SDR Interview Questions 2026: 20 Questions by Competency with Scoring Guide

The average SDR tenure in Australia is 14 months. Nearly 40% of SDR hires fail within the first 6 months. The primary cause is not compensation, territory, or product quality. It is poor hiring decisions based on unstructured interviews that test charisma instead of capability.

This guide provides 20 interview questions organised by 5 core competencies that predict SDR success, along with role-play scenarios, a scoring rubric, and guidance on what distinguishes strong answers from weak ones. Every question is designed to surface the behaviours that matter in the first 90 days on the job.

The 5 Competencies That Predict SDR Success

Before asking a single question, understand what you are assessing. Research across hundreds of SDR hires in the ANZ market consistently identifies five competencies that predict performance:

Weight these competencies based on your specific SDR motion:

Competency 1: Resilience (4 Questions)

Question 1: "Describe the worst day you have had at work. What happened, and what did you do the next morning?"

What you are assessing: Recovery speed. SDRs face rejection on 90%+ of their outreach. The question reveals whether they dwell or reset.

Strong answer indicators: Specific example, acknowledges the emotional impact, describes a concrete action they took to recover (adjusted approach, talked to a mentor, reviewed what went wrong), and connects it to a lesson learned.

Red flag: Vague answer ("I just pushed through"), blames others entirely, or cannot recall a genuinely difficult day (either lacks self-awareness or has not been challenged).

Score: 1 to 5 scale. 5 = specific story with clear recovery strategy and learning. 1 = vague or deflective.

Question 2: "If you made 100 cold calls today and got zero meetings, what would you do differently tomorrow?"

What you are assessing: Analytical resilience. Do they adjust their approach or just repeat the same failing pattern?

Strong answer indicators: Would review call recordings, analyse where conversations stalled, test a different opening or value proposition, ask a colleague or manager for feedback, check whether the list quality was the issue.

Red flag: "I would just make 150 calls tomorrow." Volume without adjustment is not resilience; it is stubbornness.

Question 3: "Tell me about a goal you failed to achieve. What happened?"

What you are assessing: Honest self-assessment and ownership. Everyone fails. The question reveals whether they learn from it.

Strong answer indicators: Takes ownership of their contribution to the failure (even if external factors were real), identifies what they would do differently, and shows evidence that they applied the lesson subsequently.

Red flag: Pure blame attribution. "The product was bad" or "My manager did not support me" with no self-reflection.

Question 4: "How do you maintain energy and focus during repetitive tasks?"

What you are assessing: Self-management. SDR work is inherently repetitive. Top performers have explicit strategies for maintaining intensity.

Strong answer indicators: Describes specific routines (time-blocking, gamification, mini-goals, physical movement between call blocks), references music, exercise, or other energy management techniques. Bonus if they acknowledge the challenge honestly rather than claiming repetitive work never bothers them.

Competency 2: Coachability (4 Questions)

Question 5: "Tell me about a time someone gave you feedback you disagreed with. What did you do?"

What you are assessing: Whether they can separate ego from improvement. Coachable reps try the feedback before dismissing it.

Strong answer indicators: Describes implementing the feedback even while disagreeing, evaluating the results objectively, and either adopting the change or going back to the coach with data showing why the original approach was better.

Red flag: "I explained why they were wrong." Arguing with feedback before testing it is the top predictor of SDR failure.

Question 6: "If I coached you on your cold call opener right now and asked you to change it, would you try my version for the next 10 calls even if you preferred yours?"

What you are assessing: Real-time coachability. This is a direct test. Watch their body language as much as their words.

Strong answer indicators: "Yes, absolutely. I would try it, track the results, and then we could compare." Shows willingness to experiment and trust the process.

Red flag: Hesitation, conditional agreement ("It depends on what you suggest"), or defensive posture. If they cannot accept coaching in an interview, they will not accept it on the job.

Question 7: "What is the most significant change you have made to your work approach based on feedback in the last 12 months?"

What you are assessing: Evidence of actually implementing feedback, not just receiving it.

Strong answer indicators: Specific example with a clear before/after. "My manager told me my discovery questions were too closed. I rewrote my question list, practised with a colleague, and my meeting conversion rate went from 12% to 19% in the following month."

Red flag: Cannot cite a specific example, or describes a trivial change ("I started using a different email subject line").

Question 8: "How would you like to receive feedback: in the moment, at the end of the day, or in a weekly 1:1?"

What you are assessing: Self-awareness about their learning style. There is no wrong answer, but the best answer shows they have thought about it.

Strong answer indicators: Has a clear preference with a reason. "In the moment, because I can apply it on the next call while the context is fresh." Shows they have been coached before and understand how they learn.

Competency 3: Communication (4 Questions)

Question 9: "Explain what our company does as if you were calling a prospect who has never heard of us. You have 30 seconds."

What you are assessing: Ability to communicate value concisely under pressure. This simulates the real job.

Strong answer indicators: Leads with the problem they solve (not the product features), uses language the prospect would use, stays under 30 seconds, and ends with a question or hook. They should have researched your company before the interview.

Red flag: Reads from notes, talks about features rather than outcomes, goes over 60 seconds, or has clearly not researched your company.

Score: 1 to 5. 5 = compelling, concise, buyer-focused. 1 = rambling, feature-focused, or unprepared.

Question 10: "Write a cold outreach email to [specific persona] at [specific company type] in 5 minutes."

What you are assessing: Written communication under time pressure. Give them a laptop and a brief.

Strong answer indicators: Personalised opening referencing something specific about the company or persona, clear value proposition in 2 to 3 sentences, single clear call-to-action, under 100 words.

Red flag: Generic template, no personalisation, multiple CTAs, longer than 150 words, or grammatical errors.

Question 11: "Tell me something you are passionate about outside of work. You have 2 minutes."

What you are assessing: Engagement, storytelling, and energy. The topic does not matter. How they talk about it does.

Strong answer indicators: Lights up, speaks with genuine enthusiasm, tells a story rather than listing facts, makes you interested in something you were not interested in before.

Red flag: Flat delivery, struggles to talk about anything with conviction. If they cannot be engaging about something they love, they will not be engaging on a cold call.

Question 12: "Ask me three questions to determine whether I would be a good fit for your product."

What you are assessing: Discovery skills. Flip the dynamic and see if they can ask insightful, open questions.

Strong answer indicators: Questions are open-ended, build on each other (not a checklist), demonstrate genuine curiosity, and uncover a need or pain point. Bonus: they summarise what they heard before moving to the next question.

Red flag: Closed yes/no questions, reads from a list, does not listen to the answers before asking the next question.

Competency 4: Research (4 Questions)

Question 13: "Walk me through how you prepared for this interview."

What you are assessing: Research habits. Strong SDRs prepare. Weak ones wing it.

Strong answer indicators: Researched your company (product, customers, competitors, recent news), looked up the interviewer on LinkedIn, prepared specific questions, and potentially even prepared a mock cold call or email.

Red flag: "I looked at your website." Minimal preparation signals minimal preparation in the role.

Question 14: "If I gave you a target account right now, walk me through your research process before making the first outreach."

What you are assessing: Structured research methodology. The best SDRs have a repeatable process, not a random Google search.

Strong answer indicators: A clear sequence (company overview, recent news/triggers, LinkedIn research on specific contacts, technology stack via tools like BuiltWith, financial data from annual reports or press releases). They should mention looking for triggers (funding, hiring, new leadership, product launches) that create urgency.

Red flag: "I would Google them and check their LinkedIn." No structure, no mention of triggers, no mention of technology or intent data.

Question 15: "What do you know about our competitors, and how would you position us against them in a cold call?"

What you are assessing: Competitive awareness and positioning ability.

Strong answer indicators: Names 2 to 3 specific competitors, articulates a clear differentiator (not just "we are better"), and frames the positioning around the prospect's problem rather than product features.

Red flag: Cannot name any competitors. Has not done the research.

Question 16: "Tell me about a time you used research to personalise an outreach that resulted in a meeting or conversation."

What you are assessing: Evidence that they actually use research in practice, not just in theory.

Strong answer indicators: Specific example with a clear connection between the research insight and the outreach approach. "I noticed the CFO had posted about their international expansion on LinkedIn. I referenced their hiring patterns in the new market and connected it to how we help companies scale GTM teams internationally. She replied within an hour."

Competency 5: Drive (4 Questions)

Question 17: "What does success look like for you in this role in 6 months?"

What you are assessing: Ambition calibrated with realism. Are they target-oriented?

Strong answer indicators: Mentions specific, measurable goals (quota attainment, meetings booked, pipeline generated). May also mention skill development goals (improving cold call conversion, mastering discovery). Shows they understand the role is measured on outcomes, not just effort.

Red flag: Vague answers ("I want to learn and grow") with no mention of targets or metrics. SDRs without target orientation struggle with quota-carrying roles.

Question 18: "When was the last time you did something competitive, and what happened?"

What you are assessing: Competitive energy. Not everyone needs to be hyper-competitive, but SDRs need some fire.

Strong answer indicators: Any example that shows they care about winning, whether in sport, games, academics, or previous work. The best answers include preparation, strategy, and reflection on the outcome.

Red flag: Cannot think of an example, or explicitly says they are not competitive. Some non-competitive people make great SDRs, but they need to be driven by something (helping people, mastering a craft, financial goals).

Question 19: "If you hit 100% of your target by the 20th of the month, what would you do for the remaining 10 days?"

What you are assessing: Whether they coast or push. This reveals their relationship with targets.

Strong answer indicators: "Keep going. 100% is the floor, not the ceiling." May mention specific actions: build pipeline for next month, help a struggling teammate, test a new approach, or push for an accelerator bonus.

Red flag: "Celebrate and relax." There is nothing wrong with celebrating, but if their instinct is to stop working, they will not be a top performer.

Question 20: "Why sales? Specifically, why the SDR role, knowing it involves high rejection and repetitive outreach?"

What you are assessing: Genuine motivation for the role. The SDR role is hard. People who take it because they "could not find anything else" burn out fast.

Strong answer indicators: Connects to a personal motivation (financial goals, career trajectory into AE or leadership, love of communication and persuasion, desire to learn a specific industry). Acknowledges the difficulty and explains why they are drawn to it anyway.

Red flag: "I heard the money is good" (without deeper motivation) or "It seemed like an easy entry point into tech." Both signal flight risk at the first sign of difficulty.

Role-Play Scenarios

Questions reveal intent. Role-plays reveal capability. Include at least one role-play in every SDR interview.

Role-Play 1: Cold Call (10 minutes)

Setup: Provide the candidate with a one-page brief about a fictional company and a target persona. Give them 5 minutes to prepare, then have them "call" you.

What to assess:

For a structured scoring framework, use the BDR interview plan.

Role-Play 2: Objection Gauntlet (5 minutes)

Setup: Tell the candidate you will throw 5 objections at them in rapid succession. They have 30 seconds to respond to each one.

Objections to use:

What to assess: Speed of response, ability to maintain composure, whether they acknowledge the objection before responding, and whether they redirect toward value rather than arguing.

Role-Play 3: Email Writing (10 minutes)

Setup: Give them a target account brief and ask them to write a 3-email cold outreach sequence. Each email should be under 100 words.

What to assess: Personalisation, value clarity, progression between emails (each should add new value, not just "following up"), clear CTAs, and professional tone.

Scoring Rubric

Use a consistent scoring system across all candidates. This eliminates interviewer bias and makes comparison objective.

Scoring by competency:

Role-play scoring: Add a separate score (1 to 10) for each role-play. Weight role-play performance at 30% of the total evaluation.

Hiring threshold: Candidates scoring below 3.5 average across all competencies should not advance. Candidates scoring 5 on Coachability should be prioritised regardless of other scores, as coachable reps improve the fastest.

For the complete BDR role profile including day-to-day expectations and career progression, see the BDR role description.

Interview Process Structure

Total process: 5 to 7 business days from first screen to offer. Moving faster than this risks poor assessment. Moving slower risks losing candidates to competitors.

For the full BDR hiring guide including sourcing strategies, salary benchmarks, and onboarding plans, see our comprehensive resource.