Essential Work Sample Exercises for Hiring a Sales Operations Specialist

Sales Operations Specialists serve as the backbone of high-performing sales organizations. They bridge the gap between strategic sales goals and day-to-day execution by optimizing processes, managing critical systems, and providing data-driven insights that enable sales teams to focus on what they do best: selling. Finding the right Sales Operations Specialist can dramatically improve your sales team's efficiency, productivity, and ultimately, your company's revenue growth.

However, traditional interviews often fail to reveal a candidate's true capabilities in this multifaceted role. While resumes and behavioral questions provide some insights, they don't demonstrate how candidates will actually perform the technical and analytical tasks required for success. This is where well-designed work samples become invaluable.

Work samples allow you to observe candidates applying their skills to realistic scenarios they'll encounter on the job. For a Sales Operations Specialist, this means assessing their ability to analyze data, optimize processes, manage systems, and collaborate across departments—all critical competencies that can't be adequately evaluated through conversation alone.

The following four work sample exercises are specifically designed to evaluate the essential skills of a Sales Operations Specialist. Each exercise simulates real-world challenges they'll face in the role, providing you with concrete evidence of their capabilities and giving candidates a realistic preview of the position. By incorporating these exercises into your hiring process, you'll significantly improve your ability to identify candidates who will excel in this crucial role.

Activity #1: CRM Data Analysis and Cleanup

This exercise evaluates a candidate's ability to work with CRM data, identify inconsistencies, and implement solutions to improve data quality. Clean, reliable CRM data is the foundation of effective sales operations, making this skill essential for any Sales Operations Specialist. This activity tests analytical thinking, attention to detail, and system knowledge simultaneously.

Directions for the Company:

• Prepare a sample Salesforce (or your CRM) export with approximately 50-100 account/opportunity records containing deliberate inconsistencies and issues (e.g., duplicate accounts, missing fields, inconsistent naming conventions, incorrect opportunity stages).
• Create a document outlining the current state of the data and the business impact of these issues.
• Provide access to a sandbox environment or spreadsheet where the candidate can work with the data.
• Allow 45-60 minutes for this exercise.
• Have a sales operations team member available to answer clarifying questions about the data structure.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the provided dataset and identify key data quality issues that would impact sales reporting or team effectiveness.
• Develop a plan to clean the data, including specific actions to address each type of issue identified.
• Implement your cleanup plan on a subset of the data (10-15 records) to demonstrate your approach.
• Create a brief document (or presentation) outlining:

1. The issues you identified and their business impact
2. Your cleanup methodology
3. Recommendations for preventing similar issues in the future
4. Any automation or process improvements you would suggest

Feedback Mechanism:

• After the candidate presents their findings, provide feedback on one aspect they handled well (e.g., thoroughness of analysis, practical solutions) and one area for improvement (e.g., missed a critical data issue, solution too complex to implement).
• Ask the candidate to revise their prevention recommendations based on your feedback, giving them 10 minutes to adjust their approach.

Activity #2: Sales Process Optimization

This exercise assesses a candidate's ability to analyze and improve sales workflows—a core responsibility for Sales Operations Specialists. It tests their understanding of sales methodologies, process design, and their ability to balance efficiency with effectiveness while considering the needs of multiple stakeholders.

Directions for the Company:

• Create a document describing your current sales process from lead to close, including:
• A visual workflow diagram
• Key stakeholders involved at each stage
• Current pain points (e.g., long sales cycles, bottlenecks, low conversion at specific stages)
• Relevant metrics showing performance issues
• Provide context about your sales team structure and target customers.
• Allow 60 minutes for the candidate to review and develop recommendations.
• Have a sales manager available to answer questions about the current process.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the current sales process documentation and identify 3-5 key areas for improvement.
• For each area, develop specific recommendations that would:
• Address the identified pain points
• Improve efficiency without sacrificing effectiveness
• Be realistic to implement given the company's resources
• Create a simple implementation plan that prioritizes your recommendations.
• Prepare a brief presentation (5-7 minutes) explaining your analysis and recommendations.
• Be prepared to discuss how you would measure the success of your proposed changes.

Feedback Mechanism:

• After the presentation, provide feedback on one strength (e.g., insightful analysis, practical recommendations) and one area for improvement (e.g., overlooked a key stakeholder, implementation timeline too aggressive).
• Ask the candidate to revise one of their recommendations based on your feedback, giving them 10-15 minutes to adjust their approach.

Activity #3: Sales Forecasting and Reporting Dashboard

This exercise evaluates a candidate's ability to translate raw sales data into actionable insights through effective reporting and forecasting. It tests their analytical skills, data visualization capabilities, and understanding of key sales metrics that drive business decisions—all crucial for a successful Sales Operations Specialist.

Directions for the Company:

• Provide 3-6 months of anonymized sales data in spreadsheet format, including:
• Pipeline stages and conversion rates
• Sales cycle length by product/segment
• Win/loss reasons
• Rep performance metrics
• Include a brief on the sales leadership team's current reporting challenges and questions they need answered.
• Provide access to Excel, Google Sheets, or your preferred BI tool.
• Allow 60-75 minutes for this exercise.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Analyze the provided sales data to identify key trends, patterns, and insights.
• Create a sales dashboard that includes:

1. A sales forecast for the next quarter based on pipeline and historical conversion rates
2. 3-5 key visualizations that address the leadership team's questions
3. Recommendations based on your analysis

• Prepare a brief explanation of your methodology, particularly for your forecasting approach.
• Be ready to explain how you would maintain and update this reporting on an ongoing basis.
• Consider how different stakeholders (sales reps, managers, executives) might use this dashboard.

Feedback Mechanism:

• After the candidate presents their dashboard, provide feedback on one effective element (e.g., insightful visualization, accurate forecasting methodology) and one area for improvement (e.g., missing a critical metric, overly complex visualization).
• Ask the candidate to revise one visualization or add one additional insight based on your feedback, giving them 15 minutes to make adjustments.

Activity #4: Cross-Functional Project Planning

This exercise assesses a candidate's ability to plan and coordinate complex projects involving multiple departments—a frequent responsibility for Sales Operations Specialists. It tests their project management skills, stakeholder management approach, and ability to anticipate and mitigate challenges across organizational boundaries.

Directions for the Company:

• Create a scenario document describing a cross-functional initiative, such as:
• Implementing a new sales methodology or tool
• Launching a new product that requires sales enablement
• Restructuring territories or compensation plans
• Include details about key stakeholders from different departments (Sales, Marketing, Product, IT, Finance) and their potential concerns.
• Provide information about company timelines, resources, and constraints.
• Allow 45-60 minutes for the candidate to develop a project plan.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the project scenario and develop a comprehensive implementation plan that includes:

1. Key milestones and timeline
2. Required resources and dependencies
3. Stakeholder management strategy
4. Potential risks and mitigation plans
5. Success metrics and how you'll track them

• Create a simple project plan document or presentation outlining your approach.
• Be prepared to explain how you would handle resistance from specific stakeholders.
• Consider both the technical aspects of the project and the change management required for success.

Feedback Mechanism:

• After the candidate presents their project plan, provide feedback on one strength (e.g., comprehensive risk assessment, thoughtful stakeholder management) and one area for improvement (e.g., unrealistic timeline, overlooked a critical dependency).
• Ask the candidate to revise their approach to addressing the area of improvement, giving them 10-15 minutes to adjust their plan.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long should we allocate for these work sample exercises?

Each exercise is designed to take 45-75 minutes for the candidate to complete, plus time for presentation and feedback. We recommend scheduling separate sessions for each exercise or selecting 1-2 that best align with your specific needs. For a comprehensive assessment, you might spread these across multiple interview rounds.

Should we have candidates complete these exercises during the interview or as take-home assignments?

Both approaches have merit. In-person exercises allow you to observe how candidates think in real-time and handle pressure, while take-home assignments may yield more polished results and respect candidates' time. For technical exercises like the CRM data analysis or dashboard creation, a take-home approach often works well, while the process optimization and project planning exercises benefit from in-person discussion.

How should we evaluate candidates who have experience with different CRM systems than what we use?

Focus on the candidate's analytical approach and problem-solving methodology rather than specific system knowledge. A strong Sales Operations Specialist can transfer their skills between platforms. Consider providing a brief overview of your system's structure before the exercise, and evaluate their ability to ask clarifying questions and adapt their approach accordingly.

What if we don't have sample data available for these exercises?

You can create simplified mock data that represents your sales process without revealing sensitive information. Alternatively, there are sample datasets available online that you can adapt to your needs. The key is ensuring the data contains enough complexity to test the candidate's analytical abilities while remaining manageable within the time constraints.

How do we ensure these exercises don't disadvantage candidates from different industries?

Provide sufficient context about your industry, sales process, and typical challenges before the exercise. The core skills being tested—analytical thinking, process optimization, project management—are transferable across industries. When evaluating responses, focus on the candidate's approach and reasoning rather than industry-specific knowledge that can be learned on the job.

Should we compensate candidates for completing these work samples?

For extensive take-home assignments that require significant time investment, offering compensation demonstrates respect for candidates' time and expertise. For shorter, in-interview exercises, compensation is less common but providing clear time expectations upfront is essential. The right approach depends on your company's resources, the seniority of the role, and your overall candidate experience goals.

Sales Operations is a critical function that can dramatically impact your sales team's performance and your company's bottom line. By incorporating these work sample exercises into your hiring process, you'll gain valuable insights into candidates' practical abilities that traditional interviews simply can't reveal. This approach not only helps you identify truly qualified candidates but also gives applicants a realistic preview of the role, leading to better hiring decisions and improved retention.

At Yardstick, we're committed to helping companies build exceptional hiring processes that identify the best talent for every role. For more resources to enhance your hiring process, check out our AI Job Descriptions, AI Interview Question Generator, and AI Interview Guide Generator.

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