“Tell me about a rep who was struggling when you took over. What did you do, and what changed?”

We like this question because it gets us past the team’s overall numbers and into the work of leading people.

Maybe the manager joined the rep on a customer call and noticed they were jumping to price before understanding the customer’s problem. Maybe they reviewed the pipeline together and realized the rep was spending too much time on accounts with little room to grow.

We listen for what the manager noticed, how they coached the rep, and what happened afterward. A specific example can tell you a lot about how that person would work with your team in the field.

If you’ve ever had a great sales manager, what did they do that made you better?