The Lowdown on Quotas in Tech Sales | Understanding Sales Targets

If you're new to tech sales, the idea of a quota may seem like a bit of a mystery. What is it, exactly? How is it calculated? And how can you make sure you hit your number?

Quotas are a mainstay in sales, not only because they help organizations measure the performance of their sales team, but also because they’re often tied to financial and motivational incentives such as bonuses and commissions!

No wonder it’s such an important concept — and we’re here to help you break it down!

Sales Quotas in a Nutshell

In short, a quota is a goal that your company expects you to reach within a specific period of time. Quotas come in different shapes and sizes, but you can think of them in three main categories:

• Financial quotas: A target based on the amount of revenue you bring in or the profit you earn from each customer
• Volume quotas: A target based on the number of products or services you sell
• Activity quotas: A target based on the sales-related tasks you complete (for example, setting up demos or making cold calls)

Quotas can be fulfilled by new customers buying a product or service for the first time, from returning customers renewing an existing contract, from upsells to a higher tier of offering, or cross-sells to new product categories.

Quotas can differ between roles on a sales team, too. For example, a BDR might be measured based on how many Sales Qualified Leads they produce or meetings they set up; an Account Executive might have a financial quota around the revenue they earn for each deal closed; a Customer Success Manager might aim for more cross-sells and upsells.

How Do You Hit Your Quota?

Hitting your quota is important for two reasons. First, it ensures that you're doing your part to contribute to your team's overall success.

Second, it helps you earn commissions and other financial incentives. In other words, hitting your quota is essential if you want to make good money in tech sales!

So how’s it done? There’s no shortcut in hitting quotas – it ultimately comes down to solid sales skills:

1) Know your products inside and out

The better you understand your products and their features, the better equipped you'll be to sell them. Product knowledge helps you:

• Qualify the right leads who will find value in what you offer
• Explain complex concepts in an easy-to-understand way
• Tailor your messaging to your prospective customer’s situation
• Answer important questions on-the-spot
• Build credibility as a trusted expert in your industry or field

2) Do your research on potential customers

The more you know about their specific needs and pain points, the better able you'll be to pitch them on why your product is the right fit for them.

Before you pick up the phone, compose an email, or slide into someone’s DMs, make sure you’ve covered the following bases. have you:

• Looked your contact up on a platform like LinkedIn, so you know their name, title, role, and responsibilities within the organization
• Visited the company’s website to get a sense of who they are, how big they are, where they’re located, what they do, and who works there
• Looked for the latest industry news and insights to understand what kind of landscape they operate within
• Scanned any reviews or articles written about their company to get a sense of what their customers think of them
• Identified the key competitors within their marketplace (and you know how they stack up against one another)

3) Stay organized and keep track of all your leads

Between all the calls to make, emails to send, meetings to attend, prep work to complete, and administrative tasks to slog through, you still need to make sure no lead slips through the cracks. Yet there’s only so much time in one day!

A CRM (customer relationship management) system can be a big help with this, as well as other forms of sales enablement that automates tasks like sending follow-up emails, scheduling meetings, sales reporting, and even forecasting.

4) Ask for help when you need it

No one expects you to know it all! If you get stuck, don’t hesitate to reach out to others who have been there before and can provide valuable insight into how best to approach quotas (and sales in general).

After all, sales is anything but a solo sport. Your support network is a wide one that includes leaders within your team, your colleagues, and even people in other departments within your organization.

Ready to Overcome Your Quota in Tech Sales?

Now that you know a bit more about quotas in tech sales and how you can hit them by knowing your product, researching your prospective customer, staying organized and reaching out for help when you need it, hopefully the mystery has been lifted!

But if there’s one takeaway you should know, it’s this: the more you know about effective sales techniques and strategies, the more confident you’ll feel about hitting your quota each month… and the further you'll get on your journey to Career Success!

And we’re here to guide you through it all, whether it’s through one of the courses and workshops in our Career Success Catalog or through Career Coaches who have been there and done that. Enroll today and explore all the mysteries of tech sales!