Updated: November 1, 2025 | Source: Optifai Sales Ops Benchmark 2025 (N=939)
To achieve $10M ARR, B2B companies need an average of 10 sales reps (8-12 range). Varies by ACV: Low ACV ($10-30K) requires 15 reps, Mid ACV ($30-100K) needs 10 reps, High ACV ($100K+) requires only 5 reps. Quota per rep: $1M. SDR:AE ratio: 1:2. Source: Optifai Sales Ops Benchmark 2025 (N=939 companies, Q1-Q3 2025)
| Role | Low ACV | Mid ACV | High ACV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Account Executives (AEs) | 15 | 10 | 5 |
| Sales Development Reps (SDRs) | 7-8 (1:2 ratio) | 5 (1:2 ratio) | 2-3 (1:2 ratio) |
| Sales Engineers (SEs) | 2-3 (shared) | 3-4 (1:3 ratio) | 3-4 (1:1.5 ratio) |
| Sales Managers | 2 (1:7-8 span) | 1-2 (1:5-10 span) | 1 (1:5 span) |
| Total Sales Headcount | 26-28 | 19-21 | 11-13 |
Team size varies by 3x based on ACV. Low ACV businesses ($10-30K contracts) need 15 AEs because: (1) Lower win rates require more volume, (2) Shorter sales cycles enable higher deal velocity, (3) Each rep handles 20-30 deals simultaneously. High ACV businesses ($100K+ contracts) need only 5 AEs because: (1) Larger deals justify longer pursuit times, (2) Higher quota per rep ($2M vs $667K), (3) Complex deals require deeper expertise (smaller books of business).
The industry standard quota is $1M per AE annually for mid-market B2B SaaS ($30-100K ACV). This breaks down to:
Adjust quota based on ACV: Lower for low ACV ($667K), higher for high ACV ($2M). Use quota attainment rates to calibrate: target 60-70% of reps hitting 100%+ quota annually.
Most companies maintain a 1:2 SDR-to-AE ratio (1 SDR supports 2 AEs). For $10M ARR with 10 AEs, you need 5 SDRs. Each SDR generates 15-20 qualified meetings per month, feeding 7-10 meetings to each AE. Adjust based on lead sources:
SE needs scale with deal complexity:
Don't hire all 10 AEs on day one. Ramp gradually:
Account for 3.5-month ramp time. Hire in cohorts (2-3 reps) to enable batch onboarding and peer learning. Hire ahead of revenue targets by 4-6 months to allow for ramp.
Budget for total compensation + overhead (assume 1.3x multiplier):
Total for Mid-ACV model (10 AEs, 5 SDRs, 3 SEs, 2 Managers): $3.4M annually. Sales & Marketing expense as % of ARR: 34% (industry standard: 35-50% for growth stage).
Target $1M ARR per AE at full productivity. Track monthly to identify underperformers early. If avg revenue/rep drops below $750K, diagnose: (1) Weak pipeline, (2) Low win rates, (3) Poor territory assignment, or (4) Inadequate onboarding/coaching.
Healthy teams see 60-70% of reps hit 100%+ quota. If <50% hit quota, quotas are likely too high or reps lack enablement. If >80% hit quota, quotas may be too low (leaving revenue on the table).
Magic Number = Net New ARR (this quarter) / Sales & Marketing Spend (last quarter). Target >0.75 (indicates $1 spent generates $0.75 ARR in one quarter). Below 0.5 signals inefficiency; above 1.0 suggests under-investment in growth.
Doubling team size quarterly overwhelms management capacity. Managers can effectively coach 5-8 reps. Hiring 10 reps under 1 manager = poor onboarding, low productivity, high churn. Solution: Hire managers before AEs (1 manager per 6-8 reps max).
Hiring 10 AEs without enough SDRs leaves AEs prospecting (wasting expensive time). Each AE needs 2-3 qualified meetings per week (8-12/month). With 25% close rate, need 40-50 meetings/month per AE. Solution: Maintain 1:2 SDR:AE ratio minimum.
Annual sales rep churn: 20-30%. For a team of 10, expect to replace 2-3 reps per year. Account for ongoing hiring and ramp time (3.5 months = lost productivity). Solution: Always be recruiting, hire ahead of attrition.
This benchmark data is based on anonymized sales team performance data from 939 B2B companies collected during Q1-Q3 2025. The analysis covers various industries including SaaS, Manufacturing, Consulting, and Professional Services, with company sizes ranging from 5 to 500+ employees. For detailed methodology, see ourmethodology page.
Use these benchmarks to right-size your sales team based on ARR targets and ACV. Start with the baseline (10 AEs for $10M at mid-ACV), then adjust for your deal size. Track revenue per rep and quota attainment to validate team efficiency. For AI-powered headcount planning and quota optimization, try Optifai's free plan.
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