Why pre-screen marketing and sales managers before the interview
When one person owns both functions, the usual argument about lead quality becomes an internal decision instead. That is an advantage only if they measure the whole funnel and act on it. Managers worth hiring know their cost per acquisition and their forecast accuracy, and have dealt with a salesperson who was not performing. A short screen asks for all three.
What actually matters when screening Marketing and Sales Manager candidates
- 01
Track record
Ask for quota numbers by year, average deal size, close rate, and pipeline value they personally carried; check whether they ran both outbound sales and campaign-sourced leads.
- 02
Method and qualification
Probe their qualification framework (MEDDIC, BANT, SPIN), how they score marketing qualified leads, and how CRM stages in Salesforce or HubSpot are kept accurate.
- 03
Relationships and trust
Look for named accounts they grew, renewal or upsell examples, and how they handled channel partners, distributors, or a marketing team whose leads they depended on.
- 04
Drive and resilience
Test how they responded to a missed quarter, a pricing squeeze, or a campaign that produced weak leads; ask what they changed the following month.
Pre-screening questions to ask Marketing and Sales Manager candidates
12 questions grouped by what they test. Ask the same set in every screen and score answers on a consistent scale, or send them as an async video screen and compare answers side by side.
Numbers they owned
3 questions01Have you implemented a sales strategy that worked? Can you discuss it?
Listen forA strategy with the revenue effect stated, and their own contribution separated from market conditions.
Strategy described as activity, or results claimed with no baseline or comparison period.
02What is your experience managing both marketing and sales?
Listen forTeam size, revenue responsibility and the split between the functions all described concretely.
Responsibility described vaguely, or one function claimed with only exposure to the other.
03Can you discuss your experience with budget management?
Listen forBudget owned with reallocation decisions made during the year, and spend traced to revenue outcomes.
Budget described as spend requested, or no reallocation decisions they personally made.
Strategy from evidence
3 questions04What is your process for developing a new sales strategy?
Listen forStrategy built from customer and pipeline data, with assumptions tested before scaling investment.
Strategy built from opinion, or plans scaled before any evidence they work.
05What is your experience with digital marketing channels?
Listen forChannels run with cost per acquisition measured, and unprofitable channels stopped rather than continued.
Channels reported by activity, or spend continued in channels that never produced revenue.
06What is your experience with market research and customer analysis?
Listen forDirect contact with customers and lost prospects, with findings that changed the proposition.
Customer understanding from internal opinion, or no contact with anyone who did not buy.
Underperformance handled
3 questions07How do you handle a team that is not meeting its targets?
Listen forThe cause diagnosed between targets, pipeline and capability before pressure is applied.
Targets pushed harder without diagnosis, or the problem assumed to be effort.
08What is your approach to an underperforming individual?
Listen forCoaching with a clear plan and timeline, and a decision made when it does not improve.
Underperformance tolerated indefinitely, or people managed out without support first.
09How do you motivate a team to hit targets?
Listen forMotivation through achievable targets and by removing obstacles, rather than through incentives alone.
Motivation described entirely as commission, or targets set that nobody has ever achieved.
Forecast checked
3 questions10Can you describe your experience with sales forecasting?
Listen forForecast accuracy measured against outturn, with a variance figure and what drove the largest miss.
Forecasts produced and never compared with results, or variance blamed on the sales team.
11What methods do you use to assess the performance of a campaign?
Listen forCampaigns measured through to revenue, with the limits of attribution acknowledged honestly.
Campaigns judged on engagement, or attribution presented as precise.
12Can you provide an example of using data to make a commercial decision?
Listen forA decision that changed direction because of evidence, including stopping something that was not working.
Data used to support decisions already made, or nothing they stopped on the evidence.
How to score responses
Score every candidate on the same four criteria immediately after the screen. At this stage you are shortlisting for panel interviews, not making the final call.
Track record
35%5Quotes attainment percentages, deal sizes and territory context across multiple years, and separates self-sourced revenue from marketing-generated leads.
Method and qualification
25%5Describes a disciplined qualification and lead-scoring routine, with forecast calls and stage definitions they enforced across the team.
Relationships and trust
25%5Names specific accounts and partners, describes multi-year relationships, and shows how trust converted into renewals, referrals or expanded contracts.
Drive and resilience
15%5Describes a concrete shortfall, the diagnosis they ran, and the specific activity or messaging change that recovered the number.
Owning both functions turns the lead quality argument into an internal decision. A one-way video screen asks for the funnel numbers.
Try it on HirevireScreening FAQ
Process basics
How long should a pre-screening round for this role take?
Fifteen minutes across eight to ten questions, answered async. Enough to establish numbers they owned, test their strategy reasoning, and hear how they handled underperformance.
How do I screen for both functions at once?
Ask about the funnel end to end rather than each discipline separately. Whether they can trace spend through to closed revenue tells you more than testing marketing and sales knowledge apart.
Evaluating answers
What is the strongest signal when screening this role?
Cost per acquisition traced through to closed revenue. Managers who own both functions have that figure. Anyone reporting leads generated and deals closed separately has not joined them up.
How do I judge their people management?
Ask about a salesperson who was not performing. Real answers describe coaching, a plan and a decision. Anyone who has never managed someone out has avoided the hardest part of the job.
Go deeper on this role
Sanat has been hiring since 2012 and watching the recruitment industry change up close ever since, and turned that screening process into Hirevire's video screening platform. LinkedIn
