Most sales interviews measure confidence. Confidence is not the job. These twelve questions are designed to surface how someone behaves on a real call, and what a good answer sounds like.
On the work itself
1. Walk me through your day in your last sales role, hour by hour.
Strong answers are boring and specific: a block for calls, a block for follow-up, a number they tracked. Vague answers mean the structure was never there.
2. How many dials and conversations did you have on a normal day?
Real reps know their numbers. Nobody who hit targets forgets them.
3. What did you do when you were behind on the number?
Listen for activity they controlled, not blame directed at leads or pricing.
On handling people
4. Sell me on taking a meeting about my own business, right now.
You are watching whether they ask questions first. A rep who pitches cold has told you how they treat prospects.
5. I am not interested. What do you say?
Good: acknowledge, one honest question, a soft ask. Bad: argue, or fold immediately.
6. Send me some information. What do you say?
The best reps turn it into a question rather than an email.
7. Tell me about a prospect who was rude to you.
You want calm, not wounded. This role involves rejection every day.
On honesty and self-awareness
8. What is the part of the job you are worst at?
Anyone who claims none is either new or not honest.
9. Tell me about a deal you lost that you should have won.
Listen for what they changed afterwards.
10. What did your last manager push you on?
If the answer is nothing, they were probably never coached, or never listened.
On fit for remote work
11. Describe where you will be working and what your internet is like.
Specific answers mean they have thought about it. Your buyer hears the room they sit in.
12. It is 3pm, you have hit your dials and nobody is answering. What do you do?
The answer tells you whether they manage themselves without someone watching.
The one thing better than any question
Hear them on a call. Fifteen minutes of role-play tells you more than an hour of interviewing, because the job is talking to strangers, not talking about talking to strangers.
That is why every rep we shortlist records a mock call pitching your offer before you ever meet them. See our process or book a call.