How to interview after missing quota

Published: Wed, 04/23/25

Updated: Mon, 04/28/25

April 23, 2025

TOGETHER WITH

Spring has sprung, and that’s good news! A poll we conducted several weeks ago showed the majority of reps rated Spring as their best season for closing deals. Let’s ease into it with this week’s newsletter, where we’ll take a look at the best way to interview after missing quota, and what to do when individual contributors are forced to become team sellers. Enjoy!

NUMBER OF THE WEEK

500

Outbound is the best-performing source for companies with fewer than 500 employees.

Source: Ebsta

SALES ROUNDUP

Here’s what’s happening in the sales world this week:

A former Google salesman has filed a lawsuit against the tech giant, alleging violations of federal and state laws related to his employment and life insurance benefits. After being diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer, the salesman claims he was unjustly terminated, denied commissions totaling $2 million, and faced cancellation of his $4 million life insurance policy. Read the (slightly) longer article here.
In China, where Tesla’s sales have dropped 21.8% year-over-year, reps are resorting to working seven days a week, 13 hours a day to combat the brand’s market decline. According to Tesla sales staff in Beijing, the current performance standard requires closing at least one sale daily, translating to approximately 30 vehicles a month. However, many salespeople struggle to sell even 3-4 cars weekly, despite continuously tracking potential customer activity and persuasively promoting the vehicles. You can read more about it here.

FEATURE

How to Interview After Missing Quota

By Ryan Walsh, CEO and Founder of RepVue

So, you missed quota last year (or quarter) and are interviewing for a new sales role.

They say they want people with a “proven track record of hitting quota.” What do you do? What do you say?

After you’ve researched the company’s quota attainment, culture, etc (RepVue is a great source for this), here’s your playbook:

1. Be Upfront and Clear

First, be upfront about your metrics, and be very clear:

“My goal was X. I hit Y, which resulted in 82%. I closed Z number of deals, with an average deal size of $XYZ. My deal count was on point, but my average transaction size was a bit lower than where it needed to be to get to 100%. Here’s why that was the case…”

You need to be explicit about the metrics, the numbers, the pipeline, the average deal size, the deal volume, throughput, and more. Doing this will go a long way to make up the delta between 82% and 100%. The hiring manager should believe you know the mechanics of success inside and out.

2. Provide Context

Second, provide context about the team and your performance. NOT EXCUSES.

Find a win in there. Maybe you were in the top half of performers, or better?“

There were 12 folks on my team, and while I only finished last year at 82%, I was 3rd on the team, and only 13% behind the top performer. The distribution of performance was as follows: half the team was below 60%, the top performer was 95%, and I was third at 82%. Obviously, there were some challenges across the team, including …”

Talk about why you think performance was what it was (the challenges), but don’t make them sound like excuses. And don’t trash your company or former leaders. Be measured, direct, and fact-based.

3. Take Ownership

Third, take ownership, don’t make excuses.

“I thought 82% was an OK performance, but my objective was to be first on the team. Here are three things that I think I could have done better in that role to get me from third to first.”

Then, list those three (or however many) areas for improvement, and make sure they would apply to how you would succeed in this new role. You know that there were things you could have done better. Own them.

Always close this portion with your expectations for yourself and reiterate the areas you’d be focused on to drive to 100% in this new role.

You’re Not Alone

The reality is that many of your peers interviewing for the same role have also been below quota, so the difference of who moves forward will come down to who the hiring manager believes will hit at their org.

Remember, only about 41% of folks hit quota last year! You can see quota attainment and salary data for a variety of other sales roles here too.

Lastly (as a reminder), don’t lie... about anything.

FYI

Even if you’re not actively in the job market, RepVue has a helpful salary calculator that can give you an estimate based on data provided by thousands of other reps. You should also look up your current org and see how your comp stacks up.

Both features can help you get an idea of how much you should be getting paid!

YOUR SALES REPS ARE REMOTE. YOUR CULTURE DOESN'T HAVE TO BE

Remote sales teams are a trip.

One week your squad’s ringing the proverbial gong in Slack. Next, you’re wondering if half the team left you on “Active.” (if you know, you know)

Managing a distributed sales team is more than automated dashboards and making sure the dials are dialed — it’s about building connection, driving momentum, and celebrating the hell out of wins. Simple right? But here’s the problem: 45% of remote sales reps say they struggle to feel connected to their team. And as we all know, disconnected teams play like the

That’s where Confetti comes in – virtual team experiences that people actually want to go to.

We help sales leaders turn routine check-ins into real connection, milestones into memorable moments, and disconnected teams into top performers — with hundreds of not-lame, professionally-hosted experiences built specifically for remote and hybrid teams.

Not sure if it’s right for your team? Check it out for free

🎉 Join us for Speed Trivia on April 29 and see how Confetti works.
🎯 All registrants will be entered to win a free experience (up to $1,000).

Learn more

MEME OF THE WEEK

Source: Instagram -- Sales Humor

QUIZ

What were the three best-selling cars in the U.S. in the 1990s?

A. Oldsmobile Cutlass, Toyota Camry, Ford Escort
B. Honda Accord, Ford Taurus, Toyota Camry
C. Toyota Camry, Ford Escort, Chevrolet Cavalier
D. Ford Escort, Ford Taurus, Toyota Camry

SALES FAILS

Each week, we bring you the most cringe-worthy sales moments from across the web. To submit your sales fail story for consideration, click here. (Don't worry, you'll remain completely anonymous).

I sell high-end kitchen appliances at a showroom where we do live cooking demonstrations. One day, I had an affluent couple interested in our top-of-the-line induction range. I was showing them how quickly it could boil water compared to gas when the husband asked about safety features. I launched into my rehearsed spiel: "That's the beauty of induction! The surface itself doesn't get hot, only the pan does. Look, I can even put my hand directly on it while it's on!" I confidently placed my palm on what I thought was the induction burner. Unfortunately, I had turned on the wrong burner — the regular electric one that was already glowing red hot. I screamed, yanked my hand back, and knocked over a display of copper pots that crashed to the floor. The couple was horrified and left without buying anything.

Anonymous Location withheld

GRAPH OF THE WEEK

Source: LinkedIn Poll -- April 2025

WORTH A PEEK

Why is everybody ALWAYS late to sales meetings? Seriously! This was the topic of discussion on a recent Reddit thread, where respondents agreed, vented, and dissented (see what we did there?) You can read the whole conversation here.

ASK THE QUOTA

Want to submit a question and be featured in our advice column? Click here. (Don't worry, you'll remain completely anonymous).

Dear Quota Team,

My company recently introduced a "team selling" approach where each deal requires collaboration between an SDR, AE, and sales engineer, with commissions split among all three. I'm an AE and have been sourcing and running deals by myself for the last two years. While I appreciate the support, my commissions have been cut dramatically compared to our previous individual model. The AEs who struggle with technical details love this approach, but as someone who's invested years learning our product inside-out, I feel penalized for my expertise. How do I advocate for a compensation structure that recognizes different contribution levels without seeming like I'm not a team player?

Frustrated in Location Withheld

Dear Frustrated,

It looks like having more cooks in the kitchen is introducing complexity and disincentivizing you. Ask your manager for a hybrid model where self-sourced deals have a different commission split than team-sourced opportunities. Highlight your past performance and ability to run the full cycle independently. Frame your request as maximizing company profitability rather than opposing collaboration—you're simply advocating for a structure that incentivizes efficiency while still supporting team selling when beneficial. Good luck!

Quiz Answer: B. The Honda Accord, Ford Taurus, and Toyota Camry were the three best-selling cars in the U.S. in the 1990s (you can read the source article here)

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Today's email was written by Ken Kupchik, Erica Furgiuele, Steve Rado, and Emily Hill.

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