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Sales Development Representative interview questions (2026)

Researched, current questions asked in real sales development representative interviews (Sales), with what a strong answer actually does. Questions marked 2026 are the newer, AI-era questions employers now ask.

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What they assess

The questions to expect

Tell me about the hardest meeting you've ever booked. What did it take?

Count the touches honestly — calls, emails, LinkedIn — and name the message that finally landed. Persistence with a brain is the story.

Tell me about a lead you disqualified. How did you know it wasn't worth an AE's time?

Name your criteria — budget, authority, need, timing or your team's framework — and show that saying no protected the pipeline's quality.

Tell me about a time a manager's feedback changed how you sell.

SDR hiring is a bet on coachability. Show feedback you took fast — a call review, a script change — and the metric that improved after.

Describe your worst week of cold calling. How did you show up the following Monday?

Don't pretend it didn't hurt. Show the reset routine and the choice to keep dialling — that's the whole job some weeks.

Role-play: cold call me. I'm a director at a company you'd target, and I wasn't expecting your call.

Prepare a 20-second opener: who you are, why them, why now, then a question. Expect a brush-off — handling it calmly is the actual test.

Design a two-week outreach cadence for a cold target account — channels, timing, messages.

Mix calls, email and LinkedIn with a reason for each touch. Personalise the first message deeply; show where you'd stop and recycle the lead.

Which numbers did you live by — dials, connects, meetings booked, show rate — and where did you sit against target?

Know your daily activity and monthly meeting numbers exactly, and one conversion rate between them. Metrics fluency is the credibility test.

Why start your sales career in sales development — and where do you want it to take you?

It's fine to say the AE path out loud — most interviewers expect ambition. Tie it to what you'll master first: outbound craft and pipeline discipline.

AI tools can now write sequences and even make first-touch calls. What does a human SDR add?2026

Show you use AI for research and drafts, then name the human edge: judgement on who to call, genuine conversation, and earning trust fast.

Walk me through your numbers in your last role — target, attainment, average deal size.

Know your figures cold and say them plainly: quota, % attainment, deal size, cycle length. Hesitation here costs more than a modest number does.

Role-play: sell me this pen — or a product you know well.

Don't pitch features. Ask two or three questions about my needs first, then sell to what I told you. Close by asking for something specific.

Role-play: I'm a prospect who's agreed to a 15-minute call. Run your discovery.

Spend most of the time asking open questions and listening. Dig into pain, impact and timeline, summarise back, then agree a concrete next step.

Preparation notes

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Turn this into a plan

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