M
M

milkyway

Account Executive

Contributor
Fire Starter

Interview question

How would you respond if asked about your previous year's attainment knowing it was under 70% and currently on a PIP?


Do you tell them the truth or do you fib a little and say its close to 100% than it really is?


Keep in mind you really need the job because there is a small risk of not getting off plan.

Response to attainment

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32 comments

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oldcloser
Arsonist
43
💀
92% and it was the toughest year I’ve experienced. I got there by selling {weird creative deals like this} and {out of the box deals like that}. Had it not been for my innate ability to solve, I’d have been at 62% where the rest of them are.
DionysusClytemNe
Valued Contributor
3
Account Executive
This answer ^
2
Founding BDR
Yeah this is a great answer
milkyway
Contributor
1
Account Executive
I really like this approach, thanks!
DungeonsNDemos
Big Shot
1
Rolling 20's all day
Are you me? Haha this was my year
oldcloser
Arsonist
1
💀
Same right here- that answer didn’t just come out of nowhere. I lived it.
wwwb2b
Personal Narrative
1
AI Advisor
well said
oldcloser
Arsonist
0
💀
Please upvote, would ya? There’s a badge that comes with 50 likes and I want it 😁
wwwb2b
Personal Narrative
1
AI Advisor
got you with the 43rd
oldcloser
Arsonist
0
💀
My dude. ✊
Pachacuti
Politicker
18
They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy
“I was on track to exceed quota but some of the global economic trends hit my clients and I ended the year at 70%”.

Own it but have a great story to explain it.
jefe
Arsonist
4
🍁
Good talk track. Delivery will be key
milkyway
Contributor
1
Account Executive
I always try and be honest and I like this take. Thanks
0
As a hiring sales manager, I personally would not like this answer. Management is keenly aware of economic trends, so we look for those that can get creative to close in spite of what is happening in the world.
Gasty
Notable Contributor
14
War Room Community Manager
Tricky one;

You can always say that you were hitting targets, not like going crazy over them or something.

I don’t think telling interviewers that you underachieve will help. Play it smart, talk about the brands you worked with, the pipeline of deals, the work style and not the attainment of target in a direct way when asked, try to build a great story I’d say.
milkyway
Contributor
0
Account Executive
Good advice, thanks!
medhardwaredr
Opinionated
5
Director of Sales NA
This is a great question. Honestly if you’re confident enough be honest, however the way you handle explaining it is key. Tell them what you did to overcome this shortfall (forecast/gap analysis). What did you do to try and fill the gap?
Some people truly value this some however will disqualify you immediately if you missed by that much so do your research on the interviewer and know your audience. Good luck!
milkyway
Contributor
2
Account Executive
Solid advice here. Thank you!
3
Founding BDR
Don’t outright lie but maybe go into detail how you changed and adapted the strategy to match the economic buying climate. If you reeeeeally stretch the truth it could come back to bite you in the ass come the reference check
milkyway
Contributor
2
Account Executive
That's what I was curious about. Can employers check that kind of stuff if they don't know someone at the company?
medhardwaredr
Opinionated
3
Director of Sales NA
No they can’t officially check, however just like you and I as sales people dig for info, so can anyone. It’s as simple as looking someone up on LinkedIn at your old company and asking them how you did. It’s significantly easier than you think
TomRice
3
Head Of Sales
Redirect the question to the metric that matters most - How you stack ranked against your peers. Top 3 / Top 10% etc., whatever you feel most comfortable with. Then if they insist on knowing your attainment, you tell the truth…and insist that’s a major contributing factor in your decision to look elsewhere.
CRAG112
Valued Contributor
2
Account Executive
It’s unlikely anyone will ever truly know. Say what you need to say to sell them on hiring you 🤷‍♂️
MTW
Opinionated
2
Sales Director
You have to provide context.

Context on your local team
Context on similarly tenured reps
Context segment

Eg I hit 97% one year, but that was 3rd on my team, 11th/65 I’m the nation and with only 6 months in territory. Top 10 had all been at least 2 yrs in territory
0
This is the absolute best way to answer.
Kosta_Konfucius
Politicker
1
Sales Rep
Is there a time where you were over goal, either a quarter or month where you can talk in detail about your success
milkyway
Contributor
1
Account Executive
Yes, I was actually on the rising stars list for H1, then summer hit and deals started stalling and I got desperate and prospects felt that.
oldcloser
Arsonist
1
💀
This kind of honest self reflection will serve you very well.
Armageddon
Opinionated
1
Enterprise Account Executive
definitely side step this, you will immediately be DQ'd. I do however thing it can be powerful to talk about a time when you were on a plan and battled your way off of it during an interview
EdgarMint
1
Account Executive
Don’t openly admit you’re bad at sales when interviewing for a sales job. I’m close to a CRO who says that “everyone is presidents club during the interview.”
playerone
Politicker
0
Regional Account Executive
Better to be honest about your ability than switch jobs to have the same problems follow you there
GreenSide
Politicker
0
Sales manager
What is the rest of the team’s attainment? If you can compare yourself positively against them, then you can use that as your answer. Any hiring manager worth working for understands that not all quotas (or territories) are created equal.

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