What is quota attainment?
Quota attainment is actual bookings as a percentage of quota. It is the headline measure of whether a rep or team is delivering against the target set for them.
It works at two levels. For an individual rep it shows performance against goal; across a team, the share of reps hitting quota tells you whether targets are calibrated to reality.
The formula.
Quota attainment = (actual bookings divided by quota) times 100. Use the same period and the same definition of bookings as the quota was set against.
The number reads simply: 100% is exactly on target, above is over-attainment, below is a shortfall. The context behind it is where the action is.
A worked example.
A rep books 90,000 against a 100,000 quota. Attainment is 90,000 divided by 100,000, times 100, which is 90%.
What is a good quota attainment?
At the rep level, 100% means the target was met. At the team level, a common healthy pattern is roughly 60 to 70% of reps reaching quota; far higher can mean quotas are too easy, far lower that they are unrealistic or pipeline is thin.
Attainment is the outcome; pipeline coverage is the leading indicator. Tracking it against the demand feeding the pipeline shows whether a shortfall starts well before the close.
How to improve it.
Build more qualified pipeline, lift win rate, and make sure quotas fit the territory. A miss is usually a pipeline or qualification problem before it is an effort problem.
Sustained attainment depends on a steady supply of qualified opportunities, which is what it means to fill the top of the funnel cheaper.