Know if the heads can hit the number, before the quarter.
“Can the reps we have, plus the ones we plan to hire, actually hit the number?”
Ramped-rep productivity, the hiring plan to close the gap, honest ramp assumptions, and the plan-vs-capacity gap.
What this skill does
Takes your target and tells you whether the team you have, plus the team you plan to hire, can actually produce it. It models productivity per ramped rep, lays a hiring plan against the gap, states the ramp curve so partial-year hires are not counted as full heads, and surfaces the shortfall between what the plan asks and what the capacity can deliver.
Inputs
- Works today with: your target for the period, current rep count, planned hires with start months, average productivity per ramped rep, and a ramp length. Paste it or upload a sheet.
- More powerful connected to a CRM: it reads real per-rep productivity and cycle length instead of a blended average.
- Sharper with an HRIS or ATS: it pulls actual start dates and open reqs so the hiring plan is grounded in reality.
- Sharper with a data warehouse: it splits ramp and productivity by segment and hire source.
How it works
- 1Ramped-rep productivity
Start from what a fully ramped rep actually produces at expected ATTAINMENT, not at a fantasy 100 percent. This is the unit the whole model rests on. If you have history, use the median, not the top rep, because you cannot staff a plan on your best person.
- 2The ramp assumptions
State the RAMP_CURVE openly. A rep who starts mid-period does not deliver a full head. Apply the curve month by month so a Q3 hire contributes a fraction, not a whole. Add LEAD_TIME so a req opened today is not producing next month. These assumptions are where optimistic plans hide, so they get shown, not buried.
- 3The hiring plan to hit the number
Work backward from TARGET. Subtract capacity from existing ramped reps, then fill the remainder with hires, each discounted by ramp and start month. Add backfills for ATTRITION, because a plan that ignores churn is short before it starts. The output is a req schedule with start months, not a single headcount.
- 4The gap between plan and capacity
Put the target next to what the modeled team can actually produce. Name the shortfall in the currency of the plan and in heads. A gap here is not a failure, it is the number you needed before the quarter to fix it, by hiring earlier, resetting the target, or accepting the miss with eyes open.
Output format
CAPACITY MODEL · full year · illustrative
Source Capacity Note
Ramped reps (10) $9.0M median attainment 80%
H1 hires (4) $2.2M ramp-discounted, started Q1-Q2
H2 hires (3) $0.7M mostly still ramping at year end
Attrition backfill -$0.6M 2 reps lost, re-ramping
Modeled capacity $11.3M
Target $13.0M
Gap -$1.7M opens in Q3, ~2 ramped heads short
Fix options:
1. Pull 2 H2 reqs into Q1 so they ramp before the gap opens.
2. Reset target to modeled capacity and flag it now, not in Q3.
3. Hold target, accept a Q3 shortfall, and plan the story.
Tips
- Productivity uses expected attainment and the median rep, never a 100 percent or top-rep assumption.
- Partial-year hires are discounted by the ramp curve and lead time, never counted as full heads.
- Attrition backfills are in the plan, not an afterthought.
- The gap is stated in both dollars and heads, with the month it opens.
Walk into the forecast call with a number you can defend.
Sorts each deal into commit, best-case, or pipeline by evidence, flags one risk, and scripts what to press each rep on.
Run a pipeline review that finds problems, not recites them.
Coverage vs target, stage aging, week-over-week movement, stuck deals, and the question to ask per deal.