JOB GUIDE · MOKILIX ENTRETIEN
Job interview: Sales agent
The interview is your first sale: the product is you, and the recruiter is the customer to win over.
THE JOB
What recruiters expect
Sales agents are in demand in distribution, telecommunications, banking, insurance, microfinance, agri-food, property and business services. The work is often done in the field, with targets and a share of pay linked to results. A beginner is expected to be at ease with people, to persevere and to follow instructions. An experienced candidate is expected to have a well-maintained customer portfolio, the ability to negotiate, reliable reports and sometimes to lead a small sales team.
Skills assessed at interview
- Prospecting and making contact
- Listening to the need and making the case
- Negotiating and closing the sale
- Customer follow-up and activity reports
- Perseverance and personal organisation
Job family: Sales, retail and customer relations
QUESTIONS WITH ADVICE
Seven questions to prepare
- 01
Describe your sales method, from first contact to signature.
Go through your steps: preparation, making contact, questions about the need, proposal, answering objections, closing, follow-up. Illustrate each step with a real sale. A beginner can draw on a sale made for a small shop, an association or their own business.
- 02
How do you organise a day of prospecting in the field?
Show that you prepare the day before: area, list of contacts, target number of visits, sales materials. Explain how you record each contact and when you follow up. The recruiter wants to see discipline, not just energy.
- 03
Tell me about your results: targets set and targets met.
Give verifiable facts and explain how you achieved them. If a target was not met, say why and what you corrected. Do not make up any figure, because the recruiter may call your former employer.
- 04
The customer says they already work with a competitor. What do you reply?
Show that you respect their choice and that you look for what could be improved in their current situation. Suggest a trial or a comparison on one specific point. Never run down the competitor.
- 05
How do you react after a series of refusals?
Acknowledge that refusals are part of the job and explain how you keep up the pace. Say what you analyse after a refusal: the target, the timing, the argument. Describe a sale closed after several follow-ups.
- 06
A customer asks you for a discount that you are not allowed to give. What do you do?
Answer that you stay within the limits set by the company. Offer something else: a service, a timeframe, a different quantity, or consulting your manager. Never promise what you will not be able to deliver.
- 07
What do you know about our products and our customers?
Find out before the interview: range, points of sale, competitors, type of customer. If possible, try the product or visit a point of sale. Arrive with one or two ideas for customers to approach.
Common mistakes
- Talking without listening: a good salesperson asks questions, including of the recruiter.
- Inflating your past results or promising impossible sales.
- Neglecting your appearance and punctuality, which are part of the job.
Questions to ask the recruiter
- What targets are expected in the first months and how are they set?
- How is the pay made up: fixed part, commission, travel expenses?
- What resources are provided: product training, transport, telephone, sales materials?
Preparation guide written by MOKILIX: it replaces neither the employer’s advert nor the advice of a professional in the field.
Practise now, in writing.
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