Sales quotas are planned targets for individual salespeople or teams, most often expressed in revenue, margin, or number of deals closed. How they are set directly influences behaviour: a quota built on turnover leads to giving away discounts, while a quota on the number of deals leads to prioritising small and quick orders. It is therefore recommended to tie it to margin or to combine several indicators. The level should be demanding yet achievable – if no one meets it over the long term, it stops being taken seriously and becomes demotivating. It should be derived from real data on demand, conversion, and cycle length, not from the company's desired growth. Equally important is a fair division of territory and customers, which often has a greater influence on the result than performance itself.
See also: KPIs for a marketer, Sales commission, Revenue forecast.
