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Role interview guide

Sales and business development interview questions and what to expect

Sales and business development interviews usually test whether you can sell, not just talk about selling: expect questions on your targets and how you met them, how you handle objections and rejection, and often a role-play where you pitch a product or deal with a tough customer. For experienced roles, interviewers commonly dig into your pipeline, your numbers and the deals you won or lost.

What candidates commonly report; it varies by employer, level and country. Last reviewed 18 October 2026.

Practise a sales and business development mock interviewWarm up free on these questions

The usual stages

  1. 1Recruiter or HR screen on your background, targets and expectations
  2. 2Interview with the hiring or sales manager on your track record and how you sell
  3. 3Role-play for many roles: a cold call, a product pitch or handling an objection
  4. 4For senior roles, often a presentation such as a territory or account plan
  5. 5Final round with a senior leader or HR

What interviewers check

  • Results you can state clearly: the target, what you achieved and how
  • Listening and asking questions before pitching
  • Handling objections calmly and honestly
  • Bouncing back from rejection and keeping up a steady routine of follow-ups
  • Pipeline discipline: tracking leads, stages and next steps
  • Integrity: not overpromising to close a deal

Behavioral questions

  1. Tell me about a deal you're proud of closing. How did it come together?

    A good answer covers

    • The customer, what they needed and who made the decision
    • The steps from first contact to close, including one setback
    • Your own part in it and the result

  2. Tell me about a month or quarter when you missed your target. What happened?

    A good answer covers

    • The size of the gap, stated honestly
    • What caused it and which parts were in your control
    • What you changed and how the next period went

  3. Describe a deal you lost that you expected to win.

    A good answer covers

    • Why you thought it was going well
    • What you later learned about why they chose someone else
    • How it changed the way you qualify or follow up

  4. Tell me about a time you turned an unhappy customer into a repeat buyer.

    A good answer covers

    • What went wrong for them and how you found out
    • What you did to fix it, including help from other teams
    • The business that came back and why

  5. Tell me about a time you needed operations, finance or delivery to help you keep a promise to a customer.

    A good answer covers

    • What you had promised and why it needed their help
    • How you asked, and what you offered them in return
    • Whether the customer got what they were promised

Questions about the job

  1. Pick something on the desk, or your phone, and sell it to me in two minutes.

    A good answer covers

    • Asking one or two questions about my needs before pitching
    • Benefits linked to what I told you, not a list of features
    • A clear ask or next step at the end

  2. A prospect says, 'Your price is too high.' How would you respond?

    A good answer covers

    • Finding out what they're comparing it with
    • Restating the value in terms of their problem
    • Knowing when a smaller package, better terms or walking away is right

  3. How would you qualify a lead? What tells you it's worth your time?

    A good answer covers

    • Need, budget, who decides and timing, or a similar checklist
    • The questions you'd ask on the first call
    • When you'd stop chasing a lead

  4. Walk me through how you'd open a cold call to a business that has never heard of us.

    A good answer covers

    • A short, specific reason for calling them in particular
    • A question that gets them talking about their problem
    • A small next step to ask for, such as a meeting or a demo

  5. How do you plan a week of prospecting and follow-ups?

    A good answer covers

    • Blocking time for new outreach, follow-ups and meetings
    • Prioritising by deal size and how close each lead is to buying
    • Tracking activity so you can see what actually turns into sales

  6. A large customer goes silent after a promising meeting. What would you do?

    A good answer covers

    • Following up with something useful, not just 'checking in'
    • Trying another contact in the company carefully
    • Deciding when to step back and how you'd keep the door open

  7. Which numbers would you track to know whether your pipeline is healthy?

    A good answer covers

    • Leads at each stage, conversion between stages, average deal size and sales cycle length
    • Pipeline value compared with your target
    • What you'd do if one stage is weak

  8. How would you start selling in a new city or industry where we have no customers yet?

    A good answer covers

    • Researching who buys, why and who they buy from today
    • A first list of target accounts and a way in, such as referrals or events
    • Early signs you'd watch to know whether it's working

  9. How have you used a CRM, and what do you record after a sales call?

    A good answer covers

    • The tool you used and how often you updated it
    • What you record: needs, objections, decision-makers, next step and date
    • How good records helped you or a colleague close a deal

Motivation and fit

  1. Tell me about yourself in a way that would make me want to keep listening.

    A good answer covers

    • A short, confident opening about who you are
    • One result or experience that shows you can sell
    • Why this role is the next step for you

  2. Why sales? What do you enjoy about it, and what do you find hardest?

    A good answer covers

    • What draws you to selling, shown by something you've done
    • An honest hard part, such as rejection or long sales cycles
    • How you deal with that hard part

  3. This role has targets and part of the pay depends on results. How would you handle a slow month?

    A good answer covers

    • Comfort with targets and incentive-based pay, stated honestly
    • What you'd do differently in a slow month: more outreach, better leads, asking for help
    • How you keep your energy up when results lag

Tips

  • Know your numbers well: targets, achievement, deal sizes and conversion rates. Interviewers commonly ask for them and follow up.
  • In a role-play, ask two or three questions before you pitch; jumping straight to features is an easy mistake to avoid.
  • Freshers: college fest sponsorships, part-time jobs, internships or a small business of your own all make good sales stories.
  • Talk about what you do when a customer says no, not only when they say yes.
  • Never claim a number you can't explain; a follow-up question will usually expose it.
  • Learn the company's product and customers well enough to pitch it in one minute if asked.

Practise it out loud

A mock interview asks what sales and business development interviews usually test, follows up on your answers and gives you a report. The warm-up is free, needs no account and checks five of these questions as you answer.

Practise a sales and business development mock interviewWarm up free on these questions

About this guide

Written by Orbit from what candidates and interviewers commonly describe for this kind of job. The questions are Orbit's own practice questions, not questions taken from any employer's interviews. Processes change, so check the job post and what your recruiter tells you.