the towel.

This may seem like an odd question, but it can give you great insight into what traits the candidate values. By asking them to describe someone they know personally, you’ll be more likely to get a genuine answer. Ask for specificity. Answers to this will vary, but you are looking for a candidate who values the same traits you and your company value.

Collaboration might be less important at some organizations than others, but candidates who aren’t willing to collaborate at all won’t likely make pleasant coworkers, not to mention their uncooperative attitude will block knowledge sharing.

Salespeople today should be asking questions more than making pitches. Open-ended questions that help a rep thoroughly understand a prospect’s needs are as good as gold.

Social selling is becoming more important in all industries. If the candidate has not used social channels to research prospects or look for leads in the past, make sure they have a willingness to learn.

Listen for synonyms of “helpful,” as a consultative approach is becoming increasingly important in modern sales.

Most sales managers have worked their way up from a sales rep position, and this question gets at the heart of a very important truth: many great sales reps turn out to be terrible managers.

While a sales rep turned manager can certainly put themselves in a sales rep’s shoes and therefore understand their motivations, an ideal candidate will know that the skills of a sales rep are very different from the skills of a great manager.

While sales reps are often responsible solely for their own goals and accounts, a manager must think about his or her team as a collective entity. Rather than being competitive and hands-on, they must be able to step back from the limelight and concentrate on helping others succeed.

Short cycles call for reps that can close quickly, and long sales cycles require a much more careful, tailored approach. They’re drastically different, and your candidate should recognize this.

Even if the target market of their last job is totally different than that of the one they’re interviewing for, this will show you their ability to find and keep up to date with relevant trade publications and blogs.

Neglecting to use LinkedIn to research clients is not a viable option in today’s sales environment. Ensure that candidates are searching for personal commonalities in addition to professional information so they can tailor their communication as much as possible. Looking into company trigger events would be the cherry on top.

Depending on your company’s goals, either answer could be the right one. But beware of reps who will prioritize quota over truly giving customers what they need -- or withholding from them what they don’t.

A large part of a sales manager’s job is to hire a staff of high performing sales reps. What constitutes a high performing rep can vary from company to company based on the product they’re selling, as well as the mission and values of the organization.

This question can give you great insight into the candidate’s hiring abilities. You’ll get an idea of what they value in a sales rep, whether or not their management style is a fit for your company, and perhaps even a foreshadowing of what kind of sales team they’ll end up building.

☛ What motivates you as a sales professional?
☛ How would you describe the corporate culture of your past company?
☛ What traits do you believe make up the most effective sales representatives?
☛ What sales quotas are you accustomed to?
☛ How comfortable are you with cold-calling?
☛ How long was the average sales cycle at your previous jobs?
☛ Who were your most profitable target markets at your previous jobs?
☛ How would you describe your sales technique?
☛ What are some common hurdles you're facing right now as a sales representative in your current position?
☛ Can you give me an example of a complex contract negotiation you've completed and how you did it?
☛ How did your past organization position itself in the market?
☛ How would you describe your ideal sales manager?
☛ What are some of the traits you look for in a leader?
☛ Give me an example of when you've prospected a lead creatively, and what are the steps you took to do so?
☛ Where would you like to see yourself improve in the area of sales?
☛ What does the term "consultative selling" mean to you?
☛ How much was an average sale at your previous position?
☛ Give me an example of how you handled a difficult client in order to get the sale, and what did you learn from the experience?
☛ What was a typical day like at your past position?
☛ What was your compensation package at your past position?
☛ Can you give me an example pitch of the product or service you were selling at your previous position?
☛ What types of managers do you learn best under?
☛ Why are you looking to leave your current position?
☛ How do you define success?
☛ How would you describe the selling style of your former manager?
☛ Where do you see yourself in one, three and five years?
☛ How would you describe your ideal sales position?
☛ What core values should all great companies possess?
☛ How would you describe the people at your past company?
☛ What types of customer relationship tracking did you implement at your past jobs?

☛ What would you do if a client asked you a question about a product you didn’t know the answer to?
☛ Imagine a customer is upset because there is a shortage of a product they want to buy. How would you handle it?
☛ Have you used any retail software before?
☛ If a customer destroyed a piece of merchandise, what would you do?
☛ What would you do to let customers know of temporary discounts?
☛ How would you handle it if you saw a customer stealing an item?
☛ Imagine a customer told you they’re looking for a gift. Can you walk me through the process of closing a sale?

Are you familiar with our products? Which one would you most enjoy selling and why?
Do you know how to operate a cash register?
How would you greet each customer when they enter the store?
What steps would you take to close the store?
How do you stay calm and motivated when there are too many customers in the store?

☛ Tell me about a time you managed to provide excellent customer service
☛ Have you ever had a conflict with a coworker? How did you resolve it?
☛ Describe a time you had to deal with a difficult or angry customer. How did you diffuse the tension? What solution did you provide?

☛ What kind of sales did you do at your last company?
☛ What was the size of your team at your last company?
☛ What was your sales quota?
☛ How did you generate leads?
☛ Describe the sales process at your last company. What worked well? What didn’t work well?
☛ Describe a time when a sales process was changed. Why did it change? What was the result?
☛ Describe your product to me. What are the benefits? Who are your customers?
☛ Why do customers buy your product? What are the alternatives?
☛ Describe your customers’ buying decision process. Who approves or blocks the buying decision? What do you need to line up to close the sale?
☛ What kinds of questions do you ask your customer to find out what they need?
☛ At what point do you stop pursuing a potential customer?
☛ How do you stay current on your customers and product?

☛ Tell me about yourself?
☛ Why did you leave your last job?
☛ Please tell me about your long-term career goals for Sales auditor?
☛ What have you learned from your past jobs that related to Sales auditor?
☛ In your life, what experiences have been most important to you that related to Sales auditor?
☛ Do you consider you're overqualified with this position?
☛ How can you offer make amends for your lack of skill?
☛ What characteristics would you search for inside a boss?
☛ Let me know about a period when you assisted resolve a dispute between others.
☛ What position would you prefer on the team focusing on a task?
☛ What's been your greatest professional disappointment?
☛ What are most common mistakes for Sales auditor job and how to solve them?
☛ What made you choose to apply to Sales auditor?
☛ What are top 3 skills for Sales auditor?
☛ What are techniques/methods list that you used in your work as Sales auditor? Please explain how to you use them?
☛ Let me know concerning the most enjoyable you've had at work?
☛ Have you got any queries for me personally?
☛ Do you know the hardest choices to create?
☛ Do you'd rather work individually or on the team?
☛ How do you apply ISO 9001 for your Sales auditor job?
☛ Do you have any questions?

Put a number on the skills so that you can structure your sales interview answer around this. For example:

"I think the 3 most important sales skills are ..."

Rather than referring to specific sales techniques focus on competencies and abilities that every successful salesperson needs, such as:

☛ the ability to adjust your approach to different people and situations
☛ the ability to ask the right questions and listen carefully
☛ the ability to deal with disappointment and rejection
☛ the ability to stay motivated with a high energy level
☛ the ability to plan and prepare
☛ the ability to influence and persuade
☛ the ability to negotiate and reach agreement

Following up on deals to learn how to do better next time -- win or lose -- boosts the odds of winning in the future. A salesperson who takes the time to learn from both their successes and their failures will likely be a valuable addition to your team.

Certain companies and roles call for people better at farming or hunting, but look out for a person who performs one of these tasks to the exclusion of the other. Both are vital to selling well.