VP of Sales Interview Questions
The interview process, the telling moment where you decide whether or not a candidate will be a good fit for your company. This is arguably the most important step of the hiring process. Mess up, and you could have an unqualified new hire or one that just isn’t a good company fit. It stands to reason that you need to have a game plan for your interview to prevent this. To give you a head start, I have included some of my favorite starter questions for a VP of Sales interview.
- Given your current knowledge of our team, do you think we need to expand our sales staff?
There isn’t a right or wrong answer to this question. What you’re really looking for is that they’ve done their research on you, and they’ve envisioned how they would make the team successful. - What was the hardest deal you have ever closed, and how did you do it?
Asking candidate what their biggest win is is one of my favorite questions. Sales is often viewed as a individual job, but with higher level sales it often becomes a team effort. What I’m really looking for in this answer is their acknowledgment that while it’s their success, it wouldn’t be without their team. - Alternatively, what was a deal you lost and you should have won? What did you learn from that?
I love this question because we all know that every deal isn’t a win, but there are some that should have been. Your ideal candidate should be able to identify this former deal, tell you why it fell through, and be able to tell you how they’d do it different now. You want a leader who can learn from their mistakes, and be able to apply them to their new team. - What sales tools do you prefer? Which ones do you avoid?
If you are going to be the leader of someone’s sales department, you need to know your tools. I am looking for a well thought out, methodical, answer to this question. I need to know that you’re an expert in whatever software you love, and I need to know why you don’t think that others work. For a VP of sales, we’re looking for an expert. - How should your sales team and client managers work together?
A VP of Sales candidate who does not acknowledge that your sales and account management teams are integral to each other’s success is not one you want working in your company. I find that this question will really weed out the candidates that will definitely not fit.
Your interview process is essential for getting the right candidate for your company. Let these questions be a guide for your perfect interview!
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