13 Frequently Asked Interview Questions For Sales Managers

When applying for a sales manager position, there are many topics the company will ask to conclude if you have the right skills to handle a sales team and how you manage yourself in this high-pressure job. There will be inquiries concerning your leadership style in addition to questions that concentrate specifically on sales and team administration.

In this blog, we explain what companies are looking for in your answers. We will explain every little kinks and cranny that will help you land an incredible job as a sales manager.

Sales Manager Interview Questions

Given below are a certain few questions that will help both the job seeker and the employer get a better understanding of each other. Sales directors looking to identify the reps who would thrive as sales managers would be wise to incorporate the following questions into their interviews.

1. Tell me about yourself.

This is a pretty vanilla question. But the answer can be illuminating.

Look for compact, convincing answers that visit on their experience and what motivated them to apply for this position. The deeper you can dive into it, the better for you.

2. What made you want to work in sales?

If you answer something simple, like, “It’s something I enjoy” or “I like it”, this doesn’t tell the interviewer anything about your actual interest in sales.

What is it about sales that motivate or excite you?

Recruiters should look for applicants who produce an instance or real-life story about where their interest in sales originated. Did the candidates start as first-time reps and create a long track record of success? Or was there a focal moment in their life when they discovered their appetite for sales? Answers to questions like these will provide the interviewer with a more detailed and a lot more intimate understanding of the candidate.

3. How comfortable are you with data analysis?

Reps usually only care about one thing: their quota. Staying on top of the game and winning. And all they care about is just one thing It’s all quota, all the time.

But when a sales executive is elevated to the position of management, they must learn how to produce forecasts and reports that examine a diversity of metrics across the entire team.

While the candidates do not have to be a magician with the numbers, but they will have to crunch some to get an idea of what the current trends are or for the rest of the issues. So, it is suggested that you keep an eye on candidates who find this action not comfortable.

4. What do you think it takes in terms of skills and qualifications to be a successful sales rep in this organization?

A large part of a sales manager’s job is to keep the staff fully functional with the highest caliber of candidates. And so, this question gives the interviewer a peek into the hiring capabilities of the candidate,

The skills and qualifications they deem to be significant are those they’ll look for when interviewing for job openings. Do the traits they value line up with the corporation standards? If so, it’s a good sign. If not, this candidate is not suitable for your organization.

5. What made you want to be a sales manager?

As mentioned above, sales managers often earn less money than sales reps and perform different jobs. Check out the candidate’s motives behind attempting this promotion.

Do they aspire to be a manager because they desire a more extended role inside the company as a whole, and an opportunity to form vital decisions? Or have they grown bored with their jobs, and management seems like a new and interesting? The latter impulse is a recipe for dissatisfaction and you may end up with a dissatisfied sales manager.

6. What is your opinion do motivates reps the most?

This is a bit of a trick question, but this is one of the most crucial questions. The best sales managers know that motive is intimate and sacred to the person. While money might drive one sales rep to go beyond and shatter barriers, another might be stimulated by a development opportunity or creative contest.

The contestant who can steer the trick and get to the right answer — in this case, “it depends on the rep” — holds the motivational ability to lead a sales team to success.

7. What do you think is the reason for your success as a sales rep? And if given How will you manage your team?

Just as prosperous sales managers recognize that every rep is triggered by something different, they also recognize that every rep has individual strengths they use to accomplish their goals. What’s the “right” way for one salesperson is not feasible to be true for the entire team.

Be cautious of candidates who imply that they purpose to force their opinions on their direct reports. Instead, look for candidates who want to recognize and develop the specific talents of each team member.

8. How important is money to you?

Yes, money is important to everyone. But money is inevitably tangled with self-worth for a few salespeople — and that’s okay. This attitude just suggests that the candidate isn’t suited for sales management.

Better drive a fundamentally money-motivated salesperson to a new region or another opportunity at the individual contributor level rather than elevate them to management.

9. What is your opinion makes for a successful rep coaching session?

The job seeker doesn’t have to give an example of what their one-on-ones would look like. However, their idea of a coaching session must include actual coaching — not just a dry discussion of the numbers and an informal handing down of information.

Take note of answers that contain mentions of career development, goals, skill-building, and problem-solving in addition to data review.

10. What are your likes and dislikes about the sales process? How comfortable are you with upholding it?

Every candidate has a thought process about the sales process, and some tend to ignore it entirely. But it’s the manager’s task is to keep the sales process running in utmost efficiency in the name of the organization.

11. How comfortable are you with technology?

Sales managers also act as CRM supervisors, ensuring all candidates are using the system properly. CRM aside, sales managers are also involved in the creating, selection, and deployment of new sales tools and strategies.

While sales manager candidates don’t need to be computer geniuses like alan tuning, a basic bit of technological know-how is important.

12. What training method is most effective for new reps?

It would be nice if a sales manager could do ride alongs and listen in on every call a new rep makes, but this model is impractical at scale.

Make sure the candidate knows the importance of a repeatable training process that doesn’t just focus on the handing down of knowledge.

13. What do you think it takes to be a good leader?

The jobs title might be “sales manager,” but that doesn’t mean leadership skills is not that important. A sales manager has to lead by example and inspire others to achieve their best.

Although this question is last on the list, it’s probably the most important of all.

Conclusion

Job as a sales manager is no easy deal, and there is no easy way to crack the interview. But given above are a few easy tips and tricks that might help you to crack the job easily. And for the best job opportunities as a sales manager, you will have to visit us on Career Hunts, the fastest-growing job portal in the nations.