What is a quota in sales?
A quota is the sales target a rep or team must reach in a set period, measured in revenue, deals, meetings or another agreed result.
Why it matters for sales teams
Quotas turn company goals into individual targets. They tell reps what success looks like, drive compensation plans and help managers spot who needs support. A quota set too high demoralizes the team. One set too low leaves revenue on the table.
Different roles carry different quotas:
- Account executives: usually closed revenue or new bookings
- SDRs and BDRs: usually meetings held, opportunities created or sales-qualified leads
- Account managers: usually renewals and expansion revenue
Example
A company sets a quarterly new-revenue target and splits it across eight AEs based on territory and experience. The individual quotas add up to a little more than the company target, so the team can still reach it if one rep falls short. SDRs get a monthly target of qualified meetings held, tied to what the AEs need to reach their own numbers.
Quota vs quota attainment
Quota is the target. Quota attainment is how much of that target a rep actually reached, usually shown as a share of the quota. Managers track attainment across the team to see whether quotas are realistic.