Effective Work Sample Exercises for Hiring Top Regional Sales Managers

The Regional Sales Manager role is pivotal to any organization's revenue growth and market expansion. These leaders sit at the critical intersection between strategic planning and tactical execution, responsible for both team performance and customer relationships. Hiring the right person for this position can dramatically accelerate your sales organization's success, while a poor hire can lead to missed targets, team disengagement, and customer attrition.

Traditional interviews often fail to reveal a candidate's true capabilities in leadership, strategic planning, and sales execution. Resumes and references may highlight past achievements, but they don't demonstrate how candidates will perform in your specific environment with your unique challenges. This is where well-designed work samples become invaluable.

Work samples provide a window into how candidates actually think and operate. They reveal not just what candidates say they can do, but what they actually do when faced with realistic scenarios. For a Regional Sales Manager, these exercises should assess their ability to lead teams, develop strategies, manage client relationships, and analyze performance data.

The following work samples are designed to evaluate the essential competencies required for Regional Sales Manager success. Each exercise simulates a real-world challenge the candidate would face in the role, allowing you to observe their approach, decision-making process, and execution skills. Additionally, these exercises include a feedback component to assess the candidate's coachability—a critical trait for ongoing development and success.

By incorporating these work samples into your hiring process, you'll gain deeper insights into each candidate's capabilities and fit for your organization, ultimately leading to more confident hiring decisions and better outcomes for your sales team.

Activity #1: Sales Team Coaching Role Play

This exercise evaluates a candidate's ability to provide effective coaching to sales representatives—a critical skill for Regional Sales Managers. Through this role play, you'll assess how candidates identify performance issues, deliver constructive feedback, and guide team members toward improved results. The exercise reveals their leadership style, communication skills, and approach to developing talent.

Directions for the Company:

• Select a common sales performance scenario that representatives in your organization might face (e.g., struggling to close deals, poor discovery call techniques, or ineffective objection handling).
• Create a brief recording (5-7 minutes) of a mock sales call that demonstrates these issues. Alternatively, provide a written transcript of such a call.
• Prepare a simple performance dashboard showing the fictional rep's metrics compared to team averages.
• Share these materials with the candidate 24 hours before the interview.
• During the interview, have someone role play as the sales representative receiving coaching.
• Allocate 20-25 minutes for this exercise: 15 minutes for the coaching session and 5-10 minutes for feedback and adjustment.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the provided sales call recording/transcript and performance metrics before the interview.
• Prepare to conduct a 15-minute coaching session with a sales representative who is struggling with the identified issues.
• During the session, demonstrate how you would:
• Establish rapport with the team member
• Discuss performance observations
• Provide specific, actionable feedback
• Collaborate on improvement strategies
• Set clear expectations for improvement
• Be prepared to adjust your approach based on feedback.

Feedback Mechanism:

• After the coaching session, the interviewer should provide two pieces of feedback: one aspect the candidate handled effectively and one area for improvement.
• Give the candidate 5 minutes to reflect on the feedback and demonstrate how they would adjust their coaching approach based on this input.
• Observe how receptive the candidate is to feedback and how effectively they incorporate it into their revised approach.

Activity #2: Regional Sales Strategy Development

This exercise assesses a candidate's strategic thinking, market analysis capabilities, and ability to develop actionable sales plans. It reveals how candidates approach complex business challenges, leverage data to inform decisions, and translate high-level objectives into practical execution steps.

Directions for the Company:

• Create a fictional but realistic regional sales scenario that includes:
• Current performance data for the region (revenue, market share, team composition)
• Market information (key competitors, industry trends, customer segments)
• Company objectives for the coming year (e.g., growth targets, new product launches)
• Provide this information to candidates 48 hours before the interview.
• Prepare evaluation criteria focused on strategic thinking, data utilization, practicality of recommendations, and alignment with company objectives.
• Allocate 30 minutes for this exercise: 15 minutes for presentation and 15 minutes for questions and feedback.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the provided regional sales information and company objectives.
• Develop a strategic sales plan for the region that addresses:
• Key opportunities and challenges in the market
• Strategic priorities for the coming year
• Specific initiatives to achieve growth targets
• Resource allocation and team structure recommendations
• Implementation timeline and key milestones
• Success metrics and monitoring approach
• Prepare a concise presentation (10-15 slides maximum) outlining your strategy.
• Be prepared to explain your rationale and respond to questions about your approach.

Feedback Mechanism:

• After the presentation, interviewers should highlight one strength of the candidate's strategic approach and one area that could be enhanced or reconsidered.
• Give the candidate 5-7 minutes to address how they would refine their strategy based on this feedback.
• Evaluate both the quality of the initial strategy and the candidate's ability to thoughtfully adapt their approach in response to new perspectives.

Activity #3: Client Relationship Management Simulation

This exercise evaluates a candidate's ability to build and maintain relationships with key clients—a fundamental responsibility for Regional Sales Managers. It assesses communication skills, customer-centric thinking, problem-solving abilities, and strategic account management approach.

Directions for the Company:

• Develop a scenario involving a significant client relationship challenge, such as:
• A valuable client considering switching to a competitor
• A client dissatisfied with recent service or product issues
• A strategic account with potential for significant expansion
• Create a client profile including relationship history, current challenges, and business objectives.
• If possible, have an experienced team member role play as the client.
• Provide the scenario and client profile to the candidate 24 hours before the interview.
• Allocate 30 minutes: 20 minutes for the client meeting and 10 minutes for feedback and discussion.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the client scenario and profile information provided.
• Prepare for a meeting with this key client to address the situation.
• During the simulation, demonstrate your approach to:
• Building rapport and establishing trust
• Uncovering the client's underlying concerns and objectives
• Addressing issues or objections effectively
• Identifying opportunities to strengthen the relationship
• Creating mutual value and establishing next steps
• Be prepared to adapt your approach based on how the conversation unfolds.

Feedback Mechanism:

• After the simulation, provide feedback on one aspect of the client interaction that was particularly effective and one area that could be improved.
• Ask the candidate to identify a specific moment in the conversation they would handle differently based on this feedback, and have them demonstrate this alternative approach.
• Evaluate both their initial client management skills and their ability to incorporate feedback to improve their effectiveness.

Activity #4: Sales Performance Analysis and Team Meeting

This exercise assesses a candidate's analytical abilities, data-driven decision making, and communication skills when leading team discussions about performance. It reveals how candidates interpret sales metrics, identify improvement opportunities, and motivate their team to take action.

Directions for the Company:

• Create a comprehensive regional sales performance dashboard with 3-6 months of data, including:
• Overall revenue performance vs. targets
• Individual rep performance metrics
• Product/service mix analysis
• Pipeline metrics and conversion rates
• Customer acquisition and retention data
• Include some clear performance issues that need to be addressed.
• Provide this data to the candidate 24 hours before the interview.
• Have 2-3 team members role play as sales representatives during the meeting.
• Allocate 40 minutes: 25 minutes for the team meeting, 10 minutes for feedback, and 5 minutes for adjustment.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the provided sales performance data and identify key trends, challenges, and opportunities.
• Prepare to lead a 25-minute team meeting to:
• Review current performance against targets
• Highlight both positive results and areas needing improvement
• Facilitate a discussion about root causes of performance issues
• Collaborate with the team on action plans to address challenges
• Establish clear next steps and accountability
• Be prepared to handle questions and potential resistance from team members.
• Focus on both the analytical aspects (what the data shows) and the leadership aspects (how to motivate improvement).

Feedback Mechanism:

• After the team meeting, provide feedback on one strength in the candidate's analysis and communication and one area for improvement.
• Give the candidate 5 minutes to demonstrate how they would adjust their approach to address the improvement area.
• Evaluate their analytical skills, ability to translate data into actionable insights, leadership presence, and receptiveness to feedback.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much time should we allocate for these work samples in our interview process?

Each exercise requires approximately 30-40 minutes, including time for feedback and adjustments. We recommend selecting 1-2 exercises most relevant to your specific needs rather than attempting all four. These can be conducted during a half-day final interview stage or spread across separate interview sessions.

Should we provide candidates with preparation materials in advance?

Yes, providing materials 24-48 hours in advance is recommended for these exercises. This allows candidates to demonstrate their preparation skills and strategic thinking, which are important qualities for a Regional Sales Manager. It also results in more meaningful interactions during the exercise itself.

What if we don't have team members available to participate in the role plays?

While having team members participate creates the most realistic scenario, these exercises can be adapted with hiring managers or HR team members playing the roles of sales representatives or clients. The key is to follow the script and scenario closely to maintain consistency across candidates.

How should we evaluate candidates who have experience in different industries?

Focus on the fundamental skills being demonstrated rather than industry-specific knowledge. A strong candidate might not know your industry perfectly but should demonstrate excellent leadership, analytical, and relationship management skills that would transfer well. You can also adjust the scenarios to be less industry-specific if you're open to cross-industry hires.

Should we use the same exercises for internal and external candidates?

Yes, using consistent exercises ensures fair comparison between all candidates. However, for internal candidates, you might need to create fictional scenarios that don't directly mirror current company situations to avoid unfair advantages or conflicts of interest.

How do we ensure these exercises don't create a biased evaluation process?

Establish clear evaluation criteria before conducting the exercises and have multiple interviewers assess each candidate independently before discussing. Focus on observable behaviors and outcomes rather than subjective impressions, and be mindful of potential unconscious biases in your evaluation process.

Hiring the right Regional Sales Manager is a critical decision that impacts your entire sales organization. By incorporating these work samples into your interview process, you'll gain valuable insights into how candidates actually perform in key aspects of the role. This approach goes beyond traditional interviews to reveal candidates' true capabilities in leadership, strategy development, relationship management, and performance analysis.

For more resources to enhance your hiring process, check out Yardstick's AI Job Description Generator, AI Interview Question Generator, and AI Interview Guide Generator. You can also find more information about the Regional Sales Manager role in our comprehensive job description.

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