When interviewing, how do you talk about your sales results for 2020?

Hey Savages,


How are people talking about their 2020 quotas? I came out of training and COVID hit. I was able to close 2 logos last year and 1 logo this year before being laid off. Do hiring employees consider COVID? Are recurutiers only talking to top performers despite COVID? Some industries did well, others did not. How are we talking about it?

How did you do against your quota for 2020?

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🎈 Mentorship
6
salesnerd
WR Officer
7
Head of Growth
Be honest. COVID is unprecedented in the sales world and recruiters/hiring managers know this. No reason to try to sugar coat it or fudge the numbers. 
Zeb
Opinionated
0
Regional Sales Manager
Thank you
fuzzy
Notable Contributor
5
CMO (Chief Meme Officer)
Do not lie. They know what's up. If you did just okay, you did amazing. 
Zeb
Opinionated
1
Regional Sales Manager
Thanks Fuzzy
HarryCaray
Notable Contributor
2
HMFIC
tell it like it is/was
SalesPharaoh
Big Shot
1
Senior Account Executive
I'm always honest there, worst thing you can do is lying about your success you're gonna be basically shooting yourself in the foot. There is more to it than numbers/targets so if you standout as the reasonable guy you will get hired. 

Like recently I'm in two interviews got an offer from one when I told them that I hit an avg of 70% of the target this year I didn't feel it impacted the perspective of the hiring manager. The other interview the hiring manager told me hey I got 100% of the targets only because I was alone managing accounts of 3 people whom I'm looking to hire 2 to fill in the gap. 
CaneWolf
Politicker
1
Call me what you want, just sign the damn contract
Yeah, COVID sucked for almost everyone so just keep it brief and truthful. Are you seriously being asked about 2020 results? That's kind of bizarre.
Zeb
Opinionated
0
Regional Sales Manager
I've talked to 3 recruiters and they all asked about 2020. 1 said,  "So you didn't finish 2020 over 100%?" I replied, "Are you only considering reps who finished 2020 over quota?" He said, "No". It seemed fine on the call but it made me think.
CaneWolf
Politicker
1
Call me what you want, just sign the damn contract
That sounds like to me recruiters who are still going through their standard list of questions. They have a bunch of boxes they need to check and 100% of quota last year is one. But yeah, you should be fine.
beerisforclosers
Politicker
1
Account Manager
I agree with everyone stating be honest. I'd add it's all in how you tell the story! Okay so COVID hit, you didn't get to plan - what did you learn? Have a great story of how you got better, and you'll be just fine.
Zeb
Opinionated
0
Regional Sales Manager
That's some great insight. I owe you a beer.
greencj
1
Major Account Executive
Try to focus on what you learned from trying to sell when the world saw every company reducing budgets rather than falling short.  Talk about controlling what you can control as in, output, training, learning from others, getting out of your comfort zone etc.  Then shift that into how you're going to be able to use that in your next role.
Corgmander
Good Citizen
1
Tech BD
My team RAISED our goals after COVID (lolololol) but I still hit it. The key for me was updating the way I positioned the product: “business is uncertain right now but XYZ is a way you could invest in yourself that will put you in a better position when we do get going again.” It was true and ended up working for many of my customers.

The push through COVID wasn’t healthy, and we all took hits in one area or another. If you didn’t hit goal this feels like a time in history where you might get a pass IF you can explain why you missed and what you will do to hit moving forward.
slaydie
Big Shot
1
Account Executive
Totally all about the way you position the story. I think even surviving covid at a company and not being laid off (if there were other layoffs at your company) is a huge win. I know you later got laid off but like you survived 2020. Like the others, sharing about what you learned and just owning your results. Plus you can share how you did vs other reps to show that you were on par or above etc. Be confident and own it.
Zeb
Opinionated
1
Regional Sales Manager
Thank you! This is the pump I needed to go forward.
slaydie
Big Shot
0
Account Executive
Go get em! Happy that we are able to support each other in this community! 
CoolBreeze
Opinionated
1
Enterprise Account Executive
Stick with the honest answer. And address the ways you changed tactics to respond to the global pandemic. This way you are showing your ability to learn from the situation and attempt to make positive changes at your approach. 
Sales1
Contributor
0
VP North America Wholesale
#1 in my entire company.
Salespreuner
Big Shot
0
Regional Sales Director
Honest, didn't make 100% quota. Why,? Domain hit due to covid. You may head over to my social handle for recos from prospect
JuicyKlay
Celebrated Contributor
0
AM
I focus on the highlights - not necessarily quota because honestly that was irrelevant in 2020-21. I’ve been highlighting the logos I brought on, $ amount of deals closed, and pipeline generated among other things. 
Zeb
Opinionated
0
Regional Sales Manager
You're 100% correct with that approach. 
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