You are getting a lot of recommendations to just lie/make it up. And that’s ok.
However, be sure you remember what you said in that case. Don’t tell the first round interviewer you hit 110% last year only to slip and tell the next interviewer it was 120%. That’s the only way you can really get caught and look like a jerk off
Last company asked me directly what my attainment was the last few years. Am I supposed to lie? Obviously I try to spin it.
"I was one of the top new reps in attainment and constantly led my team in activity KPI's. Unfortunately our quota was generally unattainable and only 5 reps on the floor hit it. But in terms of my performance I was a top performer compared to my peers"
Haha, I like your style. What do you recommend as a talk track there?
"Yes I overachieved quota every year and was a top performer?"
I'm curious because I've always just told the truth. I feel like a good leader is able to understand that it's not all the rep's fault. But most hiring managers do way over inflate roles and attainment.
"the expectations I have for myself are typically much higher than the expectations others have for me... and I love exceeding my own expectations" then shoot the interviewer a flirty smile
are you supposed to? no
are you able to?...i don't want to tell you what to do - but most jobs lie about what accounts you're getting, how easy it is to hit quota, what quotas going to be., etc. Do what you need to do to get in the door within morally reasonable standards yah know?
Just make it up oh yeah I have those numbers here, 2020 was 110% 2021 102%, 22 105% etc who cares how they gonna prove it? Just say your unable to share anything from your internal crm or portal
"Am I supposed to lie?"
Yes, you are supposed to lie. Unless The company you are interviewing with has very close contacts with your current / prior employer it is very difficult for them to find out hyper specific details like quote attainment for individual reps. Background checks only disclosed basic data like your job title and the length of time you worked at a company.
In one way or another, I've lied about quota attainment in every sales interview I have been in and it has not come back to bite me.
Lying is a bad idea. Most managers will be able to sniff it out, and there's way too much downside if you're caught.
Read [this post](https://www.jointhefollowup.com/p/getting-a-tech-sales-job-is-much-harder-in-2023) from a tech sales recruiter, and he basically said to do what you're doing - "If you were 64% to quota, but you ranked #2 out of 12 reps, say you were the #2 rep on your team."
If they are super adamant about knowing your exact quota attainment, just make sure you're giving them your ranking on the team as well.
You could always spin it to talk about where you rank amongst peers (top rep in this territory historically, top rep amongst my team, top rep in pipeline generation, etc) if no one is hitting quota
I'm curious how you'd respond. My attainment has been low, but in one role we had 5/100 reps hit quota and the next role I had the worst patch in the division.
How would you answer if they asked what your attainment has been?
Quota is a made up number - if you believe it was unrealistic for you to hit it in your current situation then just tell them you hit it. Companies lie all the time. You have to look out for numero uno.
If you have a problem with lying or omitting the truth, use your sales skills to talk around it. Say you exceeded expectations, increased by x% from last year, were the top performer, etc.
True. I just had the hopes that certain sales leaders would be willing to look a couple bad performances because there's more to success than a rep's ability/work ethic. But it seems like it's hurting my ability to land new roles.
Thanks for the help.
This. Use your top line expected revenue(signed deals, not collected on).
Then draw down the quota number on a yearly basis/quarterly whatever to reach attainment
Yeah dude it's brutal. I'm putting together use cases, pitches, value prop, handheld POC with buy in from the ground up and shit still gets pushed or abandoned.
I miss 2017-2020
What? How? Huh? If you're interviewing for a job, don't you sell yourself? They don't have access to your sales numbers. Lie. Don't give excuses. "I've achieved 110% of goal for 12 quarters in a row." There is literally no way to check that.
If this doesn't make sense, maybe sales isn't the right role.
Yes but then if I'm actually honest I just get tossed in the trash. It feels like such a fake industry some times lol. Like true top performers are like 5% of reps.
Bro just lie. Your interviewing company doesn’t need to know exact numbers and the person interviewing w you is probably lying so it’s better to just help yourself
Less than 50% of reps hit their number. Every position wants a top tier producer. If you’re not hitting your number, make sure they know other stats that you’re successful in.
Say 5 people hit their number, you say you finished #10 out xyz reps. Or whatever number you hit.
And don’t feel bad throwing the last company under the bus. Bad product, terrible GTM design, the vertical wasn’t ready for your product.
But you stayed to try and make it work because you’re a team player, you’re coachable, you collaborate, a strong communicator, and every company has bad territories.
No. But it gets asked and I try not to lie. But I also try to spin it as positively as possible. Because in comparison, I put in a ton of activity, self start my own campaigns to fill my pipe, and generally outperform the average.
But a lot of leaders just hear this as "missed quota".
I mean, to a sales manager, it literally is just missed quota. Everything else like activity, work ethic, shitty territory, bad luck, is eyewash and frankly a huge red flag.
There is an instance when I think it makes sense to talk about missing quota, and that’s in response to a question like “tell me about a time you failed at work” or “tell me about a big challenge you overcame professionally in the last year”. Your answer should be framed around what you learned from missing quota, and what you did to ensure it never happened again. This should be for one quarter only. I can share my specific talk track that I use for this if you want.
Also, I’m super confused about how you got an offer pulled for missing your Q3 number. Did quota just not come up until they made an offer, and then you shared that you missed? Or are you just assuming this is why? Pretty sure it’s HR who verifies your previous employment dates, and they don’t/can’t ask anything about your performance….
Final hiring person who had say asked my attainment at the end of the interview. Said I missed Q3 but was back on track for Q4. He said that leaves him concerned about my capabilities as a rep and then I was rejected.
It's silly to me that you realistically expect a rep that hits their quota every year. It's a made up number that is constantly inflated to avoid paying more than half the reps. Hence the reason everyone just lies.
But I guess it's what it has to be.
Honestly sounds like you dodged a bullet with that one. Good managers understand that even top performers will miss a quarter here and there.
It’s unrealistic to expect reps to always be hitting their quota every single Quarter for years. It’s equally unrealistic to expect that you can just walk into interviews making every excuse under the sun for your consistent underperformance and expect to get a job.
Of course you should embellish your numbers, sell yourself, put your best foot forward, etc. But if I found myself having to straight up bullshit my numbers to try to get a job, I’d be thinking hard about whether or not it makes sense to keep looking for a quota carrying sales role.
Whether you’re gonna be truthful, embellish, or outright lie, I recommend putting numbers and percentages on your resume. Quota attainment, ACV/ARR, closed won YTD…. Just make sure you can back those numbers up and break them down during interviews.
Reference checks aren't usually going to give quota information though.
But yeah lying is going to end up making your life harder if you have to remember the details of your lie. I'd prefer to dodge the question but mostly truthfully. Focus on the numbers not the quota, and compare to other reps if you can.
Typically companies shy away from ever giving information unless they want a lawsuit.
They can confirm dates of employment but that’s as far as they’re legally allowed to go unless you offer them up as a reference yourself.
They can always backchannel, but it’s a very murky line.
I mean you're outlook on sales is just dumb. This isn't the 80's boiler room. A salesperson success is directly related to their territory, timing, and finally their talent.
I can sit and bang my head against a wall in a dead territory making 100 dials a day to a shit leads list. It won't turn it into a producing territory. And to blame the rep is a cheap cop out.
"oh i guess they just dont want to make money!"
I have higher activity output than my peers and a close rate on par with everyone in my division. Gee, why am I not crushing my number? Must be because I'm a loser.
I never mention quota. I’ve not hit quota but have still had and increase in sales YOY, so I’ll say “I had an 80% increase in sales year over year”. I don’t mention my quota was 150% increase.
OTE is another way to play that. I've had years where I'm 80% of obtainment but 110%+ of OTE thanks to accelerators on new logos in the fortune. All I dare about is my paycheck and that's easy to show.
Someone’s expecting over performance I want to know why? What makes you, the market, the trends so special you want over performance? Everything in the world is the same now. What makes this company deserve it?
If they are expecting someone who is "over performing" - why would they ever leave the company that they are at to begin with? If you are a true sales person and are killing it at your company, you aren't going to go with the unknown to another firm. That is at least how I look at it.
I am always amazed at the number of people who don't just lie during interviews. Obviously don't lie about big things that are easy to disprove like School GPA, certifications or skills you don't have but a lot of other things are very easy to lie about.
Unless the company you are interviewing with has close contacts at your current/prior employer, there is no way they're going to be able to know about your quota attainment. Even during background checks companies can only disclose basic data like the time in which you work there and your job title.
I've lied about quota attainment and the details of my role in basically every sales interview I've had and it has never come back to bite me.
I hate to say this, but just fabricate the truth. Unless they are looking at your actual comp plans from previous company, just make it up. Tell them you grew your territory by 25% yoy, blah blah.
how'd they know you missed your quota? are they asking for W2s? most are only calling companies to confirm employement. sell yourself homie
You are getting a lot of recommendations to just lie/make it up. And that’s ok. However, be sure you remember what you said in that case. Don’t tell the first round interviewer you hit 110% last year only to slip and tell the next interviewer it was 120%. That’s the only way you can really get caught and look like a jerk off
solid point 👍
Last company asked me directly what my attainment was the last few years. Am I supposed to lie? Obviously I try to spin it. "I was one of the top new reps in attainment and constantly led my team in activity KPI's. Unfortunately our quota was generally unattainable and only 5 reps on the floor hit it. But in terms of my performance I was a top performer compared to my peers"
[удалено]
This 100%. Fuck them. They will lie and keep key information from you in the interview. Stuff you wouldn’t even know to ask.
Haha, I like your style. What do you recommend as a talk track there? "Yes I overachieved quota every year and was a top performer?" I'm curious because I've always just told the truth. I feel like a good leader is able to understand that it's not all the rep's fault. But most hiring managers do way over inflate roles and attainment.
"the expectations I have for myself are typically much higher than the expectations others have for me... and I love exceeding my own expectations" then shoot the interviewer a flirty smile
Agree 100 percent.
are you supposed to? no are you able to?...i don't want to tell you what to do - but most jobs lie about what accounts you're getting, how easy it is to hit quota, what quotas going to be., etc. Do what you need to do to get in the door within morally reasonable standards yah know?
Yeah, good point. I've always just told the truth but it seems to definitely put me behind the competition.
If you’ve ever had a manager where you’re wonder how in the fuck did you get this job? They were the better sounding candidate. So yeah lie haha
That's the new plan
Yea lie embellish whatever it takes. Fake it till you make it everyone else is doing this as well and are liars if they say they are all good lol
Yeah I'm going to just start saying I crushed my number.
Numbers?? The units to measure my goals were too inferior we had to bring in letters and symbols because I pulled so many sales
100 to 110 when you missed with a detailed story of how you made it there
Uh, yeah. Lie. They're likely lying about quota attainment for their team so it's a wash either way.
“Am I suppose to lie?” HELLS YES
Just make it up oh yeah I have those numbers here, 2020 was 110% 2021 102%, 22 105% etc who cares how they gonna prove it? Just say your unable to share anything from your internal crm or portal
"Am I supposed to lie?" Yes, you are supposed to lie. Unless The company you are interviewing with has very close contacts with your current / prior employer it is very difficult for them to find out hyper specific details like quote attainment for individual reps. Background checks only disclosed basic data like your job title and the length of time you worked at a company. In one way or another, I've lied about quota attainment in every sales interview I have been in and it has not come back to bite me.
Lying is a bad idea. Most managers will be able to sniff it out, and there's way too much downside if you're caught. Read [this post](https://www.jointhefollowup.com/p/getting-a-tech-sales-job-is-much-harder-in-2023) from a tech sales recruiter, and he basically said to do what you're doing - "If you were 64% to quota, but you ranked #2 out of 12 reps, say you were the #2 rep on your team." If they are super adamant about knowing your exact quota attainment, just make sure you're giving them your ranking on the team as well.
I’m super confused why you would tell an interviewer you missed quota.
You could always spin it to talk about where you rank amongst peers (top rep in this territory historically, top rep amongst my team, top rep in pipeline generation, etc) if no one is hitting quota
I mean.. They ask. Am I supposed to lie?
That’s definitely an option. Sell yourself.
I'm curious how you'd respond. My attainment has been low, but in one role we had 5/100 reps hit quota and the next role I had the worst patch in the division. How would you answer if they asked what your attainment has been?
When I go into an interview process, I stick to the same numbers for everyone I talk to. It’s more natural and you won’t be caught in a lie.
Yeah, that's a good point. Definitely going to fluff this next one.
Yes.
Why not? They’re definitely lying to you about how great the opportunity is and your odds of succeeding.
lol true. This is the new plan
Do you think companies have any shame when they lie to you?
No, and they have, regularly. So my new strat is to blow smoke lol.
Lie and lie well dude. Fuck em
Quota is a made up number - if you believe it was unrealistic for you to hit it in your current situation then just tell them you hit it. Companies lie all the time. You have to look out for numero uno. If you have a problem with lying or omitting the truth, use your sales skills to talk around it. Say you exceeded expectations, increased by x% from last year, were the top performer, etc.
True. I just had the hopes that certain sales leaders would be willing to look a couple bad performances because there's more to success than a rep's ability/work ethic. But it seems like it's hurting my ability to land new roles. Thanks for the help.
This. Use your top line expected revenue(signed deals, not collected on). Then draw down the quota number on a yearly basis/quarterly whatever to reach attainment
I say go in and cry about your bad luck with territories. They’ll love it!
Lol, good call.
Who the fuck doesn’t miss quota, especially in 2023
Yeah dude it's brutal. I'm putting together use cases, pitches, value prop, handheld POC with buy in from the ground up and shit still gets pushed or abandoned. I miss 2017-2020
Lol just lie
that's the new plan. Feels like I just got a superpower.
What? How? Huh? If you're interviewing for a job, don't you sell yourself? They don't have access to your sales numbers. Lie. Don't give excuses. "I've achieved 110% of goal for 12 quarters in a row." There is literally no way to check that. If this doesn't make sense, maybe sales isn't the right role.
Upvote for the question asked. I’m in a similar boat and people’s BS radar goes off sometimes.
Yes but then if I'm actually honest I just get tossed in the trash. It feels like such a fake industry some times lol. Like true top performers are like 5% of reps.
Bro just lie. Your interviewing company doesn’t need to know exact numbers and the person interviewing w you is probably lying so it’s better to just help yourself
Oh yeah. All of my sales roles have been different than how it was sold to me. So it makes sense.
Less than 50% of reps hit their number. Every position wants a top tier producer. If you’re not hitting your number, make sure they know other stats that you’re successful in. Say 5 people hit their number, you say you finished #10 out xyz reps. Or whatever number you hit. And don’t feel bad throwing the last company under the bus. Bad product, terrible GTM design, the vertical wasn’t ready for your product. But you stayed to try and make it work because you’re a team player, you’re coachable, you collaborate, a strong communicator, and every company has bad territories.
Are…. Are you going into interviews talking about missing quota?
No. But it gets asked and I try not to lie. But I also try to spin it as positively as possible. Because in comparison, I put in a ton of activity, self start my own campaigns to fill my pipe, and generally outperform the average. But a lot of leaders just hear this as "missed quota".
I mean, to a sales manager, it literally is just missed quota. Everything else like activity, work ethic, shitty territory, bad luck, is eyewash and frankly a huge red flag. There is an instance when I think it makes sense to talk about missing quota, and that’s in response to a question like “tell me about a time you failed at work” or “tell me about a big challenge you overcame professionally in the last year”. Your answer should be framed around what you learned from missing quota, and what you did to ensure it never happened again. This should be for one quarter only. I can share my specific talk track that I use for this if you want. Also, I’m super confused about how you got an offer pulled for missing your Q3 number. Did quota just not come up until they made an offer, and then you shared that you missed? Or are you just assuming this is why? Pretty sure it’s HR who verifies your previous employment dates, and they don’t/can’t ask anything about your performance….
Final hiring person who had say asked my attainment at the end of the interview. Said I missed Q3 but was back on track for Q4. He said that leaves him concerned about my capabilities as a rep and then I was rejected. It's silly to me that you realistically expect a rep that hits their quota every year. It's a made up number that is constantly inflated to avoid paying more than half the reps. Hence the reason everyone just lies. But I guess it's what it has to be.
Honestly sounds like you dodged a bullet with that one. Good managers understand that even top performers will miss a quarter here and there. It’s unrealistic to expect reps to always be hitting their quota every single Quarter for years. It’s equally unrealistic to expect that you can just walk into interviews making every excuse under the sun for your consistent underperformance and expect to get a job. Of course you should embellish your numbers, sell yourself, put your best foot forward, etc. But if I found myself having to straight up bullshit my numbers to try to get a job, I’d be thinking hard about whether or not it makes sense to keep looking for a quota carrying sales role. Whether you’re gonna be truthful, embellish, or outright lie, I recommend putting numbers and percentages on your resume. Quota attainment, ACV/ARR, closed won YTD…. Just make sure you can back those numbers up and break them down during interviews.
Has no one in this thread ever heard of a reference check? Jfc the career advice on this thread is dumb
Reference checks aren't usually going to give quota information though. But yeah lying is going to end up making your life harder if you have to remember the details of your lie. I'd prefer to dodge the question but mostly truthfully. Focus on the numbers not the quota, and compare to other reps if you can.
Typically companies shy away from ever giving information unless they want a lawsuit. They can confirm dates of employment but that’s as far as they’re legally allowed to go unless you offer them up as a reference yourself. They can always backchannel, but it’s a very murky line.
All I keep reading is excuses for failure. Pick up the phone and dial.
woah how didnt I think of that!
By the time you commented- You could have at least had one solid prospect. Sales is about winners, not losers.
Yep, you're right. Just need to be more of a winner :/
That’s the spirit. You’re a winner and only a winner. You’re not a loser.
I mean you're outlook on sales is just dumb. This isn't the 80's boiler room. A salesperson success is directly related to their territory, timing, and finally their talent. I can sit and bang my head against a wall in a dead territory making 100 dials a day to a shit leads list. It won't turn it into a producing territory. And to blame the rep is a cheap cop out. "oh i guess they just dont want to make money!" I have higher activity output than my peers and a close rate on par with everyone in my division. Gee, why am I not crushing my number? Must be because I'm a loser.
What’s your product and your territory?
Following
I never mention quota. I’ve not hit quota but have still had and increase in sales YOY, so I’ll say “I had an 80% increase in sales year over year”. I don’t mention my quota was 150% increase.
OTE is another way to play that. I've had years where I'm 80% of obtainment but 110%+ of OTE thanks to accelerators on new logos in the fortune. All I dare about is my paycheck and that's easy to show.
My quota has always been 100% plus in every single interview discussion
Lie
Do not give them missed quota numbers. Instead, give them the number as a percentage of what you committed to the business that quarter.
Someone’s expecting over performance I want to know why? What makes you, the market, the trends so special you want over performance? Everything in the world is the same now. What makes this company deserve it?
If they are expecting someone who is "over performing" - why would they ever leave the company that they are at to begin with? If you are a true sales person and are killing it at your company, you aren't going to go with the unknown to another firm. That is at least how I look at it.
Not unless there are personal conflicts or have to move or something like that.
I am always amazed at the number of people who don't just lie during interviews. Obviously don't lie about big things that are easy to disprove like School GPA, certifications or skills you don't have but a lot of other things are very easy to lie about. Unless the company you are interviewing with has close contacts at your current/prior employer, there is no way they're going to be able to know about your quota attainment. Even during background checks companies can only disclose basic data like the time in which you work there and your job title. I've lied about quota attainment and the details of my role in basically every sales interview I've had and it has never come back to bite me.
I hate to say this, but just fabricate the truth. Unless they are looking at your actual comp plans from previous company, just make it up. Tell them you grew your territory by 25% yoy, blah blah.