Job Interview Questions

For sales interviews, phrases like these may be appropriate:

• I really want this job. Am I going to get it?
• I think I earned this job. When am I going to receive an offer?
• Did I get the job?
• I’d like to start right away. When can we get the paperwork out of the way?

The following bid-for-action questions give you some wordings to ask for the job with varying degrees of directness. Each one of the questions can serve as a proactive close to the main part of the interview. Each of these questions has been field-tested and, in the right circumstances, has been shown to work. In other cases, the questions may backfire. The risk is that the interviewer may regard you as cheeky or insolent. Study the situation well and tread lightly.

1. What is the commission structure, and what is my earning potential in 1, 3, 5, or 10 years? Every salesperson needs to understand how commissions and related compensation work.
2. If you put all the salespeople in a line from your best to the merely acceptable performer, what are the earnings of the 50th percentile? The 25th? The 75th? This is a good way to understand your earning potential if you join the company.
3. What percentage of salespeople attain objectives? Every salesperson has a quota. If a larger percentage of salespeople fail to meet quota, it indicates that either the quota is too high or the sales team is inadequate.
4. What percentage of the current people are above and below their set goals? In other words, how does the company handle underperforming salespeople?
5. Can you describe the performance of the sales team? You want to know whether you will be joining a team of superstars or also-rans.