Activity Quota

What Is an Activity Quota?

An activity quota is a minimum level of sales-oriented actions that must be met by a salesperson during a given time period. An activity quota may require a salesperson to make a certain number of outbound calls, send a certain number of emails to potential clients, or submit a certain number of statements of work. The quota is not typically based directly on a revenue figure requirement, but it is related to the actions that lead to a sale being made.

Understanding Activity Quotas

Activity quotas are often used in situations in which salespeople have to contact potential clients. The quota is designed to ensure that the salesperson is making a minimum level of effort to attract new clients, and employers may reward employees who surpass the activity quota as an incentive to put in more effort. 

When a product or service can't sell itself, a salesperson must put in great effort to do so. Sales staff in an Apple store or a Tesla dealership have the luxury of eager customers looking to buy their products, but for most other goods and services that are not so differentiated or lack strong brand equity, salespersons must work hard to promote them. Computer software services come to mind, as do several financial services such as financial planning, insurance, and retail banking.

Unless well-connected to high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs), a financial planner (or financial advisor) without a pre-existing book of business must contact hundreds, if not thousands, of prospects to generate sufficient revenues to keep the sales job. The same holds true for an insurance salesperson.

Since it is generally not in a person's nature to make so many cold calls and write countless cold emails only to get rejected, the salesperson must be held accountable by their employer. An activity quota is the principal means by which an employer measures this effort. In general, activity quotas are intended to boost a sales team's productivity and increase revenue.

Activity Quotas and Social Media

The types of activities subject to quotas are changing in the age of social media. Cold calling is still considered a way of reaching prospects, but increasingly the method is being supplanted by contact techniques offered by social media.

Potential customers clicking on links or "liking" or "tweeting" about a product or service give direct signals to salespersons so they can better focus their sales efforts. Thus, instead of an activity quota of 250 phone calls in a week for a financial advisor in his probation period, they may be ordered to contact 50 people who commented on "retirement planning" in a social media feed.

Activity Quotas vs. Sales Quotas

In addition to activity quotas, a business may also set sales quotas. A sales quota is a sales goal, sales target, or minimum sales level that a team or individual aims to achieve. Sales quotas are typically time-sensitive — either monthly, quarterly, or yearly. Sometimes sales quotas are measured in dollar amounts and sometimes they are measured as units sold. These quotas can be as specific as a number of new customers, or through activities like product demonstrations.

Sales quotas are intended to act as a benchmark and provide motivation for salespeople to perform their best, while also. supporting the business’ goals. Many sales teams thrive with the help of quotas.

Example of Activity Quotas

Raj makes 150 phone calls, writes 200 emails, and contacts 50 people via social media in a month to sell a product. At the end of the month, he acquires 30 sales opportunities with clients.