Glassdoor is your free inside look at Salesforce.com Account Executive interview questions and advice. All 13 interview reviews posted anonymously by Salesforce.com employees and interview candidates.
Declined Offer – Interviewed in San Francisco, CA Feb 2013 – Reviewed May 18, 2013 New
Interview Details – Initial screening was interesting and seemed rushed to get you into a specific role quickly without fully qualifying your background. Lack of probing questions. Seemed to be incented to get you into an interview for a lower-level role first, rather than find the right fit. I feel they need to be VERY careful about their elimination process as they appear to be targeting a certain age profile.
Interview Questions
Reason for Declining – Following 3rd round of interviews/presentation, I uncovered that they appeared to want younger candidates that were more focused on lead-generation rather than skills at developing longer-term relationships. I feel that sales in IT should be more relationship based and not transactional. This appears to be a short-term market-grab strategy with little or no focus on relationships.
Accepted Offer – Interviewed in San Mateo, CA Nov 2009 – Reviewed May 7, 2013
Interview Details –
Phone screen by recruiter
In-person interview with a panel of managers (typically the ones that have an open rec)
Presentation (this may be changing soon)
Interview Question – Why should someone choose salesforce as opposed to a competitor? Answer Question
No Offer – Interviewed in Jan 2013 – Reviewed Mar 3, 2013
Interview Details – I was interviewing for a remote position on the east coast. Initial phone screen with recruiter. Fairly straightforward questions regarding work history. Additionally, there were several questions to judge my knowledge of SFDC. I was notified that i was progressing to the next step of the interview process - phone interview with Regional Vice President ("RVP"). Prior to the call the recruiter providing numerous topics to be prepared to discuss regarding SFDC's product offerings and competition. The call with the RVP had more questions regarding work history. Mainly the discussion focused on SFDC products and how i would attack my territory from day one. Following the call the recruiter provided very positive feedback and that i would progress to an in person meeting with the RVP. Several days before the in person meeting I was contacted by the recruiter and told that they had changed strategy regarding the remote position and that it would no longer be located in my city. While disappointed that I spent considerable time preparing for the multiple interviews only to be told it was no longer available - the SFDC recruiter was very kind and genuinely felt bad about the circumstances.
Interview Question – In your opinion - What is one of the most valuable products SFDC offers? View Answer
Accepted Offer – Interviewed in San Francisco, CA Apr 2012 – Reviewed May 5, 2012
Interview Details – Phone interview with recruiter. Very knowledgeable about SFDC, sales process, what they are looking for, etc. Called back and advised that they wanted to do a panel interview. Interviewed with two VP's f2f, went on to presentation portion of interview process. This is where it really got busy as the apparent goal is to keep you on your toes, and see who will look at what they are expecting and bail, or, just do it. Received info that was required to create a presentation. Role-play selling to execs at a company. The more you prepare/practice, the better. Seems that they wanted to see if you have a presence, can think on your feet, present the product, and ask for the sale. All in all not too bad, but initially, I admit to being a little overwhelmed by process. Meditating on it made it easy to actually do. if you believe in yourself and your abilities, the interview process should be no problem.
Interview Question – General sales questions you would expect in any sales-oriented interview. Answer Question
No Offer – Interviewed in San Francisco, CA Aug 2011 – Reviewed Dec 14, 2011
Interview Details – I applied to Salesforce online and separately through an internal employee referral. The Salesforce HR department was very prompt in responding to my online application even before my friend had a chance to submit his referral. A phone interview was quickly scheduled for the same week. The phone interview was pretty straight forward and went fine. I did not get an in person interview. My best guess is that my W2 did not hit the requirements they were looking for in an AE.
Interview Question – Can you tell me your income on your w2 for the last three years? Answer Question
No Offer – Interviewed in Chicago, IL Nov 2010 – Reviewed Jan 5, 2011
Interview Details – Phone interviews, in person interviews, etc. Interview process was very easy but their is a formula that sf.com is looking for. Only seasoned, highly successful enterprise sales reps should apply. If you don't have 10 years of quota experience as lead sales rep - always exceeding number. It would be a great company to work for. At any point during the interview process, if anyone says no, it feels like the answer is no for everyone. They are a great company and can afford to be selective.
Interview Question – Give 7 examples of how you navigated a company, connected the dots within an organization, used an event, and used a reference to close a deal. Answer Question
No Offer – Interviewed in San Francisco, CA Mar 2010 – Reviewed Aug 17, 2010
Interview Details – The interviewee was concerned about my current salary range and how they're not negotiable. The salary for the sales person was $45 - OTE is $60s.
No Offer – Interviewed in San Francisco, CA Dec 2009 – Reviewed May 11, 2010
Interview Details –
Inside recruiter contacted me and set-up a date & time to talk. He didn't keep the commitment to call me and I had to call him to remind him.
My feeling is that they do interview without having a specific job in mind. Even though I applied to a sr. acct. mgr. position.
The process for the interview as described by the inside recruiter is ardous. After talking with the hiring manager, his/her manager you must do a presentation to a group of people?!
I didn't come away from this phone interview with a positive feeling about salesforce.com. The attitude I felt was "we're a great company and we don't need you".
Interview Question –
It would be that the inside recruiter sent me follow-up questions to answer as he had to get off the phone.
The follow-up questions were ones he had already asked me? Hey, are you listening?
Answer Question
No Offer – Interviewed in Toronto, ON (Canada) – Reviewed Jan 2, 2013
Interview Details – Applied online and got an email from head office setting up a screening call. First call lasted 40 minutes at which point I was deemed qualified to move on the the next phone call. Second call was set up a week later with Account Exec manager; lasted 10 minutes; I was told I'd be better suited for an EBR role. Third phone call set up a few days later with another recruiter for another screening call exactly the same as the first, lasted 30 minutes. Again deemed qualified to move onto next step for EBR role. Was invited to Networking Event that was happening the next day to meet with exisiting staff, managers, HR managers. Received call next day about outcome, provided with zero feedback.
Interview Question – How did you overcome an obstacle you've faced in you current role? Answer Question
Accepted Offer – Interviewed in Toronto, ON (Canada) Aug 2009 – Reviewed Dec 8, 2012
Interview Details – Interviews with management followed by presentation to a board of management
Interview Question – The presentation is tough, be well prepared Answer Question
Negotiation Details – no negotation
Loading...
Salesforce.com's social and mobile cloud technologies are helping companies connect with their customers, partners and employees in entirely new ways and revolutionizing the way businesses sell, service, market, and… — Full Overview
Provided by employer [?]
This is the employer's chance to tell you why you should work for them. The information provided is from their perspective.
Would you like us to review something? Please describe the problem with this {0} and we will look into it.
We're sorry but your feedback didn't make it to the team. Your input is valuable to us – would you mind trying again?
The difficulty rating is the average interview difficulty rating across all interview candidates.
The interview experience is the percentage of all interview candidates that said their interview experience was positive, neutral, or negative.
Your response will be removed from the review – this cannot be undone.
Copyright © 2008–2013, Glassdoor. All Rights Reserved. Your use of this service is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy & Cookies Policy. Glassdoor ® is a registered trademark of Glassdoor, Inc.
Simply post an anonymous review for a recent interview experience or current/former employer. Your post is anonymous – and if you're worried someone will be able to identify your review, you can even post without telling us your job title and location. Learn More.
No thanks – I'll just look around