9 Questions To Ask In A Tech Sales Interview
When you’re thinking about the right tech sales interview questions to ask, you want to come up with questions that (1) tell you what you need to know about the company and (2) make you seem like an impressive candidate to the interviewer.
The first three questions are about the interviewer. This is because you’ve likely just spent the first half of the interview talking about yourself. Asking the interviewer about themselves brings balance to the conversation.
The middle four questions are about the company and the position.
And the last two questions are designed to conclude the interview and set clear expectations for next steps.
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1. What’s the biggest problem your team is currently working on?
This is a good tech sales interview question to start with because the answer is probably top-of-mind for the interviewer and they’ll have plenty to talk about.
In fact, they were probably working on some facet of the problem right before they walked into your interview.
2. Can you tell me more about your career path from [previous employer] to [current employer]?
People like to talk about themselves. This is a universal rule.
You’ve likely just spent the first half (or more) of the interview talking about yourself. This question brings balance to the conversation.
Always do your research on your interviewer before the interview. Search their name on LinkedIn and write down their alma mater, last three positions, and job titles. This will help you to come up with questions to ask your interviewer about themselves.
3. What’s your favorite part about working at the company?
This tech sales interview question turns the table and gives the interviewer an opportunity to sell you on working at the company.
Ideally, your interviewer will get excited when they hear this question and have a lot to talk about. If the interviewer can’t come up with anything, that’s a red flag.
4. How would you describe the company culture?
This question sends a signal that you care about company culture. Your interviewer will probably have a well-rehearsed answer to this question. You might have to ask a few more follow-up questions to get a more natural and honest answer.
Follow-up questions:
- Is there a lot of collaboration between departments?
- What are some of the things that the company does for fun?
- Does the company have any traditions?
- Do people at the company hang out together outside of work?
5. Could you walk me through a typical “day in the life” for someone in this position?
This question is for you to make sure you’ll enjoy what you’ll be doing every day. Sometimes the real-life details of a job are different from the on-paper job description. This question helps to avoid any surprises.
For example, if you were really excited about talking to prospects on the phone, but you find out that most of your day will be spent sending emails, then the position might not be the best fit for you.
Follow-up questions:
- Which tasks will take up most of my time?
- What time does the team usually get to the office in the morning?
- What time do people leave? Is there a strict schedule?
- Does the team eat lunch together?
6. How does the company measure success for this role?
This question sends a signal that you’re motivated and goal-oriented. Ideally, you can ask this question early on in the interview process to make sure that you’re emulating the same key characteristics that the company has identified in their top performers.
It’s also an important question to ask for a commission-based tech sales role. A large part of your compensation will be based on your ability to hit performance targets set by the company. This question is for learning about those targets and assessing your chances of surpassing them.
Especially for an earlier-stage startup, you want to make sure that there is a proven history of success on the sales team. Otherwise, expectations might be unrealistic. For example, if you’re joining a sales team where nobody has ever hit quota, why would you be any different?
This information will help you to evaluate the commission portion of your offer.
Follow-up questions:
- Who are the top performers on the team?
- What are some of the things that they’re doing to be successful?
- How is quota determined? Is quota measured monthly or quarterly?
- What percentage of the team hit quota last month/quarter?
- Is there a training program for new hires?
- Will there be a quota ramp-up period during training?
7. What do you see as the most challenging aspect of this job?
Similar to the “day in the life” question above, you want to know what you’re signing up for. You also want to make sure you’re being set up for success.
The interviewer will likely sugar-coat their response to this question, so make sure to ask follow-up questions if necessary.
Knowing this answer will set you up for an opportunity to sell your value later on. For example, if the most challenging aspect of the job is making a high volume of outbound calls, then you can pitch yourself as a hard worker with previous cold-calling experience.
Follow-up questions:
- What are some challenges that other people have struggled with in this role?
- How did they manage to overcome those challenges?
- What support does the company offer to help overcome these challenges?
- Has anybody with this role recently left the company?
8. Do you have any hesitations about my fit for this position that I can address?
This is a brilliant question to ask in a tech sales interview because it shows that you have an awareness of one of the most important skills in sales: handling objections.
Because it’s the exact same type of question a sales professional would ask a prospect to tease out some of their objections. It’s always better to get these out in the open while you’re both still together, rather than letting the prospect mull over their own thoughts without your influence.
It’s the same in an interview. If the interviewer has decided that there’s something that they don’t like about you, then your best shot is to get them to say it explicitly so that you have an opportunity to change their mind.
9. What can I expect for next steps in the interview process?
This is another pro sales move. Getting a clear timeline for next steps tells you when and how you can follow up if you don’t hear back.
It also allows you to align your other interview timelines and spend time preparing for the next step in the interview process instead of just waiting without knowing what to expect.
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