Tell me about a time when you dealt with a challenge. What motivated you to keep going?
Prospecting can be hard and tedious. There will be times as a business development representative when you place 20 calls and not a single person picks up. The interviewer wants to know that you are internally motivated to keep moving forward despite obstacles and struggles. Talk about a challenge you've dealt with and what motivated you to overcome it.
"One summer when I was in college, I worked for my father in a business development role. He runs a construction company, and business had been slow for a few years. He wanted me to focus on striking up new business, so I spent my days cold calling prospects. It wasn't an easy job because 98% of the time people hung up on me or cussed me out. But I stuck with it because I wanted to help my dad land new business, and I believed it was just a numbers game. I figured the more people I called, the bigger the chance one or two would need our services. In the end, I managed to solidify a serious lead that resulted in a large job for him. During this experience, I learned that I'm good at this and have the right personality for it. I don't take rejection personally, and if I believe in the product or service - like I believed in my dad's company - I am confident I can sell it."
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
One time I dealt with a challenge was when as a team we had to come up with a personalized email for a random person on LI. At first, it was difficult to simplify my answer. Researched my persona and was able to make my messaging speak to their common pain points and won the contest amongst my peers for the best email.
Marcie's Feedback
Awesome! It sounds like you were able to successfully overcome this challenge. Why exactly was this hard for you? And don't forget to emphasize what motivated you to keep going. Did you want to beat your peers to impress your manager? Did you want to do well so you could further improve yourself in the field of sales?
Anonymous Answer
It was back when I first started the cold calling. I got a lot of rejections/hang-ups but I tried to overcome it by setting a goal for each day. I also asked for role-play with my manager to get feedback and increase the number of calls every day. With constant practice, cold calling become more natural to me.
Jaymie's Feedback
Those are great strategies you used to help overcome the challenge. Don't forget to include what motivated you to keep going when you faced those obstacles during cold calling.
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