Would you cold call for a year if it meant you had a steady client list afterwards?

"I am more than willing to put in time and sweat equity into building my book of business via cold calling; however, I would hope that my years of experience in client development and closing of large accounts would give me some additional latitude. I am fully prepared to roll up my sleeves and make many cold calls as well."

The interviewer is looking to see if you'll put in the long hours of grunt work to reap the rewards of a stable business pipeline of business. People often focus on the wins of sales when talking about their career. For instance, the commission or the closing of a big account, and they will gloss over the hours and years of work it took to get to that point. It's vital that you show you know you're not going to 'phone it in' and have your career, customers, and commissions handed to you without a lot of sweat and hard work. With that said, answer honestly. Put your spin on it. Don't say, 'Yes, of course.' Give it some thought and make the answer truthful and accurate to you.

"I am well versed in the cold call, and while I may dislike it at times, I understand that it's an integral part of sales. So yes, I'm willing to put in my time cold calling to build a book of business. That said, I would hope that there would be some other tasks on my plate to help break up the day."