In this guide
Role-specific resume and interview guides
Sales interviews: role plays, discovery and proving your numbers
How to prepare for sales interviews: discovery role plays, 'sell me this' tasks, questions about attainment and pipeline, and territory or account plans.
Role plays: discovery before pitching
The classic 'sell me this pen' exercise, and its more realistic cousin, a discovery call with an interviewer playing a prospect, is less about the product than about whether you understand the buyer first. Candidates who launch into features miss the point.
Illustrative example
Opening discovery questions in a role play
- 'Before I tell you about the product, can I ask how you handle this today?'
- 'What prompted you to look at this now?'
- 'What would good look like in six months?'
- 'Who else would be involved in deciding?'
- 'If this solved that problem, what would stop you moving forward?'
Then match one or two benefits to what you heard, handle the objection the interviewer raises, and close for a concrete next step such as a demonstration or a meeting with the decision-maker.
Questions about your numbers
| Question | Have ready |
|---|---|
| What was your attainment? | Percentage of target per year, with the target's context |
| How did you build pipeline? | Sources, activity levels and conversion between stages |
| Average deal size and cycle? | Typical ranges and an example deal |
| Where did you rank? | Position in team and why |
| A year you missed target? | What happened, what you changed, the result after |
Territory or account plans
Later-stage interviews for account executive or account manager roles sometimes ask for a short plan. Keep it to a few slides: who you would target and why, how you would build pipeline in the first months, what you would need from marketing or pre-sales, and how you would measure progress. Base it on research about the market, not on promises of a number.
Sales interview preparation
- I know the product, typical customer and main competitors.
- I have practised a discovery role play out loud.
- I can explain every figure on my resume and its context.
- I have a story about a deal I won and one I lost.
- I have questions about targets, territory and how commission works.
Common questions
Should I ask about commission in a sales interview?
Yes, at an appropriate point. Asking how targets are set and commission is paid shows you understand the role; save detailed negotiation for the offer stage.
What if I have never sold before?
Use transferable evidence such as persuading customers, fundraising, retail targets or recruiting volunteers, and show you have researched the sales process.
Put it into practice
See how Luceria helps with thisDrafted with AI assistance and checked against Luceria’s editorial standards. Examples are illustrative, not real people’s results. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.