Notice anything in particular about the sales jobs companies are posting lately? Companies, more than ever, are focused on building out their sales development model. To see for yourself, scroll through sales jobs posted on any job board. In November 2016, I ran a search on business/sales development jobs in the Greater Boston area in the last 30 days. On LinkedIn, there were 2,090 jobs. ZipRecruiter yielded 1,832 results. CareerBuilder showed over 1,300. Indeed had over 2,700.What does this tell me?First, it tells me that companies have a need to fill these roles. Second, it tells me that they are advertising and posting like crazy to attract these candidates. Third, it tells me that, regardless of the industry, they are all looking for the same candidate.{What it doesn’t tell me is if these companies are having success filling the jobs, or if those ads are driving relevant traffic. That’s a different blog post though.}Here are a few examples of the business development jobs posted:Title: Sales Development Representative (Software Company)Responsibilities:
Here’s another one:Title: Business Development Representative (Advertising Company)Responsibilities:
And another one:Title: Business Development Representative (Healthcare Company)Responsibilities:
Notice a pattern? They are looking for someone who will drive activity, pound the phones, pass qualified leads to the inside/outside sales reps, and hit their metrics.If every company is looking for the same type of candidate, no matter the industry, how do recruiters identify the right candidate for the role? By asking the right interview questions.
Behavioral-Based Interview QuestionsSales development roles are typically entry-level, but can range from 6 months-3 years of experience. With that in mind, you need to understand that many candidates won’t have direct sales experience. You will need to focus on asking questions that speak more to the intangibles that apply to a business development job. You have to look for GRIT.
Most job requirements entail having a Bachelor’s degree. You want to understand what pushed them to get a degree. If they financed their own education, it shows you that work hard and don’t expect anything to be handed to them.
You want to understand how they spent their time in school. You also want to know how they handle time-management. Look for drive, passion, team work, and accomplishments. Sales is competitive, you need to know they can handle a fast-paced environment while overcoming challenges.
I like this question to really understand how candidates communicate and work with others. Rather than just asking “are you a team player”, this question typically opens up a candidate and you can understand what drives them.
Even if the candidate doesn’t have any sales experience, you want to see what types of jobs and responsibilities they’ve had at other companies. You want to know what they’re work ethic is like.
What you’re really looking for is if hard work has been part of growing up.
You’re asking them to share a weakness and a learning moment. You want to see if they can take accountability and if they are resilient.
Again, this is a good question to better understand what motivates them. Are they looking for just a job, or do they want to build a career?
You want to know that they did their research and that they are serious about this opportunity with your company.
You want to know how they articulate their story, and get to know them better. Understand what they are passionate about, how they address obstacles, and work hard to get a task done.
Asking them this is a tough question to see how neatly they wrap up their school/early career in a few sentences. You’re really looking for their elevator pitch.Sales-Related Interview Questions:These questions focus on qualifying a candidate on sales-driven activity. You need to know if they have a basic understanding of what the actual job will entail.
Being a sales development rep means you will be on the phone a lot. Sales professionals don’t necessarily love making cold calls, but you need to know that a candidate can pick on the phone and call a lead.
This question is to really gauge whether or not the candidate understands what a business development rep does and how it plays into the sales organization. They are after all applying for the position.
This is an interview question to see how much research a candidate did on your company, products, and services.
Find out if they understand the type of audience you sell into.
Again, you want to make sure this business development representative sounds good on the phone and can have a conversation with decision makers.
This is a critical question to ask. Candidates should always have questions to better understand your business, growth plans, and culture. If they don’t have questions it should be a red flag.
You want to know that a business development rep will do their research, get creative, and be able to effectively prospect new business.
As the front line of the sales force, SDRs will deal with objections and rejections. You want to see how resilient and creative they are. You also want to see if they are able to qualify and isolate an objection.
Not every candidate will have sales development experience, but you do want to know that they have worked with people. Look for any real hard jobs they’ve had.
Even if your company isn’t a technical sell, there is a good chance you will still be using software as part of the daily job. Whether for tracking or connecting with prospects, you want to make sure the candidate is a quick learner.When interviewing business development reps, you aren’t only looking for skill, but for GRIT. You need to understand that the role of a BDR is hard, and you need people who are up for the challenge. Ultimately, you should be looking for passion, curiosity, intelligence, accountability, resiliency, and coach ability.Final Note:Open the spec around requirements to drive candidate activity. Don’t expect everyone to want your job. If you are too selective, you will miss out on much of the sales talent on the market. The perfect candidate is never obvious on paper. Take the time to interview candidates with different experience and use these interview questions as a guide to help you hire a team of quota crushing business development reps.This is a guest post by Chelsey Canavan, the Marketing Manager at Treeline, Inc. Treeline, Inc. is an executive search firm solely focused on the recruitment of sales professionals. Treeline uses DADOMATCH technology to help companies hire sales professionals with more insight, while also helping job seekers find their next career-advancing opportunity. Connect with Chelsey on LinkedIn
