Smith and Nephew Sales Interview Questions [15+ Examples and Answers from Reps]

True Meaning

• Tell me how you learn from your failures.

Interviewer Looking to Confirm

• You took the initiative to craft a concerted action plan to recover from the mistake
• You developed a plan to prevent the failure from reoccurring

Pitfalls

• Describing an example in which your actions had serious implications (eg: failed to return the customer’s calls for 3 months, resulting in the customer canceling the contract)
• Failing to take ownership over the issue
• Failing to share lessons learned from the experience and how you have integrated those lessons routinely

Winning Example
I spent two months meeting with the Director of Engineering at a F500 company to use our products in a particular valve it was manufacturing. This was one of my first large deals. The growth potential was huge. I was determined to close the deal. Ultimately, after months of preparation, the deal ended up falling through as the Purchasing Director did not buy into our value proposition. In retrospect, I did not spend enough time understanding who the key decisions makers were in the organization and how to appropriately engage them.

After this deal failed to close, I wrote down key lessons learned and scheduled a post-mortem with my manager. I learned 1. Understanding who the target stakeholders are is mission-critical and 2. I need to engage those stakeholders strategically throughout the sales process.

I now document each stakeholder in a ​Stakeholder Assessment Template​. I map out each stakeholder’s role, perspective, influence, attitude, and accessibility and continually update it throughout the prospecting process. This process has been instrumental in helping me successfully close over 5 large deals without repeating the same mistake.

True Meaning

• Show me how you identify customer problems and work towards solutions to those problems.

Interviewer Looking to Confirm

• You can “walk the walk” — you are capable of effective selling
• You can quickly identify solutions to customer problems
• You can articulate solutions in a convincing way

Pitfalls

• Selling the product rather than the solution
• Not soliciting a conversation with the interviewer around his or her specific needs — launching into a rehearsed sales pitch

Winning Example

Qualify

• “How long have you been in the market for a pen?”

Determine Specific Need

• “Do you have a pen you are using today? Is there anything you wish that item did differently?”
• “Are you evaluating any other pens?”
•  “What types of tasks do you use pens for?”
• “When you finish said task, how do you want to feel?”
• “What color pen are you in the market for: black, blue, red, green?”
• “Do you require a pen clip?”
• “Do you prefer a certain thickness?”

Map Need to the Solution

• “I think I have the product you are looking for. It is our best-selling, state-of-the-art pen — black, felt-tip, 1.0mm, and fashions a pen clip to prevent you from losing it. Not only does it work exceptionally well for everyday tasks, such as meeting notes, but it’s elegant design will turn heads in meetings.”

Urgency Through Scarcity

• “Luckily, I have one left in stock. This type of pen has been in high demand this year, and customers have been raving about it online. It boasts over 200 5-star reviews.”

Close

• “How does this sound? I can leave this pen for you now, free of charge, for you to test out. In the meantime, I will get started on the purchase order to have the rest of the supplies delivered in 2 business days.”