Sales Enablement Interview Tips from 39 Enablement Leaders & Managers

Introduction

Sales enablement has become one of the most dynamic and desirable career paths in commercial operations.

A decade ago, barely one in five companies had a formal enablement function. More recently, that number is approaching 90%, according to the State of Sales Enablement Report 2023 from Sales Enablement PRO, 

The global market for enablement technology is also expanding fast – forecast to grow from USD 3.6 billion in 2021 to nearly USD 13 billion by 2030, according to Grand View Research.

With that growth comes both opportunity and competition.

More professionals than ever are entering the field or vying for leadership roles. 

Former sales representatives, marketers, L&D experts, and customer success professionals are making the switch. 

Seasoned practitioners are interviewing for senior positions across industries and regions.

But the interviews themselves can feel unpredictable.

Some focus on training design, others on analytics or GTM alignment. Some dive into operations, others test strategic vision. 

Expectations shift with company size, maturity, and culture.

That’s why I decided to go straight to the source. 

I surveyed enablement leaders and successful sales enablement managers from around the world – people who’ve been through the interview process countless times, on both sides of the table:

1. Aaron Clark – Sales Enablement Manager 
2. Amanda Maddox – Director of Sales Enablement 
3. Amy McClain – Senior Director of Global Enablement 
4. Andrea Abbate – Senior Director of GTM Enablement 
5. Andrey Zevakhin – Senior Director of Sales Enablement 
6. Aparna Singh – Sales Enablement Manager
7. Beth Shuman – Vice President Sales Operations & Sales Enablement 
8. Blair Sucher – Principal Learning Experience Manager
9. Bridget Chukwumah – Senior Sales Enablement Manager
10. Chako Dickinson – Senior Onboarding, Methodology, and Skills Enablement Manager
11. Chuck Lee – SVP of Sales Operations and Enablement
12. Cori Hartje – Adjunct Professor of Business at Northwest University and Enablement Leader
13. Daniele Barracas – Global Director of Organizational Enablement
14. Daryl Spreiter – Head of Sales Enablement 
15. Dean Aldred – Sales Enablement Manager at  a POS and payments platform 
16. Dorothy Poon – Senior GTM Enablement and Productivity Manager (APAC/GCC) 
17. Enza Burgio – Sales Enablement Manager
18. Felix Dumitrica – Director of EMEA Revenue Enablement & Sales Engineering
19. Heather Klaas – Sr. Sales Enablement Manager of Onboarding & Performance
20. Imran Kirby – Revenue Enablement Manager (FTC)
21. Jana Bachelder – Revenue Enablement Manager 
22. Jason Dunbar – Sales Enablement Manager 
23. Jenelle Knight – Senior Sales Enablement Manager 
24. Jill Guardia – Senior Vice President of Revenue Enablement & Operations
25. Jill Noyes – Senior Manager of Field Enablement 
26. Julissa Perez – Senior Revenue Enablement Manager 
27. Kyle Doerflein – Director of Sales and Solutions Engineering Onboarding
28. Lauren Mack –  Sales Enablement Manager 
29. Lindsay McNeill – Sales Enablement Manager
30. Lisa Duncan – Senior Director of GTM Enablement
31. Liz McCune – Director of Sales Enablement
32. Matthias Beeck –  Senior Revenue Enablement Manager
33. Riya Jain – Sales Enablement Manager
34. Sam Banks – Senior Sales Enablement Manager
35. Sarah Wagner – Sales Enablement Manager
36. Sheevaun Thatcher – VP of Revenue Enablement
37. Sheryl Buscheck – Director of Global Revenue Enablement
38. Tracy Hart – Revenue Enablement Manager
39. Vanessa Diolosa – Global Enablement Manager

They were kind enough to share their advice on what makes a strong impression and separates those who get the offer from those who don’t.

Their responses were detailed, practical, and refreshingly honest.

So, whether you’re stepping into your first enablement role or preparing for a sales enablement manager interview, these lessons will help you turn your experience into impact – and leave hiring teams wanting you on their side.

(By the way, the contributors also helped me immensely with my “reverse” article on the questions that can help hiring teams identify the best enablers.)

Sales enablement interview tips – major themes

As always, every conversation revealed something different, yet familiar patterns kept surfacing.

Some advice was tactical, focused on how to structure answers or use data to prove sales team performance impact. Others were more reflective, exploring mindset, influence, and presence in the room.

Taken together, they revealed a set of recurring themes that hiring managers and enablement leaders consistently return to – the ideas they wish every candidate understood before walking into an interview.

Show measurable impact & link to business outcomes

If there’s one theme everyone came back to, it’s this: enablement credibility starts – and ends – with impact.

Both managers and leaders want more than a list of sessions delivered or tools launched.

They want proof that your enablement interventions changed something measurable – productivity, conversion rates, sales velocity, or the like. 

Lindsay McNeill, Sales Enablement Manager at a leading visual media platform for businesses, summed it up simply:

“Have information on the impact of your enablement programs readily available. Any data on improvements or changes that were influenced by enablement.”

Other contributors went deeper into what that looks like in practice – the metrics that show impact over activity.

Julissa Perez, Senior Revenue Enablement Manager at an agentic business orchestration solutions company, gave a clear example of the distinction:

“Show business impact, not just activities. Don’t just say you built onboarding. Share the metric: ramp time reduction, quota attainment lift, shortened sales cycle length, or productivity gain.”

Heather Klaas, Sr. Sales Enablement Manager of Onboarding & Performance at an all-in-one AI communications platform, added further examples that demonstrate genuine outcome thinking:

“…think about things like: a 15% increase in sales productivity, a 20% reduction in new hire ramp time, or an improvement in a specific sales metric after your intervention.”

She wrapped it up neatly with:

“Show them a project you led… and the quantifiable results.”

Amy McClain, Senior Director of Global Enablement at the world’s leading celebration planning platform, echoed the same mindset – initiative to outcome:

“Use data to quantify the impact you’ve had with enablement programs. This isn’t the number of hours trained or learners in a course. Rather, after launching a new methodology, conversion rates improved by X% or ACV increased by $Y.”

Lisa Duncan, Senior Director of GTM Enablement at one of the CRM companies, explained why this kind of framing matters:

“Many enablement organizations are moving beyond content creation and training attendance as measures of success. 

Show the interviewer that you understand how your enablement work can drive business results like pipeline, revenue, and customer outcomes.”

Kyle Doerflein, Director of Sales and Solutions Engineering Onboarding at one of the major cloud providers, shared how outcome-based framing also signals commercial awareness:

“When you talk about the value or impact of an initiative, don’t talk in terms of enablement metrics like completion or CSAT. 

Frame the results in terms of the things your sales leaders care about whether they be leading or lagging indicators. 

It shows you understand your customers and what they care about which helps you keep your end goal in mind.”

Andrea Abbate, Senior Director of GTM Enablement at one of the CRM companies, agreed that candidates should focus on outcomes, not projects, but she made one very important clarification:

“Distill the “I” from the “We”.  Although enablement is a team sport, be clear about what you (personally) did to contribute,  I’m hiring you, not your former organization.”

Two contributors offered practical ways to bring those results into the room.

Aaron Clark, Sales Enablement Manager at a leader in healthtech, suggested creating a personal portfolio:

“Keep a personal portfolio of your work (outside of work) and update it often. Be prepared to explain how you measure success and drive revenue influence.”

Imran Kirby, Revenue Enablement Manager (FTC) at a global news and analysis publication, called it a book of evidence – but the principle is the same:

“Have a ‘book’ of evidence of your impact in previous roles. If it’s in enablement, great, but either way, try to attribute your work back to outcomes in the company you work for.”

The common thread is clear: the most persuasive artefacts start with outcomes.

I couldn’t agree more with this perspective, but there’s also one extra dimension worth emphasising: clarity in how results were measured and connected to the work behind them.

It’s not enough to share numbers; credibility comes from showing how those numbers were derived. Be explicit about how you measured enablement success, how you linked your initiatives to business objectives, and what each metric actually represented at the time.

If you mention a rise in sales performance, for instance, clarify what “productivity” meant in that context. That level of precision builds trust and prevents surface-level metrics from unravelling under deeper questioning.

While portfolios and enablement data points are powerful, I believe that it is the ability to explain the story behind the data – with logic, evidence, and confidence – that can truly set you apart.

Prepare like a seller: research, tailor, and tell your story

All job interviews have an element of unpredictability – but enablement interviews often take it a step further.

That’s because the role itself sits at the intersection of many disciplines: training, coaching, sales operations, marketing, strategy, change management, and more. 

Each company defines enablement differently, depending on its size, maturity, and leadership priorities.

One interviewer may dive into programme design and measurement; another might focus on GTM alignment, field coaching, or stakeholder management.

That’s why the strongest candidates approach interviews the same way great salespeople approach prospects – they research deeply, prepare relevant stories, and make every answer feel tailored to the company sitting across from them.

Aparna Singh, Sales Enablement Manager at one of the biggest global cybersec companies, described it as knowing both oneself and the organisation:

“Gather as much information as possible about the company’s products, sales cycles, ticket size, and qualification methodology… Understand deeply what you’re capable of, what value you can add to their process, and what you have achieved in your career so far.”

That dual focus – internal clarity and external understanding – was echoed by many.

Tracy Hart, Revenue Enablement Manager at a company behind the app for flexible rent payments, kept it simple: 

“Prepare and do your research, prepare examples of initiatives and projects you worked on, bring data and numbers to back your examples.”

For Felix Dumitrica, Director of EMEA Revenue Enablement & Sales Engineering at a company behind a POS and payments platform, the right kind of preparation guides every answer:

“1. Analyse carefully the job description and understand the business needs the role needs to address.

2. Analyse the market and the industry the employer is in.

3. Based on the first two, tailor your answers.”

Cori Hartje, Adjunct Professor of Business at Northwest University and a seasoned enablement leader, shared a similar view, especially in terms of market knowledge:

“Understand the basics of the business of our company and how we make money. Sales Enablement leaders need to come into the interview with a bit of knowledge about the general market.”

For Blair Sucher, Principal Learning Experience Manager at a leading provider of enterprise open source solutions, the right mindset is to treat preparation like prospecting:

“Research like you’re a sales person prospecting the company and build a point of view/hypothesis before each interview – what is the company trying to achieve? 

How does sales fit in?  

What’s one challenge they might be facing?  

Find ways to weave those observations/thoughts into your questions and/or answers.”

I think that the idea of weaving is key – research isn’t solely about collecting facts, it’s most importantly about turning them into conversation.

Blair also mentioned how comparing one’s own enablement journey to those already working at the company should also be part of the research and a way to stand out:

“Look at the career paths of other people in enablement at the company and then look at your own. Consider how you can best position yourself based on how you are different and/or the same.”

Candidates who make the company feel seen tend to create instant credibility.

Once you’ve done your homework, the next test is how you tell your story.

Several contributors brought up the importance of clarity and structure – not rambling through achievements, but communicating them like a well-run enablement session.

Andrey Zevakhin, Senior Director of Sales Enablement at an insuretech company,  recommended the STAR method for precisely that reason:

“Use STAR method when responding to questions on sales enablement initiatives or projects you ran or were involved in. 

Have a clear understanding and ability to articulate the impact your sales enablement efforts had on the top line. 

I vs. We – spell out your exact role and influence in the larger enablement activities.”

Daryl Spreiter, Head of Sales Enablement at a leading provider of global, daily satellite imagery and insights, shared a similar view, encouraging candidates to explain intent before activity:

“Lead with results and business impact, don’t walk through the bullet points of your résumé. Tell me a story about your background instead. Focus on why you do or did what you did first, then the what and the how.”

The throughline here is storytelling with purpose – using the same clarity and empathy you teach others to apply in selling.

Riya Jain, Sales Enablement Manager at a global giant for AI-powered procurement and supply chain solutions, captured it perfectly:

“Sell your skills like you enable your sales team to sell… Use storytelling and persuasive techniques you teach others – position your achievements as solutions to business problems.”

That’s what makes the best interviews memorable: they don’t sound like Q&As, they sound like enablement in action – structured, relevant, and confident.

Preparation also includes rehearsal. Lindsay McNeill suggested practising aloud:

“Be very prepared by practising, out loud, your answers to typical interview questions… Know the details of your work and projects – any sales enablement programs you ran, how you planned it, how you worked with stakeholders, all the steps you took and the end result. 

By knowing this information really well, you can pull from it to answer almost any interview question, even if you didn’t practice an answer to that specific question. ”

And Bridget Chukwumah, Senior Sales Enablement Manager at a leading industrial software partner, took it one step further, bringing intention to practice itself:

“Write and practise responses in 2-minute blocks. Have examples showing how you developed a program, measurement, and recognition by the business.”

Finally, a few contributors pointed out that preparation should always include context.

As Sarah Wagner, Sales Enablement Manager at a government forms and workflow automation platform, noted, examples that worked at one scale may not translate elsewhere:

“Bring the energy, talk about projects that were completed at companies of similar size (e.g., the approach at a $500M company won’t work at a $10M company), and have your previous experiences and specific accomplishments outlined and ready to speak to.”

Together, their advice forms a clear message:

Research like a seller, prepare like a teacher, and tell your story like an enabler.

Because in the end, interviews are still sales conversations – only this time, the product is you.

I wrote about proper sales enablement interview preparation in more detail, by the way.

Demonstrate cross-functional influence and leadership without authority

In sales enablement, influence without authority is a defining part of the role.

Few functions rely so heavily on collaboration across teams that don’t report to them. 

The success of any sales enablement strategy depends on aligning people with different goals, priorities, and perspectives – and doing so through trust, credibility, and persuasion rather than hierarchy.

That’s why strong candidates don’t talk about “getting buy-in” as a challenge. They show that influence is how they operate day to day. They’ve learned to guide, connect, and mobilise others because nothing in enablement happens in isolation.

Riya Jain summed it up perfectly:

“Demonstrate cross-functional influence. Enablement thrives on collaboration. Highlight how you’ve worked with sales, marketing, product, and leadership to drive outcomes”

That balance – assertive yet collaborative – is what people in charge of the hiring process look for.

Bridget Chukwumah was even more laconic with her answer:

“Have examples of how you can influence without power”

Julissa Perez shared:

“Demonstrate cross-functional influence: Highlight how you’ve partnered with Sales, RevOps, and PMM to align enablement to revenue outcomes.”

For Jana Bachelder, Revenue Enablement Manager at a leader in modern, AI-powered, enterprise-grade GRC solutions, this type of collaboration is also about humility in the sense that you don’t need to be an expert on everything:

“Show humility and collaboration. You don’t have to be the expert in everything.

A key part of the role is building relationships and learning from subject matter experts across the business, whether it’s product marketing, sales leadership, or other departments.

Highlighting your ability to learn from others and partner effectively will show you’re a strong cultural fit.”

For Amy McClain, cross-functional collaboration skills are at the very top of her hiring wish-list, every time:

“Enablement’s greatest impact is as a strategic partner in the Revenue org, and this is the most important story to tell in a interview. 

How did you connect dots cross-functionally and help drive a strategic initiative by being the connector across Marketing and Product teams, RevOps and Sales? 

This is what makes the best Enablement stand out in an interview.”

Amy added:

“Prepare stories to use in interviews to communicate how you’ve enabled others via influence, even when you didn’t have the title. Correlate this with how Enablement pros change behaviors without being in the direct reporting line of those who’s behavior they influence.”

At least half a dozen other contributors mentioned cross-functional collaboration and influence without authority, indicating that this truly is a core ability to show off in your interview.

Bring energy, presence, and clarity to your communication

Interviews for sales enablement roles are, in many ways, auditions for how you communicate.

You’re not only being evaluated for what you say, but also for how you carry a message, hold attention, and create engagement.

After all, this is a strong indicator of how well you’ll do as an enabler.

As Chako Dickinson, Senior Onboarding, Methodology, and Skills Enablement Manager at one of the two biggest developer platforms, put it:

“Ensure you are presenting yourself and ideas with energy and enthusiasm — at the heart, enablement is still a sales role. Selling a process, concepts, and communicating with impact is key.”

That energy doesn’t have to mean overexcitement or performance. It’s about intention – showing that you can capture attention, guide conversations, and make people care.

Dean Aldred captured it well:

“Bring the energy and personality… Make sure there is value in your responses & answers… Bring some ideas & suggestions, even some success stories of what you KNOW works.”

The contributors consistently said that energy and clarity often outweigh credentials.

They’re trying to picture you in front of different sales teams, executives, and cross-functional stakeholders – and deciding, “Would people listen to this person?”

That’s where structure and clarity come in.

Lisa Duncan emphasised that your communication style during an interview often signals how you’ll handle enablement sessions later on:

“Clear communication to stakeholders and sellers is part of the job, so think of the interview as an opportunity to demonstrate your communication skills.

Provide context, tell your story concisely, and provide a clear takeaway.

If you’re interviewing for a role that involves training facilitation, bring the same energy to the interview that you would bring to a training session.”

This combination of presence and precision is what makes candidates memorable.

It’s a practical reminder that presence starts long before you walk into the call; it’s built through preparation. Knowing your examples inside out frees you up to deliver them naturally. Besides, when you got your foundations right, you are less likely to be thrown off by particularly surprising interview questions that sometimes come up.

Daniele Barracas added a layer that several others hinted at: communication is also, in big part, about demonstrating curiosity and adaptability through the way you engage.

“…show adaptability and be curious.”

That line between confidence and curiosity is where the best interviews sit.

Sam Banks, Senior Sales Enablement Manager at a household-name video communication company, framed this as storytelling:

“Be able to tell your own story. Storytelling and visualisation goes a long way in painting a picture of what you could achieve in role.”

Sheryl Buscheck, Director of Global Revenue Enablement at a network infrastructure leader, also put this into a story-based context:

“Prepare your BEST stories that show/prove your value in the role for which you are interviewing”

Matthias Beeck, Senior Revenue Enablement Manager at a European leader in security and compliance software, pointed out that listening and attuning to the interviewer or the interviewing group should be at the core of communicating why they should hire you:

“Attune: learn what your audience is looking for and speak about how you can (or cannot) impact it.”

Jill Guardia, Senior Vice President of Revenue Enablement & Operations at one of digital learning powerhouses, suggested that it is always a good idea for the interviewee to “prepare something to talk about that isn’t entirely cookie-cutter.” (i.e. not generic or predictable)

One of the more interesting answers that fit this theme came from Liz McCune, Director of Sales Enablement at a leader in manufacturing software. Namely, she shared how overconfidence that is not offset with some humility is a red flag for her:

“Showing confidence is great, but only when they are able to counter that with humility” 

Beth Shuman, Vice President Sales Operations & Sales Enablement at a leading provider of next-generation manufacturing and supply chain solutions, pointed out something no one else did, but which can have a huge effect even before the first word that comes out of your mouth as an interviewee:

“Nail the basics, the meeting technology interview will take place on, camera placement, and professional appearance.”

Some of these may feel like minor details to you, but as you can see, enablement managers and leaders value presence, energy, and strong communication skills very highly.

Because in the end, how you communicate is your first enablement exercise.

Embrace a growth mindset and show what you’ve learned

When hiring managers talk about a growth mindset, they’re not referring to buzzwords from self-help books.

They’re looking for people who show awareness of what went wrong, what changed, and what they learned along the way.

Andrea Abbate put it as bluntly as possible:

“No BS – if something failed, be honest! Not every initiative is successful; don’t greenwash it. Explain what happened and what you learned.”

Enza Burgio, Sales Enablement Manager at a technology-enabled information services business, was similarly brief and framed the mistakes as part of one’s journey:

“Describe your journey and the pitfalls.”

That honesty, echoed by several others, is what makes an interview credible. 

Candidates who can dissect their own setbacks tend to stand out, because it signals maturity and reflection – qualities that are crucial in a function built on iteration.

Jill Noyes, Senior Manager of Field Enablement at a company behind AI-powered data unification and management solutions, added:

“Be prepared to have an authentic answer of programs that have failed and why…”

For Lisa Duncan, the focus goes beyond self-awareness into how you apply the lesson:

“Demonstrate a growth mindset… Own the failures and mistakes and be reflective about what you learned from them that you can apply to future programs.”

That reflection piece is where most interviewers pay attention. They want to know whether you took the time to understand why something didn’t work, and what you changed next.

For this reason, Kyle Doerflein urged candidates to:

“Frame your examples using the STARR (Situation, Task, Action, Result, and Reflection) method rather than STAR (Situation, Task, Action, and Result). It is so impactful to proactively share what you took away from that experience. It shows you are aware and coachable.”

Chako Dickinson shared a similar thought through the lens of enablement design:

“Be honest about lessons learned and post implementation reflections – we don’t always have hard sales performance data but is there a way to constantly gather the data you can and iterate moving forward?”

That type of answer signals a deep understanding of the fact that enablement isn’t about equipping sales teams once and moving on, but about learning from every iteration.

The second layer of growth mindset is curiosity – a theme that often overlaps with adaptability.
Jana Bachelder connected it directly to staying relevant:

“Be a lifelong learner. 

The sales landscape is constantly changing, so it’s critical to stay current on market trends, new technologies, and what’s most important to your audience. 

Show that you are proactive about your professional development by highlighting what you read, listen to, and follow to stay informed.”

She also espoused how important it is to come across as innovative in interviews:

“Demonstrate innovation. 

Sales enablement is about more than just delivering information;it’s about making learned sales skills stick. 

Share examples of how you’ve used creative, interactive, or engaging methods to help people learn. Look for opportunities to discuss how you’ve measured the impact of these initiatives.”

Blair Sucher took that same idea and made it personal:

“Sales is constantly changing, and the best enablement people enable themselves. Be sure to stay up to date on changing trends in sales – attend webinars and events that help you do so, subscribe to newsletters and podcasts, etc.

Becoming a lifelong student of sales is the key to being a good enabler!”

Matthias Beeck suggested a particular area of knowledge that is still relatively new and that can make a difference in enablement interviews:

“Learn about AI and how to best leverage it. It’s still a green field out there and many companies need talent to bring this fresh perspective.”

As AI gets integrated in more and more sales enablement platforms, knowing what it can (and cannot) do can be a huge differentiator, especially if you have on-hands experience.

Together, the contributors paint a picture of curiosity as a professional habit, something built into your routine rather than sparked by crisis.

When you show that combination of reflection and forward motion – learning from the past while staying open to what’s next – interviewers see more than competence. 

They see someone who will keep evolving alongside the business.

Know your scope and own your craft

A learning mindset is only half the story. The other half is knowing where – and how – to apply it.

Enablement means different things in every organisation, and that ambiguity often trips candidates up.

Hiring managers want to see that you’ve taken the time to understand both sides – how you define your craft, and how the company defines the role you’re applying for.

Dorothy Poon, Senior GTM Enablement and Productivity Manager (APAC/GCC) at a leading customer engagement platform, said it best:

“Understand what type of enablement profile the business is looking for – strategic business partner, execution-based (training/facilitation heavy), or a hybrid. 

Clarity on job description and coverage – what does a day-to-day or month-to-month in the role look like?

Understand who your key partners and stakeholders will be.”

That clarity is what separates a good answer from a vague one. When candidates show they’ve thought about how enablement operates in this company, it signals that they can adjust their playbook to fit.

Lauren Mack, Sales Enablement Manager at a fintech provider of working capital management solutions, reinforced the importance of self-awareness:

“Have a good idea of what part of enablement you want to work in.

Are you more oriented towards data analysis or do you like facilitating sales training programs for the sales org?

Enablement’s role can differ from organization to organization, so it’s a great question to ask when interviewing for a role.”

That willingness to ask questions – to define scope collaboratively rather than assume it – shows maturity and realism.

Aparna Singh connected that understanding of scope back to confidence:

“Know enablement and the benefits it brings to sales and other related teams thoroughly. Confidence in any interview stems from knowledge, so this would help gaining that.”

A few contributors spoke about the depth of craft – the expertise and understanding that make someone credible in the role.

Vanessa Diolosa, Global Enablement Manager at a unified observability platform for predictive IT operations, advised:

“Highlight your knowledge of modern sales methodologies (MEDDPICC/Challenger, etc.).”

Chuck Lee, SVP of Sales Operations and Enablement at a global leader in business payments and expense management, went a step further and identified three areas of competence that he expects his candidates to have: 

“Make sure your talk tracks center around sales competency maps from talent acquisition to optimization…and then actions taken around the key competency development. 

New hire ramp time is always going to be an area of focus so make sure there is a level of strategic and execution clarity around how ramp can be impacted.

Enablement is usually aligned with effectiveness so make sure you can speak to sales messaging deployments…messaging / methodologies. “

Those examples can be powerful because they move beyond generic claims. They show fluency in the language of enablement and practical sales (from sales strategies to sales processes and industry trends) – and that’s exactly what hiring managers look for: people who can bridge theory with the real conditions in the field.

Enza Burgio added a human touch to the idea of craft, reminding candidates to connect skill with purpose:

“Have lots of examples ready to show how you naturally share information. Explain why you help people to learn.”

Jason Dunbar, Sales Enablement Manager at the leading provider of risk management and compliance solutions, stressed how important it is for the interviewees to understand and “demonstrate a strategic + tactical balance”.

When you combine that sense of scope and craft, you come across as grounded, self-aware, and confident in your lane – someone who knows both what they do and how it fits into the wider business motion.

Ask purposeful questions

Once you’re clear on your craft, the next trait that separates great candidates from good ones is the ability to ask sharp, informed questions.

Almost every hiring manager mentioned this in some form – and not just as a courtesy at the end of the interview. They said the questions candidates ask reveal how they think, how they listen, and how well they understand the business.

Amanda Maddox, Director of Sales Enablement at an AI orchestration platform for security and IT teams, suggested that asking better questions can be the template for the entire interview:

“Realize the interview is a two-way street: Be yourself, bring your perspective, but also make sure you’re determining if the role is the right fit for you.”

Sam Banks didn’t mince words:

“Be curious. If someone doesn’t come prepared with insightful questions about the business and the sales org, then I will not progress them.”

That kind of curiosity signals ownership. It shows that you’ve already started thinking about how you’d operate inside the company, not just what the job description says.

Jenelle Knight, Senior Sales Enablement Manager at a natural language-based analytics and automation platform, took that a step further:

“Prepare unique questions for the interviewer – use ChatGPT to help you come up with questions if needed. 

If the interviewer has a big pool of candidates they’re interviewing, they’re likely getting a lot of the same questions from candidates. 

Take the opportunity with your questions to stand out!”

Unique doesn’t have to mean complex. 

Often, it’s about making the conversation more human, showing that you’ve thought about the challenges they’re facing and what success looks like from their perspective.

Vanessa Diolosa offered a simple but effective tactic:

“Tailor your questions to the interviewer (Sales? RevOps? Other Enablement people?).”

Sheevaun Thatcher, brought it full circle with a link back to preparation:

“Ask open-ended questions to find out the business challenges and pains.

Align your talk track to how you could work with the GTM team to gather insights into these pains, create initiatives to help solve them, and have specific impactful outcomes that can be measured.”

It’s a reminder that interviews aren’t a single monologue; they’re a series of different conversations with different audiences. Adapting your questions shows situational awareness – a skill central to effective enablement.

In other words, when candidates approach the interview as discovery rather than justification, they come across as curious, collaborative, and already halfway into the role.

Conclusion

Interviews are moments of truth. They show how you think, communicate, and connect when it matters most.

Based on what has surfaced from the contributors’ responses, it’s evident that the strongest candidates are those who turn interviews into genuine conversations. 

They listen, ask thoughtful questions, and bring ideas to the table. You can sense their curiosity and see how they’d fit into the team.

They speak in practical, grounded terms – about results, challenges, and lessons. They show composure, clarity, and a real understanding of how business works. 

Above all, they make the interaction feel easy and collaborative.

Sales enablement keeps evolving, and so do its expectations. The strengths that opened doors five years ago may no longer be enough. What stands out today is adaptability – the ability to learn fast, connect dots, and translate experience into business impact.

Before your next interview, take time to reflect. Gather evidence of the difference you’ve made, think about where you can create value next, and prepare to have an open, thoughtful discussion. Also, take a look at my article on the most common enablement interview mistakes and review them consciously and honestly.

Because the goal isn’t simply to get the job. It’s to leave no doubt that you belong in it.

Finally, a heartfelt thank-you to all the contributors who shared their insights so generously. This article wouldn’t exist without you.