DoorDash · Primly Community

DoorDash account executive / sales interview, what the process looks like and how to approach it

ae_andre · 4 replies

Interviewed for a senior AE role at DoorDash on the merchant side (mid-market restaurants, chains in the 10-50 location range). Didn't take the offer in the end for personal reasons, but the process was good and I want to put notes out there since sales interview content for DoorDash is thin.

First thing: DoorDash sales is not startup chaos. It's a structured motion with real enablement. They care a lot about process, not just raw number charisma.

Recruiter screen (30 min): Background review and culture fit. They'll ask about your quota attainment history directly. Know your numbers: percentage to quota each of the last 3 years, average deal size, sales cycle length in your current role. Vague answers here kill candidates.

Hiring manager screen (45 min): More substantive. One format they used on me: "walk me through a deal you lost and what you learned." Not a trick, they genuinely want to understand your deal retrospective process. Also expect a version of "why DoorDash, why merchant sales specifically."

Mock pitch or role play (30-45 min): You'll get a scenario. Mine was: call a regional manager of a 15-location Thai food chain who's currently on a competitor platform and only has 12 minutes. Go. The eval is on discovery questions, handling objections, and how you position without overselling. Don't start with product features. Start with their problem.

Behavioral panel (2 rounds, 30 min each): DoorDash values collaboration and they test for it in sales too. One round was with a CS (customer success) manager who asked about handing off accounts. Sellers who treat CS as post-sale cleanup don't do well here.

Final with director (30 min): Market strategy, where you see growth levers, how you'd build a territory plan in a new city.

Comp for the senior AE role I saw: base $90k, OTE $180k, strong equity at this level too. On-target is achievable but not a gimmie.

4 replies

sdr_sky

Did they have a path to AE from SDR internally or was this all external hiring? I'm currently an SDR at a SaaS company and DoorDash has been on my radar for an AE jump.

ae_andre

Recruiter mentioned they do promote internally but the external bar is high and moves faster for the right profile. If you have any restaurant/hospitality industry knowledge that translates well, lean on it hard. Their merchant side AEs who understand the operator perspective close faster.

marketer_mei

The CS collaboration angle is underrated prep point. I've seen so many sales candidates blow the panel round with CS because they treat it as a formality. That partnership is operationally critical at DoorDash given how complex the merchant onboarding is.

sam_recovering

Good note on knowing your numbers cold. I froze in a similar interview when they asked for 3-year quota attainment off the top of my head. Now I keep a 1-pager with all my career metrics before every interview week.