How many salespeople do I need to hit my revenue target?

Divide the revenue your current team cannot cover by what one new seller will bring in during the plan. That figure depends on quota, realistic attainment, ramp time and start date. A seller who joins halfway through the year and takes four months to ramp adds only a few productive months.

What attainment rate should you assume for sales quota planning?

Plan for less than 100%. Not every seller hits quota every period, so using full quota for every rep overstates capacity. Use your own history if you have it. If you do not, choose a conservative figure and revisit it once you have a few quarters of results.

How does ramp time affect sales capacity planning?

During ramp a new seller brings in little or no revenue, so each month of ramp reduces their contribution to this year's plan. Longer ramp or a later start date means you need more hires, or need to hire sooner, to cover the same target.

Free template · Hiring & sales team

Sales Quota & Capacity Planner

Work out how many sellers you need for a revenue target, accounting for attainment, ramp and start dates.

Excel · 2 tabs

What's inside

Revenue per ramped seller from quota and attainment
Capacity of your existing team
Productive months per new hire after ramp
New sellers needed, or a warning if hires start too late

Who it's for

Founders building a hiring plan for the next year.

Why it matters

Revenue plans often assume every new seller hits full quota from the day they join. In reality, sellers take months to ramp and few teams hit 100% of quota on average. Ignoring both leads to hiring too few people or hiring too late, and the gap only shows up when the year is nearly over.

Working backward from the target makes the hiring decision concrete. Once you enter quota, expected attainment, ramp time and start month, you can see how many productive months each hire really adds. If hires start too late to contribute, the planner says so, which tells you to hire earlier or change the target.

How to use it

1On the Planner tab, enter your new revenue target, the number of months in the plan and the annual quota for one fully ramped seller.
2Add expected average attainment, ramp time in months and how many ramped sellers you already have. Founders selling full time can count.
3Enter the month new hires would start and read the results: revenue per ramped seller, capacity of the current team and the gap to cover.
4Check productive months per hire and new sellers needed. If it says hires start too late, try an earlier start month or a shorter ramp.
5Treat the result as a minimum, since the planner assumes no revenue during ramp and full output after. Replace the placeholder inputs with your own numbers.

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Sales Quota & Capacity Planner: FAQ

How many salespeople do I need to hit my revenue target?: Divide the revenue your current team cannot cover by what one new seller will bring in during the plan. That figure depends on quota, realistic attainment, ramp time and start date. A seller who joins halfway through the year and takes four months to ramp adds only a few productive months.
What attainment rate should you assume for sales quota planning?: Plan for less than 100%. Not every seller hits quota every period, so using full quota for every rep overstates capacity. Use your own history if you have it. If you do not, choose a conservative figure and revisit it once you have a few quarters of results.
How does ramp time affect sales capacity planning?: During ramp a new seller brings in little or no revenue, so each month of ramp reduces their contribution to this year's plan. Longer ramp or a later start date means you need more hires, or need to hire sooner, to cover the same target.

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