What is Quota Attainment?
Quota attainment is the percentage of a salesperson's or team's revenue target that has been achieved, calculated as (Actual Revenue ÷ Quota) × 100.
What is a good quota attainment rate?
A healthy sales organization targets 60-70% of reps hitting quota in any given quarter. If fewer than 50% of reps hit quota, the quota may be set too aggressively or the sales process needs improvement. If more than 80% hit quota, the targets may be too conservative. The CRO Report's data suggests that well-designed comp plans result in a bell curve centered around 90-100% attainment.
Quota attainment is the most fundamental sales performance metric. It measures how close a rep, team, or organization is to hitting their assigned revenue target for a given period.
Average Quota Attainment Rates
Industry benchmarks show average quota attainment rates of 55-65% across B2B sales organizations. This means the typical sales team only hits about 60% of their collective quota. Top-performing organizations achieve 70%+ team-wide attainment.
Why Boards Care About Quota Attainment Distribution
Overall attainment percentage can be misleading. A team at 100% attainment might have 2 reps at 200% carrying 8 reps at 50%. CROs and boards look at the distribution: what percentage of reps are at 80%+, 100%+, and 120%+. A healthy distribution has 60%+ of reps at or above 80% of quota.
Quota Setting for VP Sales
VP Sales are typically held to a team quota that equals the sum of individual rep quotas. Setting quotas too high destroys morale and increases attrition. Setting them too low leaves revenue on the table. Most VP Sales job postings reference the candidate's history of building teams that consistently achieve 90%+ attainment.
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