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After being hired for a new sales position, it becomes abundantly clear to many salespeople they made a huge mistake in taking the job. The good news is this: A salesperson can avoid this type of situation by asking some key questions during the job interview process.

20 Questions* To Ask During Your Next Sales Job Interview (In No Particular Order):

1. What makes your business unique in the marketplace?
2. Who are your toughest competitors?
3. Do you have a sales training manual and what type of formal sales and product training do you offer?
4. What are a prospect’s top three buying triggers when buying what you sell?
5. May I see your sales literature and client testimonials?
6. How are sales quotas assigned and how often do they change?
7. How often does a first-year salesperson hit their quota? What percentage of your salespeople are at or above their sales quota?
8. When are the best and worst selling months for what you sell?
9. Would you mind if I went on a few sales calls with you as well as with some of your salespeople?
10. What can you teach me?
11. How many salespeople have been hired, fired, or quit in the last twelve months?
12. Do you have a written sales and marketing strategy (if yes, ask if you can see it)? What's your annual marketing budget to support my sales efforts?
13. What type of lead-nurturing, social media, SEO, or drip marketing campaigns do you have in place to support my prospecting efforts?
14. How are sales leads generated?
15. How many sales leads came in the past four weeks?
16. How are sales leads distributed?
17. What has been your track record been in growing and/or promoting salespeople?
18. What is your sales team’s overall proposal close ratio?
19. I read your LinkedIn profile and it seems that you've been here for X years/months; why did you take the job as _________?  Review/print their LinkedIn profile before you ask this question and tread lightly as some sales leaders will get defensive when you ask questions about their background.
20. How is your salesperson’s compensation plan structured? Do you pay a commission on new versus repeat sales/orders? How are my sales tracked?

*Some questions can be avoided by your preliminary research and/or industry nuances. 

IMPORTANT: Before going into your next interview, type and print out your questions (which makes you look even more professional).

After you have completed the interview process with each company, I recommend finding a quiet place to reflect on the following questions:

• Do I need this job more than this job needs me?
• Can I get excited about selling this company’s product or service line?
• What type of reviews can I find online about this company (are they positive)?
• What type of turnover has this company had with its salespeople?
• Is their comp plan comparable for the industry?
• What type of FORMAL sales AND product training does this company offer?
• What are the salespeople making for salary and commissions?
• What type of lead nurturing drip campaigns does this company have in place?
• How often does the sales comp plan change?
• Who are their biggest competitors and are they hiring as well?
• What are the salespeople saying about their company and sales leader?
• What are their customers saying online about them?

About The Author:

Glenn Fallavollita is a nationally recognized keynote speaker providing money-making advice to help owners, sales pros, and marketing gurus build more profitable relationships with their database of prospects, referral partners, and clients.

Additionally, Glenn is the president of Drip Marketing, Inc. and has written 50+ whitepapers and three sales/self-marketing books, Supercharge Your Payroll Sales NOW!, Stop Whining AND Start Selling, and Drip Marketing: A Powerful New Marketing Strategy That Gets Prospects To Buy From You. He also writes blogs for LinkedIn and other national websites.

To hire Glenn for your next conference, visit DripMarketingSpeaker.com.

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