Sales Capacity Planning Templates

1. Rep Capacity Calculator

Base Capacity Formula

Annual Productive Selling Days = 260 work days - holidays - vacation - training - admin
= 260 - 13 (EU holidays) - 20 (vacation) - 10 (training) - 5 (admin)
= 212 productive days/year
= 42 productive weeks/year

Commission-Carrying Capacity per Rep

Quota per Rep = Revenue Target / Number of Reps
Base Quota (fully ramped, year 1) = $300,000 - $500,000 (AE SMB)
                                    $750,000 - $1,200,000 (AE Mid-Market)
                                    $2,000,000+ (AE Enterprise)

Weekly Quota = Annual Quota / 42 productive weeks
Example SMB Rep: $400,000 / 42 = $9,524/week

Team Total Capacity Calculation

Team Revenue Capacity = (Number of Fully Ramped Reps × Average Quota)
                        + (Number of Ramping Reps × % Ramp)

Example Team:
- 3 fully ramped SMB AEs × $400,000 = $1,200,000
- 2 reps at 60% ramp × $240,000 = $480,000
- 1 SDR pipeline contribution = $150,000
Total Team Capacity = $1,830,000

2. Ramp Schedule by Role

Sales Development Rep (SDR)

Typical Ramp: 2-3 months to full productivity
Timeline:
- Month 0-2: Ramp (40% productivity)
  - Revenue contribution: $0 (pipeline-focused)
  - Activity targets: 150 outreach/week, 20 conversations/week
  - Goal: Build pipeline, learn qualification
- Month 2-3: 75% productivity
  - Activity targets: 200 outreach/week, 30 conversations/week
- Month 3+: 100% productivity ($2,000-3,000/month pipeline value)

Cost per SDR: $25,000-35,000/year fully loaded
Expected pipeline value at maturity: $25,000-40,000/month

AE Small Business ($20K-100K ACV)

Typical Ramp: 3-4 months to full productivity
Timeline:
- Month 0: Onboarding (20% quota)
  - Focus: Process, CRM, product training, shadowing
  - Target: $80,000 quota for the month
- Month 1-2: Early selling (50% quota)
  - Target: $200,000 quota for the month
  - Focus: Territory setup, first deals, objection handling
- Month 3: Ramping (80% quota)
  - Target: $320,000 quota
- Month 4+: Fully ramped ($400,000+ annual quota)

Cost: $45,000-60,000 salary + $80,000-120,000 commission
First-year fully loaded cost: $130,000-180,000

AE Mid-Market ($100K-500K ACV)

Typical Ramp: 4-6 months to full productivity
Timeline:
- Month 0-1: Onboarding + account handoff (25% quota)
  - Target: $187,500 for 2-month period
  - Focus: Deep training, account mapping, champion identification
- Month 2-3: Territory ramp (60% quota)
  - Target: $450,000 for 2-month period
  - Focus: Pipeline building, first negotiations
- Month 4-5: Accelerating (85% quota)
  - Target: $637,500 for 2-month period
- Month 6+: Fully ramped ($1,000,000 annual quota)

Cost: $55,000-70,000 salary + $150,000-220,000 commission
First-year fully loaded cost: $190,000-260,000

AE Enterprise ($500K+ ACV)

Typical Ramp: 6-9 months to full productivity
Timeline:
- Month 0-2: Deep onboarding (20% quota)
  - Target: $333,300 for 3-month period
  - Focus: Complex deal process, executive relationships, multi-threading
- Month 3-4: Ramping (50% quota)
  - Target: $833,300 for 2-month period
  - Focus: Pipeline building with executives, competitive positioning
- Month 5-6: Strong ramp (75% quota)
  - Target: $1,250,000 for 2-month period
- Month 7-9: Fully ramped ($2,000,000+ annual quota)

Cost: $70,000-90,000 salary + $280,000-380,000 commission
First-year fully loaded cost: $330,000-450,000

3. Territory Design Principles

Balanced Territory Sizing

By Customer Segment (not geography alone):

SMB ($10K-50K ACV):
- 50-100 accounts per AE
- Territory definition: Industry verticals or region + vertical combo
- Growth model: High-touch self-serve, some direct sales

Mid-Market ($100K-500K ACV):
- 20-40 accounts per AE
- Territory definition: Vertical + geographic region (e.g., "Healthcare, North Europe")
- Growth model: Consultative selling, multiple stakeholders

Enterprise ($500K+ ACV):
- 5-15 accounts per AE
- Territory definition: Named accounts (assigned by strategic value)
- Growth model: Executive relationship-driven, sales engineering required

Territory Assignment Methodology

Step 1: Segment all accounts by ACV and revenue potential
Step 2: Distribute by revenue opportunity (not headcount)
Step 3: Balance by:
  - Total addressable opportunity ($ value)
  - Account concentration (avoid all top accounts to one rep)
  - Growth potential (new vs. expansion)
Step 4: Account for geographic/vertical expertise
Step 5: Leave 10-15% white space for new customer acquisition

Workload Rebalancing

Rebalance quarterly if variance > 15% from territory average
Example: If avg territory = $1.2M opportunity but one rep has $1.5M
- Variance = 25% (too high)
- Action: Move 2-3 mid-sized accounts to balance

When to hire a new rep:
- Aggregate team capacity at 85%+ of goal
- Average territory value exceeds optimal by 20%+
- New rep can reach contribution in 4-5 months

4. Hiring Plan Template

Revenue → Capacity → Headcount

Example Scenario:
Current Revenue: $10M ARR
Target Revenue (Year 2): $15M ARR (50% growth)
Required New Revenue: $5M

Capacity Analysis:
- Current AE team: 8 reps
- Current capacity: $12M (85% utilization)
- Year 2 capacity needed: $17.5M (85% utilization target)
- Capacity gap: $5.5M

Hiring Plan:
- Current reps ramp to 100%: +$2M
- Need additional capacity: $3.5M
- New reps at full ramp: $400K each (SMB) = need 9 reps
- Current: 8 reps, Target: 17 reps, Hiring need: 9 new reps

Cost:
- 9 new reps @ $180K fully loaded (Year 1 with ramp) = $1,620,000
- 8 existing reps (incremental): $50K/person = $400,000
- Total Year 1 additional capacity cost: $2,020,000
- Cost per $1M new revenue: $404,000

Ramp Impact Timeline

Hire Date | Month 1 | Month 2 | Month 3 | Month 4 | Full Run Rate
Q1 Hire   | 20%     | 50%     | 80%     | 100%    | $400K (from M5)
Q2 Hire   |, | 20%     | 50%     | 80%     | $400K (from M8)
Q3 Hire   |, |, | 20%     | 50%     | $400K (from M11)

Year 1 revenue by hire date (SMB $400K quota rep):
Q1 Hire: $80K + $200K + $320K + $400K = $1,000K
Q2 Hire:, + $80K  + $200K + $320K = $600K
Q3 Hire:, +, + $80K  + $200K = $280K
Total new rep revenue Year 1: $1,880K (with 3 strategic hires)
Full-year run rate Year 2: $3 × $400K = $1,200K in capacity

Pre-Hiring Strategy

When to pre-hire (hire before you fully need the capacity):
- Ramp time > 4 months (AE Mid-Market or Enterprise)
- Growth acceleration planned
- Attrition risk is elevated

Pre-hire timing:
- 4-month ramp role: Hire 1 rep for every $1.6M additional target
- 6-month ramp role: Hire 1 rep for every $2.4M additional target
- This ensures reps are at 100% when revenue is needed

Example: Adding $5M revenue target in Q1 with 6-month ramp
- Hire in Q3 of prior year (6-month lead)
- Rep fully ramped by Q1 when you need the capacity

5. Attrition Impact Model

Turnover Scenario Analysis

Scenario: 1 AE Mid-Market rep leaves unexpectedly
- Rep quota: $1,000,000/year
- Tenure: 18 months (fully ramped)
- Replacement timeline: 6 months to full ramp

Revenue impact:
- Loss of $1,000,000 expected revenue
- Team capacity drops from $8M to $7M
- Replacement ramps in 6 months at $500K (months 1-6)
- Net Year 1 impact: -$1,000,000 + $500,000 ramp = -$500,000

Mitigation options:
A) Redistribute territory to existing reps (overload risk)
   - Temporary increase: 10-15% max (one quarter only)
B) Accelerate hiring (add capacity buffer)
   - Hire replacement + 1 additional rep
   - Cost: $360,000 (2 reps × $180K Year 1 loaded)
C) Sales manager takes accounts (short-term bridge)
   - Hold 5-10 key accounts for 2-3 months
   - Maintain relationship while recruiting

Attrition Planning Buffer

Rule: Hire to 110% of capacity need (10% attrition buffer)

Example:
Target revenue: $8M
Capacity needed: $9.4M (at 85% utilization)
With 10% attrition buffer: $9.4M × 1.10 = $10.34M
Rep capacity: $1M per fully ramped rep
Team size needed: 11 reps (vs. 9.4 without buffer)

This buffer ensures:
- 1 person can leave per 10-person team without impact
- Ramps overlap for team transitions
- New reps come online before experienced reps leave

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Implementation Notes

• Update quarterly: Review actual productivity vs. capacity assumptions
• Adjust templates for your org: Base numbers are B2B SaaS $15M-150M ARR benchmark
• Track ramp attainment: Measure actual vs. planned ramp schedule monthly
• Annual review: Recalibrate quotas and ramp timelines based on actual performance