Interview Questions for a Sales Development Representative
To interview a Sales Development Representative, test prospecting discipline, cold outreach skill, and resilience rather than polished closing. This set covers craft questions on research, messaging, objection handling at the top of funnel, and activity rigor, plus behavioral and situational prompts that reveal coachability and grit.
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Run a live cold-call or cold-email roleplay early, since the job is fundamentally doing the thing. Probe for process and persistence, since SDR success comes from consistent activity plus the willingness to be coached.
Prospecting Craft: Outreach, Qualification & Resilience
What to look for: A confident, permission-based opener, a relevant reason for the call, and earning the next 30 seconds rather than pitching immediately.
What to look for: Efficient research tied to a relevant hook, balancing personalization with volume, and knowing when more research stops paying off.
What to look for: A short, relevant, personalized message with a clear single ask, value framed for them, and no spammy fluff.
What to look for: Staying curious instead of arguing, opening a gap or pain question, and aiming for a meeting not an instant win.
What to look for: A qualification framework (BANT, MEDDIC basics, or fit/need/timing), asking instead of assuming, and not stuffing the pipeline with junk.
What to look for: A real multi-channel cadence (call, email, social), persistence without being annoying, and data on what works for them.
What to look for: Resilience, treating activity as a process, analyzing what to adjust, and not spiraling or going quiet.
What to look for: Reading buying signals and disqualifying cleanly, protecting their own time, and not chasing dead leads out of stubbornness.
Behavioral
What to look for: Evidence of grit, self-motivation, and a concrete result, ideally with numbers, not just effort.
What to look for: Coachability, acting on feedback fast, and measurable improvement afterward.
What to look for: Self-driven learning, comfort with discomfort, and applying the new skill to a result.
Situational / Problem-Solving
What to look for: Looking at confirmation cadence, qualification quality, and meeting value, and testing changes rather than guessing.
What to look for: Prioritizing warmest opportunities, increasing the right activity, asking for help, and staying composed under pressure.
What to look for: Staying professional, not taking it personally, exiting gracefully, and moving on without losing momentum.
Sales Development Representative interview scorecard
Score every candidate on the same criteria, immediately after the interview, using evidence you actually heard rather than an overall impression. Agree the criteria with the panel before the first interview — deciding what counts after you have met people is how the loudest interviewer wins the debrief.
| Criterion | Evidence to record | Score 1-5 |
|---|---|---|
| Prospecting Craft: Outreach, Qualification & Resilience | What the candidate actually said or did, in their own example — not your impression of it | 1 2 3 4 5 |
| Behavioral | What the candidate actually said or did, in their own example — not your impression of it | 1 2 3 4 5 |
| Situational / Problem-Solving | What the candidate actually said or did, in their own example — not your impression of it | 1 2 3 4 5 |
| Overall recommendation | Strong no / no / mixed / yes / strong yes, with the single reason that decided it | - |
Want this as a reusable document? Use the interview scorecard template.
Questions to avoid asking a Sales Development Representative
Exactly which questions are unlawful depends on where you are hiring, and the rules change — so treat this as the list of topics to route through your own employment counsel, not as a legal standard. The practical test that holds everywhere: if the answer could not change how the person does this job, you have no reason to ask it.
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Frequently asked questions
What matters most when hiring an SDR with no sales experience?
Should an SDR interview include a live roleplay?
How do I assess resilience without leading the candidate?
What are red flags in an SDR interview?
What's the difference between an SDR and an Account Executive?
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