Sales job interview stands as one of the most challenging interviews due to the expectations for the role. Within a short time for the interview, you’ll be expected to prove that you can represent the organization in sales, marketing, and prospecting.
In a sales interview, you’ll be expected to show your power of persuasion amongst other top qualities that employers look out for in employees. Hence, you’d need to be fully prepared before honoring the invitation.
For you to have made it to your sales job interview stage means you were able to put forward a standard CV and cover letter. However, before honoring that invite, you have to be sure that you’re not falling prey to scam interview invitations.
This list of Nigeria sales job interview questions and answers will give you the best preparation for your interview.
An interviewer may not ask the questions here verbatim, but the intent for the question will always be the same. More so, the answers given in this list are not to be crammed, they’re to be studied and understood so that you can use them to develop your answer(s).
If you need assistance preparing for your interview, you can reach out to our interview coach or check this list for the best interview preparation websites in Nigeria.
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What is a Sales Job?
A sales job is a career in which someone is charged with the responsibility of representing a company in selling, and prospecting their goods and/or services.
Sales Job Responsibilities
- Generate leads.
- Meet sales goals.
- Negotiate contracts with clients.
- Deliver sales presentation.
- Give a product demonstration.
- Coordinate a sales team.
- Write and present weekly and/or monthly performance reports.
Types of Sales Jobs
- Account executive.
- Sales representative.
- Account manager.
- Regional sales manager
- Sales director.
Best Skills for Sales Job
- Communication.
- Time management.
- Leadership.
- Negotiation.
- Empathy.
- Active Listening.
- Management (time, product, people).
- Self-motivation.
- Prospecting.
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Tips for Answering Sales Job Interview Questions
Here are some tips that will help you during your sales interview;
- During your interview, every question is an opportunity to sell yourself and your qualifications for the position.
- Ensure you understand the question and the intent of the interviewer before answering. Don’t jump to an answer until you’ve understood the question.
- Ask the interviewer to rephrase any question you don’t understand.
- If you go blank on a question, politely let the interviewer know that you’d prefer a minute to collect your thoughts or ask for another question.
Most Asked Nigeria Sales Job Interview Questions and Answers
Here are some of the frequently asked Nigeria sales job interview questions and answers included;
1) What is the difference between sales and marketing?
Though the two have the same end goal of making a profit, a line of separation can be found in two categories; process and goals.
“In a sales process, the customer is the endpoint, while in marketing, the customer is the starting point.”
Or
“Marketing approaches revenue generation as a long-term goal because of the amount of time needed to plan, test products, cultivate customer relationship, etc. Meanwhile, in sales, revenue generation is an immediate goal and expectation.”
Also read: To get more answers to the difference between sales and marketing
2) Are you comfortable making cold calls?
Cold selling involves persuading unconcerned, unaware, and perhaps a stranger to buy the company’s product or service.
“I believe I won’t have a problem reaching out to people with new products and ideas.”
Or
“I don’t mind convincing strangers about products and ideas. However, I would prefer to start my sales in a circle of customers who have shown some interest in the product or idea.”
3) What motivates you to sell?
“I always believe that if salespeople like me don’t stay motivated, millions of people won’t benefit from the amazing products that’ll make their lives better. Just like the founder of Coca-Cola who was motivated to go out and sell despite going a year with poor sales numbers when he launched his product to the market. I always imagine that if he was not motivated, we may never have had this amazing product that gives us a refreshing quench for thirst. With that understanding, I always approach sales from a point of assistance, and support to the human race.”
4) How many calls per hour can you make?
“From my previous experience in telesales, during a high traffic season, I handled an average of ———— calls per hour.”
5) How do you handle a resistant customer?
“If I’m experiencing a resistant customer, I would try to apologize if I said or did anything that triggered the customer. Then I would politely request for a date or time to call back because I wouldn’t want him/her to miss out on the amazing product.”
6) Is cold calling dead?
“Proper research is one of the success elements to achieve sales. When I have to cold call, my focus will be on the value and emotions attached to the product.”
7) Have you consistently met your sales goals?
“When I’m given a target, I run with it and employ all my sales techniques to achieve my target. In my last 12 months; I achieved 1,000 sales units for product A, and 200 units for product B.”
8) Can you drive?
“Currently, I haven’t learned how to drive but I would be willing to learn how to drive if it’s a key requirement for this role.”
Or
“Yes, though, I’ve not driven for a while now, I may need a week or two to get myself back on track.”
Or
“Yes, I can drive, I got my first drivers license in January 2010, and I have a valid driver’s license.”
9) What brands do we have?
To answer this question, you should have done some research about the company. Know the total number of products they have, and some of their brand names. If it’s a multi-national company, have an idea of their local and international brands.
10) What type of products have you sold?
“I have field experience selling SAS, and ICT products.”
11) What’s more important: meeting your sales targets or making your customer happy?
“Both are equally important. Depending on my business goals, it may be more important to prioritize customer satisfaction over sales volume. Generally, the most effective sales reps are the ones who care about meeting sales numbers without jeopardizing customer happiness, and that’s what I’ll be working to achieve.”
12) Are you more comfortable cultivating relationships or identifying new opportunities?
“My mind is always focused on the current needs of the customers. If the business demands me to cultivate a relationship, then I’d adjust to it, and if it requires me to identify new opportunities, I’ll be glad to run with it.”
13) What’s the difference between a short sales cycle and a long one?
“A short sales cycle requires sales personnel to close quickly. On the other hand, a longer sales cycle gives time to take strategic and individual approaches.”
14) How do you deal with rejection?
“Rejection is inevitable in sales. But the strength of a sales rep is in his resilience and creativity to overturn rejections. More so, when I fail, I analyze the strategies and find areas where it didn’t work and where I can make adjustments.”
15) Can you always be on the field mostly when required?
“With proper agreement and compensation, if customer and company service requires me to spend more time in the field, my commitment will always be to the customer and company demands.”
16) Can we meet you (tell us about yourself)?
“My name is Richard Okiasi a graduate of Federal College of Education Technical Omoku, I served as a Youth Corper in Kwara State. I have 2 years of sales experience with Fasthire where I was able to meet up at least 70% of my monthly target monthly.”
17) What do you do to keep up with trends?
“I have a yearly learning plan to get certified in at least 3 business courses yearly.”
“I’m continuously updating myself by reading books, taking online courses. I just finished an online course on How to Sell to Nigerians by Akin Alabi”
18) How do you incorporate content and social media into your social media strategy?
“Social media sales are enabled by creating relevant and engaging content. I give out relevant and helpful knowledge that is hard to find via my social media account and in exchange keep my followers’ trust. And with their trust, I can convert them to buyers.”
19) How would former co-workers or clients describe you?
“I’ve been opportune to work with different people in different capacities. When they’re asked about me, words like helpful, determined, poised, optimistic, and/or punctual will not be farfetched.”
20) Do you take work with you home?
“If the company policies allow, and I need some extra time to complete my tasks, I will take my work home. Nevertheless, I’ll be careful so that it doesn’t affect my family time.”
21) Why did you leave your last job?
Regardless of your reason for leaving your last job, be careful not to say bad things about your past employer. You can give a good answer without insulting anyone.
“I’ve been working in my former job for 6 years, and it’s time for me to try out new challenges.”
Or
“It was a contract job, and after the expiration of my contract, I had to look for another opportunity elsewhere.”
Or
“I started working in my last job immediately after my National Youth Service (NYSC). Though it was not my core discipline, it offered me the platform to kickstart my career, and I believe I’m more prepared to take up an opportunity in this field/industry.”
22) What is your best sales approach? (How do you approach sales)
There are 5 different kinds of sales approach;
- Solution selling- selling to a customer based on the solution that a product offers.
- Buddy approach- selling to a customer based on a friendly relationship.
- Guru approach- capitalizing on your years of qualification and expertise to influence sales.
- Consultant selling
- Customer persuasion selling- mostly used during cold sales.
23) What makes you feel you’re the best candidate for this job?
“Firstly, I believe I’m fit for this job because I meet the requirements including; 2 years of work experience, a degree in Marketing, and a valid driver’s license. Secondly, I have certification in Digital Marketing from Fasthire Services. Lastly, I am a trustworthy candidate and I can be trusted to give my best to promote team and company goals.”
24) Act how you sale a new product to a customer
Here’s a practical example of a one-on-one sale;
“Me: Hi good afternoon
Prospective Customer: Good afternoon
Me: Do you browse with MTN?
PC: Yes I browse with Mtn? Why?
Me: Oh great! I browse with Mtn too. I wanted to find out how you do your data subscription and how much you spend for your sub.
Me: How often does your data last?
PC: Well, I use weekly bundle =N=500 and sincerely I exhaust it in 2days. So in a week, I can sub at least twice.
Me: Okay, that means in a month you spend =N=500 *8 = =N= 4,000 on data. Correct?
PC: Yes
Me: Well, I sell MTN data and I use 10gig. Why not try my data plan. My plan is =N= 500 cheaper, meaning you can save up =N= 6,000 at least this year.
PC: Really?
Me: Yes it is
PC: How much is it?
Me: I sell 10 gigs at 3,500 and it’ll serve you for a month.
PC: That’s an amazing offer. Thanks
Me: Let me give you my number so you can chat me up whenever you need data.
**exchange Number**
Me: I’ll chat you up now.
PC: Thank you so much
Me: I should be thanking you. I look forward to your patronage.”
25) Tell us about your previous work experience
“My previous work experience was an eye-opener.
I had the opportunity of introducing digital headsets to corpers. It was a different process from what I’ve always done because we had just 3 weeks for every camp sale. My target was to get at least 100 units in sales or =N= 500,000 before the 3 weeks orientation was over.
In my first month, I was not able to meet my target. I made =N= 220,000 in sales the first month. The 2nd and 3rd month, I was able to raise my performance hitting 315,000 and =N= 323,000 respectively.”
26) What are you bringing to the table if we employ you?
“Currently, I am the South-south zonal Coordinator of Christian Fellowship International Alumni body; If I am brought on board, I would use my connection to push the company products into the 72 university campuses that the Fellowship has a Chapter.”
27) Do you have experience selling?
“Yes.”
28) Can you work under pressure?
“Yes, I can work under pressure to a limit. I also do a lot of planning and strategizing to cut off the build-up of pressure.”
More Sales Job Interview Questions
29) What was the last product you sold?
30) What was the performance of your last product like?
31) Give a scenario when you solved a low sales problem
32) Tell me a time when prospected a lead creatively. What was your process?
33) Are you overqualified for this job?
34) Rate yourself on a scale of 1-10
35) How would you handle a negative customer reaction?
36) What is your sales experience?
37) What was success like in your previous role?
38) What do you think success looks like here?
39) What was your biggest failure in your previous role, and how did you recover from it?
40) What are your pet peeves in the workplace?
41) What is your definition of empathy?
42) What does product satisfaction mean to you?
43) Tell me about a time that you had to go the extra mile for a customer?
44) Tell us how you manage your time?
45) What is your personal career goal?
46) Sell me this pen
47) Sell me this expired yoghurt
48) What does it take to retain a customer?
49) What is the largest data set you’ve ever handled?
50) Give us a scenario where you scored low on a sale and what you did to turn it around
51) Tell us what you know about selling
52) What relationship do you have with the target audience?
53) Give us your sales record
54) How would you manage your gain with the company gain?
55) Are you overqualified for this job?
56) What is your salary expectation?
57) Rate yourself from 1-10
If you need coaching for these and more questions-Contact Us Now!
Sales Job Interview Questions for Interviewers
When you go for an interview, it’s pertinent to have some questions set aside for your interviewer(s). Here are some questions you can ask your interviewers when the opportunity presents itself.
58) Can you tell me more about the responsibilities of this job?
59) What software or tools do I need to be familiar with to excel in this role?
60) What are the toughest challenges you know people who fill this role face?
61) Is there anything I’ve said that makes you question my qualification for this job?
62) What have you enjoyed most about working here?
63) How do I compete with the other applicants you’ve interviewed?
64) What are the next steps in the interview process?
65) How did your recent product perform in the market?
66) What is a typical workday like in this department?
67) This vacancy has been open for over a month now, why is that?
Summary: Nigeria Sales Job Interview Questions and Answers
- Sales job interview stands as one of the most challenging interviews due to the expectations for the role.
- During your interview, an interviewer may not ask the questions verbatim, but the intent for the question will always be the same.
- A sales job is a career in which someone is charged with the responsibility of representing a company in selling, and prospecting their goods and/or services.
- Responsibilities of a sales job include; generating leads, meeting sales goals, negotiating contracts with clients etc
- Types of sales job’ account executive, sales representative, account manager, regional sales manager, sales director, etc.
- When you go for an interview, it’s pertinent to have some questions set aside for your interviewer(s). Some interview questions have been outlined.
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Thanks for reading. Let’s make this post interactive shall we? Do you have answers to any of the questions above? Comment with the question and your possible response lets learn together. Do well to share this with someone. Cheers!
