The interview signals that matter the most for sales roles vs support roles are, for sales roles, signals that show they can handle unexpected situations and do not mind being rejected, because the goals in sales are earning revenue and bringing in new clients. For support roles, they’re signals that show that they can control their emotions and be patient because they need to keep customers satisfied.
Interview signals that matter most for sales roles
The interview signals that matter most for sales roles are signals that show the candidate will be ready to bring in new business, such as:
- Handling unexpected situations: They can approach vague scenarios and happy and unhappy clients alike.
- Not minding rejection: Salespeople are consistently rejected, and they’ll need to draw resilience from it.
- Listening: It’s in a secondary order, since many successful salespeople are not excellent listeners.
- Persuasion: The ability to object to a narrative and turn it around with counterarguments.
Interview signals that matter most for support roles
The interview signals that matter most for support roles are signals that show the candidate will be ready to keep customers happy, such as:
- Emotion control: They can be exposed to an intense argument and still keep their own emotions in check.
- Patience: During the interview, a candidate who signals patience is showing they are ready to handle hefty and simple queries alike.
- Consistency and reliability: A signal that shows that the candidate will prioritize reliable results and a method, and avoid risk-taking.
- Empathy: The candidate will try to understand why the customer is requesting support in the first place.
Why the signals differ
The signals differ because each role has a different way of dealing with risk and failure. In sales, taking risks is rewarded, and one big win can make up for plenty of losses. People with support jobs are rewarded for being reliable, since ignoring a problem makes the customer unhappy.
Operational guidance for hiring teams
Hiring teams should create different interview scorecards for sales and support roles. It helps to adjust the questions and simulations to match what the job specifically demands, rather than using a generic interview loop for everyone.
Teams can use these standards consistently with the help of structured interviews. Tools like an interview questions generator can help managers build specific lists of questions that target the right skills for each role.
Common hiring mistakes to avoid
One common mistake is to use the same "culture fit" criteria for both groups. This often leads managers to hire support staff who are too aggressive or sales staff who are too passive.
TL;DR
- Sales interview signals that matter the most are those that point to handling rejection, persuasion, and working through ambiguity.
- Support signals that matter the most focus on patience, consistency, and reliability.
- HR teams should use different scorecards for each role family so they do not hire the wrong personality type.