Answers to these questions, which are divided by category, will help you hand pick the best Sales/Marketing pros, and eliminate poor candidates during the hiring process.

Demonstrating flexibility

• Describe a time when you were criticized for your work. How did you respond?
• Detail a time when you had to perform your job in a rapidly changing work environment. How did you adapt?

Building customer loyalty

• Describe a time when you connected with a customer who was hard to connect with at first. How did you get through to this customer?
• Provide a specific example of a time when you were recognized for providing excellent customer service. What did you do to gain this recognition?
• Give an example of a time when a customer asked you to do something that was unusual or out of the ordinary. How did you respond to this customer? What was the outcome?

Gaining buy-in

• Describe a time when you helped two conflicting parties reach a compromise. How did you establish the terms of the compromise?
• Describe a time when you negotiated to make the terms of an agreement more favorable for your organization.

Seizing opportunities

• Give an example of a time when you needed to make substantial progress on a project while your sales manager was away. What did you do when you had questions or concerns about the project? What was the outcome?
• Describe a time when you undertook a project completely on your own initiative. What was the outcome?

Establishing credibility

• Describe a time when you had to alert someone to a mistake you made. What was your mistake? What prompted you to bring it to someone’s attention? What was the outcome of your disclosure?
• Describe a time when someone challenged a decision you made. How did you respond? How, if at all, were you able to defend your decision?

Achievements

• Describe a time when you had to push yourself in order to accomplish a difficult task at work. What were the circumstances? What steps did you take to accomplish your goal?
• Describe a time you had to motivate a co-worker to successfully complete an assignment. What actions did you take?
• Provide an example of an on-the-job experience that you felt was particularly challenging. How did you respond? What was the outcome?

Social interactions

• Describe your daily interpersonal interactions at work. Are they rewarding? Why or why not?
• Describe a time you helped a co-worker who was struggling to finish a project on time. What led to your involvement? What steps did you take to assist him or her?

Power and influence

• Describe a project that allowed you to have more authority in the workplace. How comfortable were you with that authority?

Adapted from the book The Perfect Hire by Katherine Graham-Leviss. Working with scientists and psychologists, Graham-Leviss developed XC InSight, a competency-based selection and development system for measuring human performance.

Tags: building customer loyalty, compromise, excellent customer service, flexibility, gaining buy-in, Hiring process, interview questions