A guide for BDM / Sales Manager Interviews within the UK Window & Door Industry
Are you preparing for an interview for a Business Development Manager (BDM) role with a window, door or fenestration manufacturer?
Manufacturers and trade suppliers are typically looking for someone who understands the fenestration industry, knows how to identify and win new customers, can develop existing accounts and understands how to generate profitable sales.
At MacGregor Recruitment, we specialise exclusively in recruitment for the UK fenestration sector, working with window and door manufacturers, fabricators, distributors, trade suppliers and other businesses operating within the industry.
Whilst interviews will vary greatly, in this guide we'll look at some of the most common Business Development Manager interview questions you could be asked and recommend that you prepare for just in case.
20 Business Development Manager interview questions you could be asked
- What do you know about our company?
Always research the company before your interview! This innocent sounding question can often be an opening question to settle nerves and get the conversation going, but also to see what you know about the business, the role you are interviewing for and why you are an ideal candidate.
As a minimum review their website, online reviews, and we also recommend that you check out the last accounts online for a deeper insight into the business. Ensure that you’re familiar with their;
- Product ranges
- Customer base
- Geographical coverage
- Manufacturing facilities / Key locations
- Competitors
- Market position
- Company history
- Recent developments and growth plans
A great answer will also summarise why you want to work for them in the role. For example: "I've followed the company for some time and I'm particularly interested in your growth in the trade installer market. My existing customer base and experience selling to independent installers would fit particularly well with that strategy."
- Tell us about your sales experience within the window and door industry.
This may be an early question in the interview where the interviewer is looking for an overview of your experience. The interviewer wants to understand your actual experience rather than simply your job title and to build a general picture of your experiences, such as;
- What products you've sold
- What customer types you've sold to
- Geographical territory covered
- Whether you've concentrated on new business development or account management
- The size of your customer base
- Your area sales turnover & targets
- Your biggest achievements
Try to use numbers wherever possible. For example: "I currently manage a Midlands territory selling windows and doors to installers and trade customers. Approximately 50% of my role is developing existing accounts, with the remainder focused on new business." That gives the interviewer something tangible to work with.
- How do you identify new business opportunities?
This is one of the most important BDM interview questions. The hiring company needs to know that you can proactively generate opportunities rather than simply wait for enquiries, and your approach to identifying opportunities. Explain your process for:
- Identifying suitable potential customers
- Researching them
- Establishing who the decision-maker is
- Making contact
- Arranging meetings
- Understanding their requirements and ‘pain points’
- Presenting your solution proposition
- Following up
- Converting the opportunity
If you use a CRM, prospecting tools, industry contacts, referrals, networking, LinkedIn, telephone prospecting or face-to-face visits, explain how these fit into your approach and have a specific success example in mind.
- How would you identify potential customers for our business?
This is where fenestration industry knowledge and preparation can make a significant difference - the question is probing how much you understand their products and specific market.
Your answer should demonstrate that you understand the types of businesses that could potentially buy from the company. Depending on the employer, this could include:
- Window & Door installers
- Window and door fabricators
- Builders
- Housebuilders & Developers
- Trade counters & Merchants
- Distributors
- Commercial contractors
- Existing customers of competitors
- Lapsed customers
Explain how you would decide which prospects to prioritise and highlight any companies or sectors that you know would be a great target customer. A good BDM doesn't simply create a list of 500 companies, they identify the prospects with the greatest commercial potential.
- How would you win a customer who currently buys from one of our competitors?
This is a particularly relevant question in the UK window and door industry. Don't immediately answer "I'd offer them a better price”! Instead demonstrate that you understand why a customer might change supplier. Reasons might include:
- Product quality
- Pricing
- Delivery performance
- Lead times
- Product availability
- Technical support
- Customer service
- Credit facilities
- Product range
- Reliability
- Existing relationship with the supplier
Your objective should be to understand the customer's problem and establish whether your prospective employer can genuinely solve it.
- Tell us about a new customer you've won.
This is your opportunity to provide evidence that you can actually develop new business. Choosing a genuine example and explain: The Situation → Opportunity → Action → Result
I.e. "I identified that XXX a local installer that was spending approximately £3,000 per month with a competitor. I researched the business, made contact with the owner and identified that delivery reliability was becoming an issue. After several conversations and a site visit, I was able to demonstrate how our service could improve lead times. We won the account and within 12 months it was worth approximately £6,000 per month."
- What would you do if you inherited an underperforming sales territory?
Don't immediately say "I'd start making more calls”! A quality commercial approach might be to analyse the territory and business performance to identify issues and the biggest realistic opportunities for growth;
- Existing customers - which accounts are performing well? Which ones have growth potential, which have declined?
- Lapsed customers - who used to buy but no longer does? Why did they leave?
- Prospects - which businesses aren't currently buying from the company, and why? Have they been engaged with consistently?
- Competitors - who are the major competitors in the territory? What is their service & product proposition? Which customers are they supplying?
- How do you manage your sales pipeline?
A successful BDM needs to be able to demonstrate that they can manage opportunities and forecast sales. You might be asked about:
CRM usage Opportunity stages Follow-up processes Forecasting, sales probability & pipeline value Conversion rates Sales activity New business targets
- What sales targets have you worked towards?
They are looking to see how you are performing or performed against expectations. Know your numbers and give evidence about you performance – you could be asked about;
- Annual & Monthly sales targets
- New business targets
- Gross margin
- Account / sales growth during your tenure in the role
- New customer numbers
- Average order value
- Commission and your OTE
- How do you develop existing customer relationships?
Business development isn't only about winning new accounts. In this competitive fenestration sector retaining and growing current customers and being a trusted commercial partner to your customers is equally important. Explain how your experience of:
- Understanding the customer's business
- Monitor changing customer requirements – who is expanding?
- Regularly visit / communicate with you customers
- Look for opportunities to increase share of wallet and supply additional product ranges
- Introduce new products
- Resolve problems that arise
- Build relationships with multiple decision-makers
- Tell us about a difficult customer you've dealt with.
This question is testing your communication, problem-solving and relationship-management skills. Choose a genuine situation where something went wrong and how you resolved it.
- What happened and why the customer was unhappy
- What you did
- Who you involved internally to assist you
- How you communicated with the customer
- How the problem was resolved
- What happened to the relationship afterwards
Try to avoid blaming your previous employer or other departments if possible - the interviewer wants to know what you did to solve the situation.
- How would you deal with losing an important customer?
A strong answer should demonstrate that you wouldn't simply accept the loss. First, establish why the customer is leaving. Is it Price? Service? Product? Delivery? Relationship? Quality? Credit? Lead times?
Then determine whether the relationship can be recovered. In a worst-case scenario that it can’t be, consider what you can learn from the situation and how you can prevent similar losses elsewhere.
- Who do you see as our main competitors?
This is another opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge of the UK fenestration market and the specific area of the market the hiring company operates in. Think about:
- Who competes for the same customers?
- Who offers similar products?
- How do they position themselves?
- What do they do well?
- Where could your prospective employer differentiate itself?
- If you were successful, how would you increase sales in this territory?
Think about the three main sources of growth and explain how you would approach all three;
- Existing customers - how can you increase their spend?
- Lapsed customers - who has stopped buying, why and can you get the customers back?
- New customers - who should be buying from the business but isn't?
- What would your first 90 days look like?
Similar to question 14 this is a great question because it allows you to demonstrate your commercial maturity and what your approach would be upon joining the new company. A suggestion that it might include;
Month 1 - Learn.
- Understand the company products, customers, pricing and competition
- Learn the Systems – CRMs, quoting tools etc
- Understand the internal processes
- Build relationships with colleagues and internal departments
- Start building relationships with existing customers
Month 2 - Analyse
- Identify where to get quick wins with active, lapsed & new customers
- Focus on key / major prospects
- Prospecting calls & visits – qualifying CRM data, decision makers and receiving feedback
Month 3 - Execute
- New business development focus
- Account development focus
- Customer reactivation
- Pipeline building
The expectation of the pace of the above will vary from business to business. The interviewer is looking to see what your expectations are about the role and what your preferred approach will be based upon the limited knowledge you have of the business and the market at this point. Be careful not to over promise unrealistic results before you've understood the business.
- Why are you looking to leave your current employer?
Be truthful but be mindful to try to keep your answer positive and future-focused. Your reasons will be your own but might be that you are looking for;
- Greater responsibility and career development
- Increased earning potential commensurate with your skills and experience level
- A larger or smaller territory to manage
- A different product portfolio
- A move into working for a manufacturing company
- More autonomy
- A stronger long-term career opportunity
Where there is a particular issue with you your current employer discuss this in a balanced way but be prepared to discuss the issue, how you have tried to rectify it and what the barriers are – but try to avoid turning the interview into a list of everything you dislike about your current employer or being overly negative and derogative.
- What motivates you?
Be honest. The interviewer is looking to see what drives you and how they might be able to best manage and support you, and also to see if it aligns with the thrust of the role you are applying for. For a BDM position, try to connect your motivation to commercial achievement where possible. You might be motivated by:
- Winning new business and achieving targets
- Financial reward
- Competition
- Building relationships, account management and growing accounts
- Career progression
- Recognition
- Developing new markets
- What salary are you looking for?
Do your research before the interview and ensure that you know what the salary band is prior to committing to the interview so that you can then answer the question based on how your skills & experience match against the salary banding. It iss a waste of everyones time if the role is ultimately not tenable for you financially so prior knowledge of this is critical.
Remember that the overall package will include a basic salary range but may also include:
- Commission or bonus scheme
- Company car or car allowance (which is paid monthly into your salary)
- Pension
- Healthcare
- Holiday allowance
- Other benefits
If the position has a significant commission or bonus opportunity, ensure to ask the employer how the scheme works - and also query what the OTEs the current team are achieving. This is a very useful question because it helps you understand whether the advertised earning potential is realistic or not.
- Why should we employ you?
This seems to be less common now but if it does come up it is a useful opportunity to summarise why you would be a great fit for the role. We'd recommend focusing on three areas:
- Industry knowledge – how your experience of products and customers is relevant
- Sales performance – summarise the evidence that you can win and grow customers
- Personal fit – how your approach fits the employer's culture, values and commercial objectives.
Avoid simply saying: "I'm hardworking, ambitious and a good communicator” as most candidates will say that - give evidence instead.
- Do you have any questions for us?
This is a common question at the end of the interview and an opportunity to ask questions to give you an insight about whether the role and company is right for you.
If they have not already been covered some good questions for a Business Development Manager interview might include:
- "If I was successful, what would you ideally like the successful candidate to have achieved after 12 months?" (this gives insight into their expectations of you)
- "How are you finding the market currently and where do you see the biggest opportunities for sales growth?"
- "What do your customers love about working with your business over the competition?”
- "Why is the position available?"
- “What plans or strategies does the business have over the coming years?”
Summary!
Ultimately most of these interview questions are designed to try to establish 5 things:
- Can you win new business?
- Can you grow existing accounts?
- Do you understand the fenestration sector?
- Can you generate profitable sales?
- Will customers trust you?
Try to prepare 5-8 strong examples from your career that can talk about in answer to questioning that demonstrate:
- Winning a major new customer
- Growing an existing account
- Winning business from a competitor
- Meeting & exceeding sales targets
- Developing a new product or territory
- Re-engaging a lapsed customer
- Resolving a serious customer problem
- Overcoming a difficult sales objection.
Do your research on the company & role.
One final piece of advice from MacGregor Recruitment:
If you're interviewing for a Business Development Manager position within the UK window and door industry, don't underestimate the value of your existing fenestration knowledge! A manufacturer isn't simply looking for somebody who can sell - they usually want somebody who understands the customers, the products, the competitive environment, the challenges facing installers and fabricators, and how decisions are actually made within the industry.
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At MacGregor Recruitment, our specialist focus is the UK fenestration sector. We work with employers and candidates across window and door manufacturing, trade supply, distribution, building plastics and associated businesses.
If you're considering your next career move within the UK fenestration industry - or you're an employer looking to recruit an experienced Business Development Manager - we'd be pleased to have a confidential conversation.
Contact Stuart at MacGregor Recruitment call 0115 7786535 or email hello@macgregorrecruitment.co.uk today!