Tell me about a time that you have helped a co-worker accomplish an important goal.
"Nearing the end of Q4 last year, all of those who had not reached their content quota were facing potential layoff. I was 123% to quota, and my co-worker was struggling at 98%. I transferred a small client to him which pushed him to 104%. He was a strong team member, and I didn't want to see him lose his job for one difficult year."
"As a sales manager, my team is only as successful as the lowest producing employee. It is imperative that my entire team is motivated, engaged, and on point with their KPIs. Last month I hired a new employee who was struggling significantly with sales. I sat him down and realized that he didn't understand the product. We spent a few hours together over that next week learning the product. In the end, his sales increased by 64%, and he was significantly more confident. It helped the team morale as well."
"I work closely with accounts payable, ensuring our bills are paid on time. However, my coworker in accounts receivable was struggling to obtain payments from customers. I stepped in and helped her make collection calls one day, knowing that my work could wait until tomorrow. I could see she was drowning and discouraged, so it was the team-oriented thing to do."
"When a new hire starts, I have become the de-facto go-to for shadowing. I always make sure to introduce myself to new-hires immediately. I schedule time for them to sit down with me and shadow what I do and how I do it. I want to see everyone succeed and, since there is no real training program in our company, I feel I need to be the change maker in the organization."
"I recently helped a coworker with marking their students' final papers. She had encountered a health issue earlier and, due to that, was running behind on her work. It always feels nice to help someone out and, I know she would return the favor if I ever needed."
"I had a coworker with a customer who tried on nearly everything in the store! She didn't end up buying a thing but left the change room a complete disaster. I helped my colleague fold and put everything away. If she were on her own, it would have taken her off the floor for so long that she would have lost out on a ton of potential commission."
It is imperative to be goal-oriented and determined but even more critical is to support your coworkers in their professional endeavors openly. This support is how teams succeed! What do you do, outside of your own goals, to ensure that everyone on your team is successful? Assure the interviewer that you are always willing to keep the team, or company as a whole, in mind.
"I enjoy seeing my coworkers succeed and will help them whenever possible. One way that I support my coworkers is to help them keep organized by making suggestions on new tools that I have discovered. I had one coworker with a brand new smartphone, and she wasn't sure all the ways it could be utilized to make her day better. I spent my lunch hour helping her set it up. She was golden, after that!"
Community answers are written by other candidates practicing this set. Reading how others frame the same question is one of the fastest ways to sharpen your own.
Anonymous Answer
When I was a sales manager, I used to track the progress of all the new hires. Occasionally there would be a rep whose figures weren't on target. I'd make a point of shadowing the rep on a few calls and help them with their product knowledge of sales techniques. Sometimes if a sales opportunity landed on my desk, I'd give to a rep that I felt was having a bad month and could do with a morale boost.
Kevin's Feedback
This is a very hands-on approach. Nice answer, and it shows that you care. I've modified your answer slightly to emphasize some of your big-picture thinking.
When I was a sales manager, I used to track the progress of all the new hires. Occasionally, a rep’s figures weren’t on target. So, recognizing that sales can be competitive, and often an individual can end up fed to the sharks, per se, you have to be able to identify such growth opportunities early on. So, often there’s the opportunity to mentor them, setting them up with the right tools and techniques to foster their success. So, on those occasions, I’d make a point of shadowing the rep on a few calls and help them with their product knowledge of sales techniques. Sometimes if a sales opportunity landed on my desk, I’d give to a rep that I felt was having a bad month and could do with a morale boost.
Anonymous Answer
I enjoy my co-worker's success because I love high performance. In my previous role, I was given the responsibility of restructuring data for our clients. A fellow intern had less experience with this process, I mentored her and also stayed after work to make sure she understood how to do it.
Cindy's Feedback
Great. Helping a coworker in this manner is a good way to demonstrate your commitment to a high-performing team. You can expand by discussing specifically how you assisted.
Anonymous Answer
I worked with a young woman in sales who had just graduated and it was her first sales role. She needed to create a territory that had not been active in some time. I made sure to call her and give advice and always answer any questions that she had. She soon grew confident and slowly grew her territory. She is still a close friend.
Stephanie's Feedback
You sound like an excellent colleague! To take this answer to the next level, I suggest providing specific examples of what happened as a result of this mentorship that you provided. You mentioned that this colleague grew her territory. If you're able to, I suggest quantifying that (Example: "She grew her sales by X amount, increased revenue by X percent, or obtained X number of new clients as a result."
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