Building a sales plan starts with reverse-engineering from your revenue target. Given
an annual revenue goal, average contract value (ACV), and close rate, this calculator
shows exactly how many deals, leads, and pipeline you need to generate — by month
and by year.
The reverse funnel math
Deals needed = Annual Revenue Target ÷ ACV
Leads needed = Deals Needed ÷ Close Rate
Pipeline needed = Leads Needed × ACV (total pipeline value you need to enter)
If your annual target is $1M, ACV is $12k, and close rate is 20%:
- 83 deals needed
- 417 qualified leads needed
- ~7 deals per month, 35 leads per month
What this tells you about hiring
A single SDR (Sales Development Representative) typically generates 40–80 qualified leads per month depending on segment
and outbound quality. If your math requires 200+ leads/month, you need 3–5 SDRs or
a mature inbound engine. Use these numbers to model headcount requirements before
committing to a revenue plan.
Improving the inputs
The highest-leverage change to your quota math:
- Close rate: a 5% improvement (from 20% to 25%) reduces leads needed by 20%
- ACV: doubling ACV halves the number of deals required
- Sales cycle: shorter cycles mean more pipeline turns per year and better capital efficiency
Frequently asked questions
What close rate should I use?
Track close rate from qualified lead (discovery call booked) to closed-won.
B2B SaaS averages: 15–25% for SMB, 20–30% for mid-market, 30–40% for enterprise (longer funnel, more qualified leads). If you don't know your close rate yet, start with 20%.
How does sales cycle affect pipeline?
A 30-day sales cycle means pipeline turns ~12× per year; a 90-day cycle turns 4×.
Shorter cycles give you more data, faster iteration, and lower cash requirements for
the same revenue target.
How to Set Sales Quotas That Are Achievable and Motivating
A framework for setting annual and quarterly sales quotas — based on territory potential, rep capacity, and historical attainment data.
Sales quotas are one of the most consequential decisions in revenue planning. Set them
too high and you destroy morale and retention. Too low and you leave money on the table.
Here is a data-driven framework.
The quota-setting inputs
Total revenue target (from finance — usually ARR growth goal)
Number of quota-carrying reps (QCRs) — exclude ramp, leave, management
Historical attainment — what % of reps hit quota last period?
Territory/segment capacity — TAM × penetration rate by territory
Common quota models
Top-down: Total target ÷ number of reps + management buffer (20–30%)
- Simple, but ignores territory variation
Bottom-up: Sum of territory potential × expected win rate
- More accurate, requires territory data
Bottoms-up with attainment model: Set quota so 60–70% of reps attain it
- Research shows this maximises revenue per rep while preserving motivation
Quota attainment benchmarks
A healthy sales org has:
- 60–70% of reps at or above quota
- <5% of reps significantly below (50% of quota)
- Clear top performer tier (120%+) driving outsized results
Sales Quota Attainment: How to Analyze and Improve Your Team's Numbers
How to measure and improve sales quota attainment — interpreting attainment curves, identifying rep performance patterns, and diagnosing quota-setting errors.
Quota attainment data tells you more about your sales org health than any single metric.
Here is how to read the signals and act on them.
The attainment distribution
Plot all reps' attainment as a percentage of quota. A healthy distribution looks like:
5–10% of reps at 0–50% (performance-managed or ramping)
20–30% of reps at 50–90% (improving; review coaching)
40–50% of reps at 90–120% (quota zone — this is the majority you want)
10–20% of reps at 120%+ (top performers)
What the curve tells you
Bimodal distribution (lots at 0–50% and lots at 150%+, few in the middle):
quotas are probably wrong — some territories are oversized, others are undersized.
Everyone is at 85–95%: quotas are set too high. Reps are sandbagging to avoid
a ratcheted quota next year, and top performers are leaving for lower-quota environments.
Everyone is at 120%+: quotas are set too low. You're overpaying on commission
and leaving money on the table. Raise quota by 15–20% next cycle.
The quota attainment cascade
Ramp analysis: are new hires hitting 80% of quota by month 4?
Cohort analysis: is attainment improving, degrading, or flat quarter-over-quarter?
By segment: enterprise vs SMB attainment often diverge — investigate separately
By channel: SDR-sourced vs marketing-sourced often have different win rates
Use the sales quota calculator to model your
total revenue target and per-rep allocation.
Tools our audience uses alongside this calculator.
HubSpot SalesSales CRM
Pipeline management, deal tracking, and quota monitoring. Free tier includes basic pipeline view — shows how actual pipeline compares to the target you just calculated.