🤝 Sales & Business Development
Sales interviews are themselves a sales pitch — how you communicate in the interview is being evaluated as much as what you say. Expect roleplay ('sell me this pen'), resilience questions, and numbers (quotas, targets).
Common interview questions
Not exact questions you'll be asked — but the shape of what gets asked, and how a strong answer is structured.
Sell me this pen.
Don't open by describing the pen. Ask a question first ('what do you currently use to write with, and what don't you like about it?') — discovery before pitch is the actual skill being tested, not product description.
Tell me about a time you faced rejection and how you handled it.
Sales is a high-rejection job by design. Show a real instance, what you did right after (not dwelling, but also not pretending it didn't sting), and what you changed for next time.
How do you handle a 'no' from a prospect?
Distinguish a hard no from a 'not now' or an objection in disguise. Show you'd ask one clarifying question before giving up on the conversation.
Why sales, and why this company specifically?
Generic 'I like talking to people' answers are weak. Connect a real trait (persistence, curiosity about a specific industry) to something concrete about what this company sells and who it sells to.
How would you prioritize 50 leads with limited time?
Name a real criterion (company size, buying signal, past engagement) rather than 'I'd call them all' — show you understand time is the scarce resource in sales, not effort.
Your learning path
In order — each step builds on the last.
- 01
Learn one real sales framework
SPIN selling or the simpler 'discovery before pitch' model — know the shape of a sales conversation, not just enthusiasm.
- 02
Practice cold outreach out loud
Write and then say, out loud, a 30-second cold call opener. Reading it silently and saying it are very different skills.
- 03
Research their actual customer
Before any interview, know who the company sells to and one real pain point that customer has — this comes up constantly in sales interviews specifically.
4-week study roadmap
A week-by-week plan, not just a topic list. Check items off as you go — your progress is saved on this device.
Frameworks & company research
Roleplay practice
Resilience & numbers
Mock interviews & polish
Before you walk in: field checklist
The field-specific things worth double-checking you've covered.
Interview-day checklist
The same basics matter whatever role you're interviewing for.
Free resources to study from
Cold mail tips for this field
- —Short and punchy — sales hiring managers expect you to demonstrate good copywriting in the email itself.
- —Lead with a specific, researched detail about their product or customer base.
- —End with one clear, low-friction ask (a 15-minute call), not an open-ended 'let me know your thoughts.'
Ready to put this to use?
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