Quota Attainment
The percentage of sales reps hitting their assigned quota. Industry benchmark is around 60%, but the real insight is in the distribution — are your top performers carrying everyone, or is your middle 60% pulling their weight?
20-person sales team with 12 reps (60%) hitting quota looks healthy at first glance. But analysis shows 5 reps hit 150%+, 7 barely hit 100%, and 8 missed badly. The top 25% are carrying the team. Fixing the middle 40% would double revenue impact vs. adding more reps.
Quota attainment is the number sales leaders obsess over, but the average hides everything important.
A 60% attainment rate could mean everyone's hitting 60% of quota (consistent but low). Or it could mean 20% of reps hit 150%+ while 40% hit zero. Same average, completely different problems.
When attainment drops, leaders blame the reps. But the problem is usually one of three things: (1) unrealistic quotas set by finance without sales input, (2) inadequate pipeline coverage going into the quarter, or (3) missing sales enablement that kills win rates.
The RevOps angle: track attainment distribution, not just average. Fix the system before blaming the people.
Define ItOther Definitions
“Quota attainment measures the percentage of sales representatives meeting or exceeding their assigned sales targets within a given period.”
“The proportion of salespeople achieving their quota. Average B2B quota attainment typically ranges from 50-60%, though high-performing organizations see 70%+ of reps hitting target.”
“Quota attainment rate reflects the effectiveness of sales teams and the realism of quota-setting processes. Low attainment often indicates quota-setting issues as much as performance problems.”
Quota attainment measures what percentage of reps achieve their sales targets. Salesforce focuses on basic measurement. Gartner provides the 50-60% benchmark while noting high performers reach 70%+. RAIN Group critically points out that low attainment often reflects quota-setting problems, not just rep performance.
Key factors affecting quota attainment: (1) Quota-setting methodology — realistic targets based on territory potential; (2) Pipeline coverage — whether reps have enough opportunities; (3) Win rates — ability to close opportunities; (4) Sales enablement — tools and content to support selling; (5) Ramp time — time given to new hires before full quota.
Distribution matters more than average — segment by tenure, territory, and product line.
MistakesCommon Mistakes
Setting quotas based on company needs instead of territory potential
Using average attainment without analyzing distribution
Full quota on new hires before adequate ramp time
Not adjusting quotas for territory changes mid-year
Blaming reps when the problem is pipeline coverage
Knowing the definition won't fix the leak.
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