5 top medical sales interview questions

Part of planning for an interview is understanding what types of questions a hiring manager may ask and then preparing your answers. This preparation will boost your confidence and help you to communicate your qualities concisely. It will also help recruiters to match the best candidates with the medical sales representative jobs they have available.

According to Helpguide.org, an authority in mental health and wellness, apart from your choice of words, your body language can also convey a powerful message. Keep this in mind when practising your responses.

If you feel that you have the right skills to be a successful medical sales representative or if you have years of experience in the industry, then you may have the advantage where the answers come naturally to you. However, familiarising yourself with the recent most popular top medical sales interview questions will help you to stay ahead in your career as trends and expectations change.

Here are the five top questions that will help you to prepare for your next medical or pharmaceutical sales job position (we’ve included directives to help you compile incisive answers):

1. What is your current quota and how are you achieving it?

Make sure that you answer this question honestly, and with accurate figures. The company conducting the interview may already have this recorded information and it is important that you remain transparent. Follow your quota results up with one or two brief examples of how you manoeuvred clients through the sales funnel.

2. What do you know about our products?

This question helps interviewers to decipher if you have done any research on the company and job role. If you can accurately describe the brand’s products, then you will reassure the hiring manager that you are confident that you can sell them on to GPs, hospital doctors, pharmacists and nurses.

Tip: don’t shy away from injecting some enthusiasm into your answer. This shows the interviewer that you are excited to join their team.

3. What is your research process before a sales call or a meeting?

If you do not have a research process, now may be the time to establish one. Not only will this process help you to boost your sales and commission, but it will also help you to settle into new medical sales careers with ease. Interviewers will appreciate your industrious attitude and your keenness for meticulously handling the sales process from start to finish.

4. How do you determine what a customer needs?

Anticipating your customer’s needs is an important part of making sales. Research by the successful marketing company, Hubspot, confirms this. During their investigation, they found that companies that work to improve meeting the needs of customers are 60% more profitable than companies that fail to fill this gap.

It makes sense that a recruiter would want to hire someone who would help them to increase their revenue - and they are going to suss out if you have what it takes.

Customer needs can often be identified through needs analysis surveys, interviews, focus groups, and social listening. These are processes that you may want to familiarise yourself with.

5. When do you stop pursuing a customer?

Your potential new medical employees need to know if you are skilled at interpreting your clients well enough and if you know when to walk away with the company’s dignity intact. If you have worked with customers before, then draw on your past experiences to give a personal and insightful answer to this question. If you are pursuing a medical sales career for the first time, then combine empathy with your knowledge to draw a conclusion that you feel will satisfy interviewers.

Find your next medical sales job with IQVIA

At IQVIA, we take pride in connecting talented professionals with medical careers around the globe. Take the first step in your career by browsing our selection of available medical sales representative jobs.