Worked example
A team of 10 ramped reps on a $50,000 monthly quota at 80% expected attainment, adding 2 hires a month on a 3-month ramp, with 1% monthly attrition, against a $9M target.
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Fully ramped reps today | 10 |
| Monthly quota per ramped rep | $50,000.00 |
| Expected attainment | 80% |
| New hires per month | 2 |
| Ramp months for new hires | 3 |
| Monthly attrition | 1% |
| 12-month revenue target | $9,000,000.00 |
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| 12-month bookings capacity | $8,759,263.53 |
| Average productive headcount | 18.25 |
| Headcount after month 12 | 31.36 |
| Gap to target | $240,736.47 |
- Bookings per ramped rep-month: quota × attainment: $40,000.00
- Productive rep-months over 12 months: 218.98
- = 12-month capacity: $8,759,263.53
- Gap: target − capacity: $240,736.47
The month-by-month model
Productivity of a hire in their k-th month = min((k − 1) ÷ ramp months, 1)
Productive headcount (month) = ramped heads + Σ hire cohort heads × productivity
Bookings (month) = productive headcount × monthly quota × expected attainment
Heads at the start of next month = heads × (1 − monthly attrition)
- Month 1 starts with your ramped reps, all fully productive.
- At the start of each month a new cohort of hires joins. A hire produces nothing in their first month and climbs in equal steps to full productivity in the month after the ramp.
- Bookings for the month are computed from the productive headcount.
- At month end, attrition removes the same share of every cohort, veterans and new hires alike.
Headcount is kept as an expected value, so it can be fractional: 1% attrition on 10 reps removes 0.1 of a rep per month rather than waiting for a whole person to leave.
Reading the results
- Average productive headcount is the number of fully ramped reps that would produce the same bookings. It is lower than your headcount whenever people are ramping.
- Gap to target is the target minus capacity. A positive gap means the plan needs more hires, earlier hires, shorter ramps or a lower target.
- If a hire made in month 10 barely contributes, that is the ramp at work: late-year hiring mostly builds next year’s capacity.
To set individual numbers from the result, use the quota calculator; to model one new hire’s ramped quota, use the sales ramp calculator.
Limitations
- Attainment is the same for every ramped rep and every month; seasonality is not modeled.
- Departing reps are assumed to be replaced only through the hiring plan you enter.
- Bookings are counted in the month they are produced, with no sales-cycle lag beyond the ramp.
- We do not publish benchmark attainment, ramp or attrition figures. Use your own history.
Frequently asked questions
What is sales capacity?
Sales capacity is the bookings your team can be expected to produce over a period, given how many reps are productive and how much of quota they typically close.
Why use expected attainment instead of 100% of quota?
Planning on full attainment assumes every rep hits their number. Using the attainment your team actually achieves gives a capacity figure you can plan hiring against.
Why is a new hire 0% productive in month 1?
The model assumes a hire needs at least one month before closing anything, then ramps linearly. With a ramp of 0 months, hires are fully productive from their first month.
How is attrition handled?
Each month ends with the attrition percentage removed from every group of reps. It is a smooth expected loss, not a prediction of who leaves when.