Interviewers love asking about the sales process, and the jargon makes it sound harder than it is. Let's follow one deal from start to finish.
Meet the company
Imagine you're an SDR at a company that sells software to help finance teams close their books faster.
1. Decide who to go after (ICP)
Your ICP, or Ideal Customer Profile, is the kind of company most likely to buy: say, US companies with 200–2,000 employees whose finance team still lives in spreadsheets. Inside those companies you target a persona: the controller or the CFO.
2. Leads come in two ways
- Inbound: a controller downloads your "month-end close checklist." Marketing flags her as an MQL (Marketing Qualified Lead).
- Outbound: you notice a company is hiring three accountants, a sign their close is painful, and you reach out cold. That's prospecting.
3. Start the conversation
You call, email and message on LinkedIn over a couple of weeks (a cadence). Most people won't answer. That's normal.
4. Qualify
When someone picks up, you don't pitch. You ask questions to see if there's a fit. That's qualification, and many teams use BANT as a checklist:
- Need: "How long does your month-end close take right now?"
- Timeline: "Is speeding that up a priority this year?"
- Authority: "Who else would be involved in a decision like that?"
- Budget: "Is there budget for tools like this?"
You don't need perfect answers to all four. Teams set their own rules.
5. Book the meeting
If it's a fit, you book a meeting with your Account Executive. Once the AE confirms it's real, the lead becomes an SQL (Sales Qualified Lead) or an opportunity, and it counts toward your quota.
6. Discovery, demo, close
The AE runs a longer discovery call to understand the problem in depth, then a demo, maybe a trial, then negotiation. The deal ends closed-won or closed-lost.
7. Pipeline and numbers
All the open opportunities add up to the team's pipeline. Every step has a conversion rate: how many calls become conversations, conversations become meetings, meetings become deals.
Illustrative. Your team will have its own benchmarks; ask what they are.
Why this matters for your job search
Your job search is the same process. Your ICP is the companies you'd love to work at. Your outreach is messages to people there. Replies are your conversion rate. A referral is a champion. Run it like a pipeline and you'll talk like a sales person in your interviews, because you'll have been one.
Want all the words in one place? See the glossary.