Interviews drift when managers rely on memory. A shared question bank keeps assessment fair and focused. Use this framework to evaluate sales candidates consistently, reduce bias and make faster decisions across Oxford, Abingdon and Bicester.
Principles
Questions must be evidence based, aligned to core competencies and scored on the same rubric. Ask one question at a time, dig for specific examples and document verbatim highlights. Finish with a short role play to observe live behaviour.
SDR questions
- Prospecting discipline – describe your weekly cadence and how you prioritise accounts in a territory like the Thames Valley.
- Messaging craft – tell me about a cold message with a high reply rate and why it worked.
- Objection handling – walk me through a tough reply you turned into a meeting.
- Coachability – share a piece of feedback you applied that improved results.
- Collaboration – how do you work with AEs to qualify effectively.
AE questions
- Discovery depth – give an example of uncovering hidden impact in a deal and how it changed your approach.
- Deal strategy – explain a multi threaded opportunity in Oxfordshire and your stakeholder map.
- Value articulation – talk me through how you connected product outcomes to a life sciences buyer.
- Negotiation – describe a pricing conversation you navigated without discounting heavily.
- Forecasting – how do you ensure accuracy and avoid last day deals.
Account Manager questions
- Renewal planning – describe your 90 day renewal motion with a university or NHS customer.
- Expansion – share a success where you grew an account through new use cases.
- Relationship risk – how did you spot and fix a health score decline.
- Commercial acumen – give an example of a value based upsell.
Scoring
Use a 1 to 5 scale for each competency with clear anchors. Two interviewers score independently then compare. Set a hire threshold and stick to it. Capture red flags separately to review with the hiring panel.Call to action: TY Recruitment supplies sector specific question banks and trains interviewers to score consistently.