Interview
Questions
Sales Development Rep (SDR) Interview Questions
Behavioral interview questions for Sales Development Representative and Business Development Representative roles. Covers cold calling, objection handling, resilience, prospecting, and coachability.
SDRs face constant rejection. Tell me about a time you faced repeated setbacks or rejections. How did you maintain your motivation and eventually succeed?
Walk me through how you handle objections on a cold call. Give me a specific example of an objection you overcame and how you turned it into a conversation.
Tell me about a time you received constructive feedback on your sales approach. How did you respond, and what changes did you make as a result?
Describe a time you exceeded a quota, target, or goal. What strategies did you use, and how did you stay focused when progress was slow?
Walk me through your prospecting process. How do you research accounts, identify the right contacts, and personalize your outreach to stand out?
Tell me about a time you had to persuade someone who was initially skeptical or uninterested. How did you build rapport and change their mind?
SDRs juggle many tasks - calls, emails, research, follow-ups. How do you prioritize your day and manage your time to hit your activity targets?
Tell me about a particularly difficult prospect you eventually won over. What made them challenging, and what approach finally worked?
SDRs work closely with Account Executives and marketing. Describe a time you collaborated with other team members to close a deal or improve a process.
Tell me about a time you were competing against another solution for a prospect's attention. How did you differentiate yourself and your product?
The SDR role requires high activity volume day after day. What motivates you to keep making calls and sending emails, even when results are slow?
How do you learn about new industries, products, or personas when you start prospecting into unfamiliar territory? Give me an example.
Describe a time when actively listening to a prospect helped you uncover a pain point or opportunity that wasn't immediately obvious. What did you learn?
What metrics do you track to measure your own performance as an SDR? How have you used data to identify areas for improvement?
Why do you want to be an SDR, and where do you see this role taking you in your career? What excites you about the opportunity to do outbound sales?