Top 5 Super Common Account Executive Interview Questions

Landing your dream job starts with acing your interview. Check out these 5 Account Executive interview questions and answers to help you prepare!

Uvaro

Jan 03, 2023

The real make-or-break Account Executive interview questions aren’t the basic ones.

"Why do you want to work here?” What are your strengths and weaknesses?” "Tell me about yourself?" Though important, those aren't what hiring managers will focus on when making decisions.

The Account Executive interview questions that matter will prove your knowledge. Hiring managers want to see skill, track record, and on-your-feet thinking. And how do those things go hand-in-hand with a typical day in tech sales?

Whether you’re new to an Account Executive role or have years of experience under your belt, we’re here to help! Ace the questions that matter most with some Dos and Don'ts.

What does it take to be a successful Account Executive?

As an Account Executive, you work on the front lines of the sales team. You're guiding prospective customers through the entire sales cycle from discovery to close. That means you’ll spend most of your time with customers. Your job consists of preparing targeted presentations, and answering questions, and moving deals to close.

You’re at the sweet spot where customer needs meet revenue generation. You uncover a prospect’s pain points. Your job is to educate them about how your product or service can help them breathe easier.

Account Executive roles are a step above entry-level. That means you’ll likely need a few years of relevant experience under your belt as a BDR or similar. That time on the sales floor builds essential sales skills that you’ll use daily. This may include...

Communication. You know what questions to ask, how to listen to the answers, and how to turn them into the perfect pitch.

Negotiation. You navigate goals: Your own, your customers’ and your organization’s. Balance these to get the best results from each sale.

Problem-solving. Pull from the experience and the knowledge you’ve gained. You can find a detour for any customer roadblock.

Organization. You juggle many accounts at once without missing a follow-up. Time management is second nature to you.

Relationship-building. You establish rapport quickly. And make yourself available to customers if they need help with any part of the sales process.

Download the Account Executive Salary Guide

5 Account Executive Interview Questions You Need to Know How To Answer

Before any interview, it’s a good idea to dive deep into the company you’re meeting with. Find any on-the-job specifics you can. Look at sources like the job description, the company’s website, and its social media channels.

But you’ll need more than company knowledge to stand out as the best candidate. We’ve prepared answers to the top 5 Account Executive interview questions. These are both common, and very important, so read carefully and craft an authentic answer for YOU!

1. What did a typical sales process look like for your last role?

Your sales process is your bread n’ butter as an Account Executive. Show your interviewer you understand the behind-the-scenes theory. And that you can put it into practice.

At a high level, explain each step of your sales process. Highlight any areas where you made improvements and saw a resulting change. Mention a particular success you’ve achieved using this process.

Account Executive Interview Question - What did a typical sales process look like for your last role?

Do…	Don’t…
✔ Show knowledge about the different steps within a sales process. How do you guide prospective customers through each phase? ✔ Share experience working within a structured framework. Identifying areas where that framework could improve. ✔ Align yourself with the sales processes that complement the company’s goals, philosophy, sales cycle, and customer base.	✘ Overlook your particular strengths and skills. Highlight them, and show how you use them to improve the way you sell. ✘ Confuse sales process with sales methodology. This question asks about the actions you take rather than the philosophy you believe in. ✘ Make your process too convoluted. Without a clear process, your interviewer won't trust that you deliver reliable results.

2. How do you make sure you hit your goals?

Account Executives are integral to bringing in revenue. Your interviewer wants to see that you have a plan in place to stay on top of your numbers.

Identify an example of a revenue goal you’ve been responsible for in the past. Outline how you keep tabs on that number on an ongoing basis. Walk through 2 or 3 different actions you’d take if you were falling behind. Give a brief example of a time when one of these actions resulted in success.

Do…

Don’t…

✔ Show how you take initiative in tracking your own sales on a regular basis. Do you check your progress toward individual and organizational goals? Do you course-correct as needed?
✔ Give examples of data-driven approaches to goal tracking. Particularly when it comes to the kinds of tools you use to support your progress.
✔ Show an understanding of the key metrics you’ll be accountable for as an Account Executive. How do they connect to the organization’s success as a whole?

✘ Only center yourself. Hiring managers want to see how you use collaboration to solve problems. Especially when progress on larger objectives is at risk of falling short.
✘ Go with your gut. You should be familiar with a few key tracking tools, like a CRM system, rather than relying on intuition.
✘ Wait too long. If you only check your numbers at the end of the month, you don’t give yourself enough time to course-correct. Especially if you’re falling behind.

3. Tell me about an opportunity you lost. Looking back, what would you do differently?

Hey, we can’t win ‘em all. Your interviewer knows that as well as you do, and is checking whether you learn from the accounts you lose.

Give a brief, unbiased retelling of a situation where you lost a sale. Identify a specific area where things went wrong. Talk about a change you made in your sales process as a result. Highlight your results since then — and how that change has made you a better salesperson.

Do…

Don’t…

✔ Be honest when owning up to mistakes and reflecting on them so they don’t happen again in the future.
✔ Show that you are coachable. Be someone who can receive feedback from other people. Incorporate it into your process to improve your performance in the future.
✔ Frame losses as lessons as opportunities to develop new skills. Talk about how you gained new knowledge.

✘ Give up! Account Executives deal with a lot of rejection, and one lost case shouldn’t drag down the rest of your day.
✘ Get upset or frustrated. Suppose one lost deal sets you on an emotional rollercoaster. Your interviewer may lose confidence in how you handle the next.
✘ Point fingers. Avoid assigning blame as much as possible. Focus instead on the things that were within your control: your own actions.

4. How do you stay on top of multiple opportunities at the same time?

As an Account Executive, you can expect to juggle many customers at once. All may be at many different stages in the sales process. Your interviewer wants to know you’re up for the challenge.

Explain how you would define and rank priority tasks. Outline the steps you take to organize your day. Talk about a time when this organizational system has benefited you. Reinforce how your organizational skills help your customers, too.

Account Executive interview questions - How do you stay on top of multiple opportunities at the same time?

Do…

Don’t…

✔ Be strategic about how you handle different priorities with different customers. Don't lose sight of the small things.
✔ Be attentive to each prospective customer’s needs and the details of their account. Yes, even when the pressure’s on.
✔ Show your organizational planning when tracking customer progress. How do you follow up with your contacts, without letting anyone slip between the cracks?

✘ Do it all by yourself. Highlight the time management tools that support you along the way. What do you use for your daily planning? How about for your monthly and annual goals?
✘ Go over capacity. If you load up on too much work without knowing your limits, you run the risk of leaving customers dissatisfied... and burning yourself out.
✘ Have no process. If you make up each day as it comes, you may lose sight of longer-term initiatives or losing sight of minor tasks.

5. Think of this interview as a sale. How would you close the deal on this job?

Account Executives need to close sales to succeed. Your interviewer wants to know if you have the chops to make a persuasive case.

Explore the interviewer’s pain points, and ask a few questions to suss out a key detail you can help address. Match your skills and experience to that specific problem. Make a bold call to action that sells yourself as the best solution. Define a next step, like a follow-up or future touchpoint.

Account Executive interview questions - Think of this interview as a sale. How would you close the deal on this job?

Do…

Don’t…

✔ Show the research you’ve done on the company. Include its market, industry, products, and people in preparation for this interview.
✔ Be creative in delivering a memorable, on-your-feet pitch. Leave a strong impression and stand out from other candidates.
✔ Make the deal mutually beneficial. Find alignment between what you bring to the table and what the company is looking for.

✘ Muddle your message. Be clear when explaining your value, and leave them with a strong takeaway to consider. Then outline the next steps to move them through the process.
✘ Talk without listening. Closing a deal takes more than a good pitch. Use this opportunity to understand more about the company. Showcase those active listening skills!
✘ Put yourself first. Rather than listing off everything that makes you shine, show you can empathize. Approach sales from a customer-centric mindset.

Ready to Move these Account Executive Interview Questions to Closed Won”?

Looking to advance your career from BDR to something more? Excited about making connections and winning sales? Ready to put your knowledge and skills to better use on the journey toward Career Success?

You know the answers to the top Account Executive interview questions. Now it’s time to back them up with real-life, hands-on experience. Show you have what it takes, because you’ve done the work and have the results to prove it.

Account Executive

For 7 weeks, work with seasoned pros to learn the knowledge and skills you’ll need to excel as an account executive. Throughout the course, you will discover advanced full-funnel sales techniques, build your deal closing toolkit, and experiment with the technical and organizational tools needed to achieve successful account handoffs.

We do all that and more in our Account Executive Foundations course. During our 5 weeks together, you’ll learn the sales skills that’ll help you excel in your career:

Build and hone advanced full-funnel sales techniques
Practice rapport-building objection-handling and negotiation skills with live feedback
Grow trusting relationships while setting safe emotional boundaries
Experiment with industry-leading tools

Explore a career as an Account Executive and enroll with Uvaro today!