While interviewing, how do you know if you're joining a rocket ship or sinking boat?

Everyone plans to be a rockstar at their company, but in truth, I know very few companies where all AEs are hitting quota. What kind of questions can you ask during the interview process that will give you insight into whether or not you'd be able to hit your quota?

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mrsexyspizza

Politicker

Account Executive

I've made this mistake before so I'll share some learnings in hindsight:

1. What's the average tenure of reps? You can usually find this on LI. If it's <1yr then chances are people aren't hitting goal and sticking around

2. Ask typical deal size and work backwards to figure out how many avg deals you'd need to hit your monthly/quarterly target. Then ask the sales manager how many deals on average someone is closing per month

3. Talk to other reps. I did this extensively before joining my latest company (still got fucked though lol)

4. To my last point, unfortunately I've learned you really can't trust anything unless you have someone you know on the inside. 9/10 someone tells you 80% of reps are hitting their number, it's a stretch of the truth. Do as much due diligence as you can and go with your gut. And don't take the first offer.

ShakeNBake

Notable Contributor

Director of Sales

Ask about their ramp period. In many times this tells you when a rep is expected to be producing. It also tells you a little about retention and see if they are open to negotiating higher salary that can be paid back in commission as you hit it. If you can't convince them to give you an extra 5 to 10k at a start up, I wouldn't expect you to hit that in a year.

Telehealth_2the_Moon

Notable Contributor

Director of Business Development

Asking what percentage of AEs are hitting quota, this helps you know if the OTE they are waving in front of you is based on realistic targets.

SlinginSoftware

Politicker

Account Executive

This is question #1! Also asking questions about the runway they have...

beachNsales

Politicker

Sales Manager

ask how their last few hires have done in their first 6 months, that will show a lot.

Telehealth_2the_Moon

Notable Contributor

Director of Business Development

This is great. Also shows how they think about people who may not have done well. If they say all their hires struggled and don't seem to recognize the company's role in helping make sure they onboard successfully.

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kindofspanish

While interviewing, how do you know if you're joining a rocket ship or sinking boat?

6 comments

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