The Account Executive role could include finding and closing deals, managing client relationships or both.
High-quality candidates are experienced (think: sales or customer service), enthusiastic, outgoing, curious and confident professionals. They’ll have awesome communication and negotiation skills and a great business acumen, plus they’ll have high initiative, persistence and a problem-solving aptitude.
Top tip:
- Set an assignment: Ask candidates to create a brief presentation or sales pitch to test for top communication skills.
- Think diversity: Diversity is key for a thriving workplace. Keep an eye out for management and exec-level candidates from varying backgrounds and aim to eliminate bias from your hiring process.
Account Executive interview questions
- What’s your favorite thing about being an Account Executive?
- Do you enjoy cold-calling?
- How do you deal with rejection?
- How do you discover sales opportunities?
- How would you create a killer demo/presentation?
- How do you ace business relationships?
- Have you used CRM tech before?
- What’s the best way to use social media to find great prospects?
- How would you deal with an unresponsive prospective client?
- How do you prioritize multiple clients at the same time?
- Have you ever dealt with an angry customer? What happened?
- Tell us about a time you aced a client’s problem.
- Describe the most challenging deal you’ve ever had to close.
- Tell us about a time you aced a customer contract negotiation.
- Describe a time you reached an objective despite challenging odds.
- What was your most complicated sales cycle in past positions?
- Have you ever lost the chance to engage a prospect? What would you change next time?
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Start optimizing your recruiting process today.
Start optimizing your recruiting process today.
