Knowing more about a candidate's interests and experience of working with teams is critical. If you are hiring for a tech company, closing sales deals involves working closely with different departments including coders, programmers and customer service staff. Effective sales managers work closely with support teams, developers and sales staff, and participation in outside activities shows empathy and support for other people's interests that build team loyalty. What to look for in an answer:

• Clear evidence of working with teams
• Participation in outside activities within the community
• Willingness to embrace the company's culture

This is an important question as certification in any type of CRM software ensures that a new sales manager can hit the ground running. Sales processes can involve AI-generated leads, and a candidate with a certificate from a school or university or an industry-based certification enjoys a clear advantage in the workplace. Experience or accreditation in customer relationship management ensures that the sales manager candidate is familiar with CRM technology methods and strategies to satisfy customer needs. What to look for in an answer:

• CRM certification or experience working with CRM software
• Understanding the different uses of CRM
• Clear strategy for assigning leads

A company's culture should be simple to express, especially for an experienced sales manager. It's important that the candidate is a good cultural fit. The applicant's ability to explain the philosophy and encourage team members to support it is important. The candidate should focus on the positive aspects of a previous employer's culture. What to look for in an answer:

• Knowledge of former employer's culture
• Ability to explain the values simply
• Willingness to educate team members in cultural expectations

Success is multifaceted, and an effective sales manager is the single greatest asset for encouraging salespeople to remain at their jobs. Acknowledgement is critical to the process. Sales managers should have clear ideas about how to encourage sales with personal and company recognition. It's just as important to recognize small accomplishments and improvements as it is to identify top sales performances. Effective managers nurture each team member with attention. What to look for in an answer:

• Strategy for recognizing personal accomplishments
• Recognition of support staff's contributions
• Evidence of daily manager support

Sales managers must make efficient use of their team members, and they can't do that unless they get to know their teams on an individual basis. Effective managers might research their staff members' interests and arrange get-to-know-you activities and meetings. Assigning leads is a game of percentages based on a salesperson's previous sales results and common interests with the client. Good managers also encourage cold calling. What to look for in an answer:

• Demonstrates a plan for engaging team members
• Develops a profile of each staff member
• Assigns leads based on solid criteria