This question is important because it provides the candidate the opportunity to highlight their achievements and skills in a personal way, and you can get a real insight into who they are and how they interact with customers. Ask follow-up questions as necessary, such as why a particular event was important to them, and you get an initial feel for how they would fit into your company. What to look for in an answer:

• Experience appropriate to the job being offered
• Experience with a comparable business or transferable skills
• Honest, confidant response that demonstrates ability to handle necessary workload

Being able to effectively communicate verbally is at the heart of being a sales support specialist. A sales support specialist not only helps a business’s customers to resolve their issues but also works to provide valuable support to the sales team itself. Due to these factors, a deep understanding of successful communication is a necessity. What to look for in an answer:

• Understanding the art of verbal communication
• Love for serving and working with a team
• Ability to empathize with customers

A successful sales support specialist will deal with a wide variety of customers. The majority of them will be polite but there will also be plenty of customers who are particularly demanding or even rude. Being able to navigate through these types of situations is an essential part of achieving success as a sales support specialist. What to look for in an answer:

• Ability to remain calm in challenging communication scenarios
• Commitment to resolving issues
• Listening to why the customer is upset

It’s important to ask this because it delves into the candidate’s ability to work with the sales team and identify points where efficiency can be improved. It is a normal expectation that a great deal of support will be provided to the sales team. A good sales support specialist has the ability to help a business grow by being able to help identify and define best practices. What to look for in an answer:

• Examples of providing support and education to co-workers
• Ability to recognize shortcomings in sales practices
• Good leadership and communication skills

A sales support specialist has to be able to keep up to date on where the sales industry is currently at and where it is heading because it is a changing industry. This is necessary not only in order to provide support to customers and sales team members to the best of one’s ability but also to ensure the success of the business. What to look for in an answer:

• Understanding the importance of keeping up with new sales strategies
• Experience with social selling and knowledge of digital marketing techniques
• Eagerness and desire to seek out resources for education

Sales support specialists should provide administrative support to the sales team. An employer can use this question to differentiate candidates with the relevant industry training in sales support from the rest. An efficient sales support specialist candidate should demonstrate their ability in helping sales professionals do their jobs competently.

A candidate's answer should emphasize:

• Ability to provide necessary data and verbal guidance to help sales professionals
• Motivation for working in team settings
• Communication, sales support and teamwork skills

An example answer to this question could look like this: