South Account Manager Interview Questions
& Process

Had 3 rounds of interviews for this account manager role. The first was in person and short. The second round involved job shadowing. I left halfway through the second round because the job wasn't what was described. I felt deceived about what 'handling accounts' really meant. I asked if it was door-to-door sales and was told no, but it's actually B2B sales, which is the same thing, going door to door to every business 3 times in a zip code. They've been thrown out of businesses, cussed out, manhandled, and even had the police called because they're a nuisance. Some reps go to 'dangerous' areas on foot to every liquor store, gas station, etc. They have a T-Mobile account, so the job is door-to-door sales for phone accounts trying to get people to switch. They advertise it as management training, but there's no direct path to management, it's all 'merit based.' They say promotion can happen in 6-12 months, and you could make 125k after a year if you become a manager, but those positions are limited. Base pay is $250-450/week plus commission. They couldn't explain the commission structure and barely gave a ballpark for base pay. They focused more on incentives like vacations and cars, and mentioned the regional CEO makes $4 million. No insurance, benefits, or gas reimbursement for the $40/day in gas needed to visit at least 40 businesses daily. It felt like a thinly veiled door-to-door sales job with carefully chosen words.

The initial interview, a phone screen with Alexandra Pierce, was very pleasant and welcoming. She was super helpful answering questions about the company and gave details about the interview process. I was expecting to interview with Hannah Hoffman, but met someone else for the first interview. The office itself has a high-energy, high-tech vibe, with great amenities showing they care about client and employee comfort. Besides the receptionist, who was really friendly and great to talk to, and the interviewer, there was no one else around, which I think shows how much the management is involved in the market. The interview was pretty quick; they just briefly looked over my resume and then it was an open Q&A where they asked about me and my work history, and I could ask about the company. Some of their answers felt rehearsed, just reciting company facts and stats without really addressing the questions personally. When asked about door-to-door sales, they gave a generic answer like, "If you're hard-working, you'll succeed." After looking at online reviews and considering the interview answers, I decided not to move forward to the second interview (a shadowing opportunity). The commission-based pay doesn't fit my family's financial needs, and I felt the role was below my skill level based on my resume. I'd recommend South, Inc. as an employer if the pay structure and work are a good fit for you. Their management team is young, energetic, and seems like a great group to work with. If they offered a role that matched my project/program management, leadership, and sales/marketing experience, I'd definitely take it. The work environment and manager attitudes are exactly what you'd want in a potential employer, and I'd recommend them to recent grads or young people looking to get into sales. The only reasons I'm not accepting are the junior position and the potentially inconsistent compensation.

So it was a 3 round process. The first was like a quick face to face chat in the office. Then, the second round was shadowing one of our professionals for a day. The third and final round was a more in-depth interview back in the office.