Sign in
PapaHR · Mike Pritula Academy · Roles

Sales Representative: Role Profile, KPIs and Interview Questions

This page brings together a sales representative role profile, key performance indicators (KPIs) and hiring materials. Use them to hire someone who understands customers and turns opportunities into paid sales.

Build the profile for your company Open in PapaHR for free →

Job profiles, hiring, onboarding and reviews are in PapaHR. Free for up to 25 employees.

  1. Take the profile below or build your own with the builder.
  2. In PapaHR the profile turns into a job ad, an onboarding plan and probation goals.
  3. After 90 days, review the person against the same KPIs and competencies.

Job profile

Why the role exists

Generate paid sales at the required profit by solving customers’ problems.

Result in a year

Meets agreed targets for paid sales and gross profit, wins new customers and provides a reliable sales forecast.

Place in the structure

  1. Reports toHead of Sales or business owner.
  2. Direct reportsNone.
  3. Works withMarketing — incoming enquiries and feedback on lead quality, Finance — invoices, payments and overdue balances, Product specialist — product capabilities and limitations, Delivery team — order fulfilment dates and terms, Account manager — customer handover after the sale
Key result areas
  1. Paid sales — Paid sales target attainmentAt least 100% of the paid sales target.
  2. Deal profitability — Gross profit target attainmentAt least 100% of the gross profit target.
  3. New customer acquisition — New paying customer target attainmentAt least 100% of the new paying customer target.
  4. Converting proposals into payments — Proposal-to-payment conversion target attainmentAt least 100% of the proposal-to-payment conversion target.
  5. Building future sales — Qualified meeting target attainmentAt least 100% of the target for meetings confirming needs and next steps.
Requirements

Experience: Full sales cycle experience, from initial contact to payment; specify level.

Formal: Availability for [working arrangement]; proficiency in [customer languages].

Should know

  • Deal stages and reasons for losing sales at each stage
  • The product, its limitations and customers’ main alternatives
  • The difference between revenue, gross profit and discounts
  • Approval processes for pricing, payment terms and delivery dates

Should be able to

  • Ask about customer problems and check understanding
  • Explain the offer’s value through customer benefits
  • Discuss pricing without unnecessary discounts
  • Record agreements, deal stages and next actions in the CRM
  • Calculate sales results and forecast payments
Competencies at three levels

Needs discovery

Understanding the problem prevents irrelevant offers and lost opportunities with suitable customers.

  1. Uses a question checklist and records the customer’s request.basic
  2. Explores the problem’s impact, budget, timing and decision process.solid
  3. Helps customers clarify buying criteria and assess the financial case for purchasing.strong

Presenting value

Customers need to understand the outcome they are paying for.

  1. Explains core product capabilities in plain language.basic
  2. Connects product capabilities to customer needs and checks understanding.solid
  3. Quantifies benefits, explains limitations and helps customers compare options.strong

Negotiation and objection handling

Secures agreement while protecting deal profitability.

  1. Clarifies objections, uses prepared responses and seeks approval for nonstandard terms.basic
  2. Explores concerns, offers alternatives and exchanges concessions for commitments.solid
  3. Aligns stakeholders’ interests, protects profit and declines unprofitable terms.strong

Deal management

Opportunities slip away when conversations end without a clear next action.

  1. Updates deal records and completes assigned tasks on time.basic
  2. Agrees next steps with customers, prioritises work and updates forecasts.solid
  3. Spots delays early, revives stalled deals or closes them with a clear reason.strong

Commercial judgement

A large order does not guarantee profit or timely payment.

  1. Calculates order value and checks that payment has arrived.basic
  2. Calculates discounts’ impact on profit and checks whether promises can be delivered.solid
  3. Prioritises deals by profit, payment likelihood and effort required.strong

Learning from rejection and feedback

Improves sales after setbacks while maintaining respectful customer relationships.

  1. Accepts rejection respectfully and records the customer’s stated reason.basic
  2. Reviews personal actions, tries changes and compares results.solid
  3. Identifies recurring loss reasons and helps the team improve its sales approach.strong
Builder

Build the profile for your company

Tick what this person does at your company. On the right is the ready profile: copy it or open it in PapaHR.

Sales Representative

Generate paid sales at the required profit by solving customers’ problems.

Duties
  1. Find potential customers in agreed market segments.
  2. Respond to inbound enquiries and arrange initial conversations.
  3. Establish customer needs, budget, timing and decision participants.
  4. Show how the product solves the customer’s specific problem.
  5. Prepare proposals with pricing, terms and expiry dates.
  6. Address objections and agree terms within delegated authority.
  7. Agree the next action and contact date.
  8. Track deals in the customer relationship management (CRM) system.
  9. Coordinate invoicing and confirm receipt of payment.
  10. Brief delivery colleagues; report forecasts and loss reasons to the manager.
  11. Make outbound calls using an agreed prospect list.
  12. Run product demonstrations with a technical specialist.
  13. Prepare documents for customer tenders.
  14. Represent the business at exhibitions and business meetings.
  15. Reopen conversations with customers who postponed buying.
  16. Offer additional products to existing customers.
  17. Coach new starters through call and deal reviews.
Open the profile in PapaHR

Sales Representative KPIs

  1. Paid sales target attainment — Paid sales / paid sales target × 100%. Mistake: Counting invoices instead of money received, or overlooking refunds.weight 40% · month
  2. Gross profit target attainment — Gross profit from paid sales / gross profit target × 100%. Mistake: Failing to deduct cost of sales, discounts and refunds from revenue.weight 25% · month
  3. New paying customer target attainment — First-time paying customers / new paying customer target × 100%. Mistake: Counting new contacts as customers before their first payment.weight 15% · month
  4. Proposal-to-payment conversion target attainment — Actual proposal-to-payment conversion rate / target conversion rate × 100%. Mistake: Comparing this month’s payments with another month’s proposals; counting still-open deals.weight 10% · quarter
  5. Qualified meeting target attainment — Completed qualified meetings / qualified meeting target × 100%. Mistake: Counting bookings or conversations without a confirmed need and next step.weight 10% · month
Calculator

Work out the KPI bonus

Enter how much of each target was met, in percent, and the bonus at 100%. You can change the weights.

KPIWeight, %Achieved, %Share
Paid sales target attainment
Gross profit target attainment
New paying customer target attainment
Proposal-to-payment conversion target attainment
Qualified meeting target attainment
KPI total
Bonus
Sum of weights

The weights are an example. They should add up to 100%.

Interview questions

Scorecard

Run the interview and get the result

Score each answer from 1 to 5 and the total is worked out by competency. Keep this page open on your phone during the interview.

Needs discovery

Describe a deal where the customer’s initial request differed from their real need. What did you discover, do and achieve?

✓ Listen for: Specific questions, the underlying need, checked understanding and impact on the buying decision.

⚑ Red flag: Pitched immediately and cannot describe the customer’s problem.

Tell me about a sale involving several decision-makers. How did you identify their roles, and what was the outcome?

✓ Listen for: How stakeholders were identified, their buying criteria, personal actions and outcome.

⚑ Red flag: Only spoke with the initial contact and never identified other stakeholders.

Presenting value

Tell me about selling a product priced above an alternative. How did you explain the price, and how did the customer respond?

✓ Listen for: Price linked to customer needs, verifiable benefits, customer response and outcome.

⚑ Red flag: Only mentions quality and company reputation without specific customer benefits.

Describe a presentation where the customer did not understand the product’s value. What did you change, and what happened?

✓ Listen for: How confusion was noticed, the explanation changed and the result checked.

⚑ Red flag: Blamed the customer’s understanding and repeated the same presentation.

Negotiation and objection handling

Tell me about a customer demanding a large discount. How did you negotiate, what terms did you offer, and what happened?

✓ Listen for: Reason for the request, financial impact, reciprocal commitments and final agreement.

⚑ Red flag: Immediately offered the maximum discount or promised approval without justification.

Describe a deal where you declined the customer’s terms. What did you check, how did you explain it, and what happened next?

✓ Listen for: Authority limits, impact on profit, respectful explanation and outcome.

⚑ Red flag: Would promise any terms to secure a signature.

Deal management

Describe a deal where the customer stopped responding after your proposal. What did you do, and how did you record the outcome?

✓ Listen for: Contact sequence, fresh reasons to engage, decision on next steps or closure.

⚑ Red flag: Kept moving the close date and leaving the deal in the forecast.

Tell me about a month when your payment forecast proved wrong. Why did it happen, and what did you change?

✓ Listen for: Evidence rather than promises, variance reasons, early manager warning and forecast changes.

⚑ Red flag: Forecast from intuition and places all responsibility on customers.

Commercial judgement

Describe a sale at risk of low profit. How did you assess the terms, what did you change, and what was the result?

✓ Listen for: Revenue and cost calculations, discount impact, agreed changes and result.

⚑ Red flag: Cannot distinguish sales value from profit.

Tell me about a time you could not work on every deal. How did you prioritise, and what happened?

✓ Listen for: Comparison of profit, payment likelihood, timing and effort; results of chosen priorities.

⚑ Red flag: Chose only the largest deals without checking purchase likelihood.

Learning from rejection and feedback

Describe a lost deal you reviewed in detail. What personal mistake did you identify, what did you change, and what happened later?

✓ Listen for: Personal actions, confirmed loss reason, specific change and checked results.

⚑ Red flag: Attributes every loss to poor leads, pricing or colleagues.

Recall your manager’s feedback on a sales call. How did you test it in practice, and what result did you see?

✓ Listen for: Specific feedback, changed behaviour and observable results in later conversations.

⚑ Red flag: Cannot recall feedback or dismisses it without testing it.

Score at least one answer and the result shows up here. ·
Track candidates in PapaHR

Test task

From the first conversation to the next sales step · 2 hours

The employer provides a fictional product brief, price list, product costs, permitted terms and three fictional enquiries. Include an unclear need, comparison with a cheaper competitor and a delayed decision. Prioritise the enquiries and explain your reasoning. Prepare discovery questions, hold a short role-play meeting with the interviewer and write a proposal for one enquiry. Calculate gross profit before and after the requested discount. Complete practice deal records with the stage, confirmed facts, risks, next action and date. Identify what is missing to forecast payment. No real customer prospecting is required.

How to assess it

  • Priorities reflect payment likelihood, profit and time required.
  • Questions establish the need, timing and decision process.
  • Proposal connects the product to needs and explains limitations honestly.
  • Profit calculations are correct; the discount stays within authority.
  • Objection is clarified; the next step is agreed without pressure.
  • Records distinguish facts from assumptions and include action dates.

Ready job ad

Sales Representative, [product] — [city]

[Company] is hiring a sales representative to sell [product] to [customer segment]. You will own your deals from the first conversation through to payment.

What you will do

  • Handle [lead sources] and prospect within [segment].
  • Establish customer needs, budget and purchase timing.
  • Run meetings and demonstrate the value of [product].
  • Prepare proposals, negotiate terms and secure payment.
  • Maintain CRM records, update forecasts and review loss reasons.
  • Brief delivery colleagues on agreed terms and customer expectations.

What we need

  • [Experience level] selling [product type or market].
  • Ability to uncover needs and agree next steps.
  • Ability to discuss pricing and calculate deal profit.
  • Habit of recording agreements and keeping commitments.
  • Proficiency in [languages] for customer conversations.

What we offer

  • Pay [salary in $]: [base salary] plus [clear commission formula].
  • Hours [schedule], arrangement [office or remote], location [city].
  • Lead sources: [inbound enquiries, contact database, own prospecting].
  • Product training [details], mentor [details], tools [CRM and communications].
  • Probation period targets: [goals reflecting the sales cycle].
  • To apply, send [CV/resume and one completed sale summary].

In PapaHR this text becomes a job opening with a careers page and a candidate pipeline.

90-day onboarding plan

Before day one

  1. Send start details, manager contact information and the first-week plan.HR
  2. Set up CRM, email and business communications access.IT
  3. Choose a mentor, practice deals and an initial customer group.Manager

Day one

  1. Explain the product, target customers, targets and commission formula.Manager
  2. Demonstrate deal stages, required CRM fields and order handover.Mentor
  3. Check access and complete a practice deal record.New hire

First week

  1. Review a won, lost and stalled deal with the mentor.New hire
  2. Practise discovery, product presentation and discount discussions.Mentor
  3. Hold initial customer conversations with mentor support.New hire
  4. Agree probation period goals reflecting the sales cycle.Manager

30 days

  1. Handle assigned enquiries independently and schedule next actions.New hire
  2. Review calls, proposal accuracy and CRM records.Mentor
  3. Check lead quality and adjust support for the new starter.Manager

60 days

  1. Show first payments or verified progress on longer sales cycles.New hire
  2. Compare forecasts with payments; review discounts and lost deals.Manager
  3. Practise the weakest sales stage using specific deals.Mentor

90 days

  1. Compare results with the agreed probation period goals.Manager
  2. Explain the evidence behind payment forecasts and deal action plans.New hire
  3. Record onboarding results and agree further development.HR

Probation period goals

  1. Learn the product and the limits of customer commitments.Pass the practice sale assessment without making unsupported promises.
  2. Manage deals independently without missing next actions.Every active deal records a confirmed need, next step and date.
  3. Meet the agreed sales targets for the probation period.Achieve at least 100% of payment and gross profit targets; agree stage milestones beforehand for long sales cycles.
  4. Build a foundation for future sales.Achieve at least 100% of the qualified meeting target; the manager checks recorded needs and next steps.

Career path

Junior Sales Representative

Handles simple enquiries with a mentor, learning discovery questions and how to record agreements.

To move up: Manages the full sales cycle independently, meets agreed goals and maintains accurate CRM records.

Sales Representative

Owns personal payment targets, deal profit and forecasts for assigned customers.

To move up: Consistently meets targets, handles complex negotiations and helps colleagues improve sales.

Senior Sales Representative

Handles complex deals, supports new starters and suggests sales process improvements.

To move up: Successfully practises assigning tasks, reviewing results and developing colleagues with a mentor’s guidance.

Sales Manager

Owns team results, recruitment, training, account allocation and targets.

To move up: Progresses to Head of Sales or Commercial Director as responsibility for profit and sales channels expands.

Questions for a 1:1 meeting

  1. Which deals are closest to payment, and what evidence supports that?
  2. Where has a customer stalled, and what next step have you agreed?
  3. In which deal have you yet to identify the decision-maker?
  4. Where could discounts or payment terms erode profit?
  5. Which leads were unsuitable, and what feedback should marketing receive?
  6. Which lost deal should we review to improve your next conversation?
  7. Which customer commitments need colleagues’ help or a decision from me?
  8. What would make next month’s payment forecast more accurate?

Mistakes in hiring and managing

  1. Hiring for sociability and a confident interview pitch.
    Better: Review a completed deal and observe a practice customer conversation.
  2. Promising high earnings without explaining commission calculations or available lead sources.
    Better: Explain the commission formula, payment conditions and lead sources before joining.
  3. Rewarding signed contract value without considering profit.
    Better: Link results to payments and gross profit; define refund treatment upfront.
  4. Expecting full targets immediately when sales cycles exceed onboarding.
    Better: Agree ramp-up targets and verifiable milestones before the first payment.
  5. Managing solely through call counts and relentless customer pressure.
    Better: Review needs, next-step quality and loss reasons using specific deals.
HR in money

What a bad hire costs: Sales Representative

The same calculation as in PapaHR «HR in money»: the cost of hiring plus the salary for the months the new hire worked at half capacity.

One leaver
A year

In the first months a new hire delivers about half the result, so the company pays the other half of the salary for learning. In PapaHR the calculation uses your real leavers.

Questions and answers

What does a sales representative do?

A sales representative finds suitable customers, understands their needs, prepares proposals and secures payment. They also record agreements and hand orders over to delivery colleagues. This is an individual contributor role; a sales manager usually leads a team.

How does a sales representative differ from an account manager?

A sales representative usually focuses on winning customers and securing the first sale. An account manager more often develops relationships after the sale and handles repeat business. One person may cover both in a small company, so define the boundaries upfront.

Which KPIs should a sales representative have?

Start with paid sales and gross profit target attainment. Add new paying customers, conversion and qualified meetings where the employee can influence them. Calculate conversion as paid proposals divided by all proposals issued that month whose decision window has ended.

How should sales representative pay be calculated?

Specify a base salary and a clear formula for performance-related commission or bonus. Explain when it is earned and how discounts, refunds and late payments affect it. Check the calculation using practice deals so the employee can reproduce it independently.

Can you hire a sales representative without experience?

Yes, if the product can be taught to a beginner and a mentor is available. Use a practice conversation to assess questioning, basic calculations and the ability to apply feedback. Allow for product learning and the length of the sales cycle in the onboarding plan.

Hire, onboard and review in one system

PapaHR is free for up to 25 employees: job profiles, openings, onboarding, goals, 1:1 meetings and reviews.

Open the profile in PapaHR I have an account

Similar roles