Every salesperson wants to hit their number. But the truth is, most don't know what actions they need to take every day to get there. That’s not a motivational problem. It’s a math problem.

In a recent webinar, we broke down how to reverse engineer your sales targets - step by step - and why doing this is one of the most powerful things any salesperson can do. In this blog, we’re going to walk through that same approach and explain why tracking your numbers isn’t just useful - it’s essential to your success.

Why Most Salespeople Miss Target (and It’s Not What You Think)

When sellers miss their number, most point to things like:

• Bad data
• Unresponsive prospects
• Product limitations
• A weak pipeline

And yes, those things matter. But the real reason most reps fall short is this:

They don’t actually know what they need to do each day to succeed.

They don’t know:

• How many meetings they need this quarter
• How many calls or emails it takes to book those meetings
• Where in their funnel the biggest drop-offs are happening

So they guess. They chase. They hope. And they get to Week 10 of the quarter only to realise… there’s not enough time left to course-correct.

The Solution: Reverse Engineer Your Number

Instead of working forwards - “I hope my activities add up to enough” - we work backwards from your quota.

This is called reverse engineering your number, and it gives you total clarity on three essential questions:

1. How many deals do I need to close this quarter?
2. How many qualified opportunities does that require?
3. What activity (calls, emails, LinkedIn messages) will get me those opportunities?

Once you know that, you can break your quarter down into weekly and daily goals, and then simply execute.

Let’s break this down step by step.

Step 1: Know Your Key Conversion Rates

Before you can plan forward, you need to look back. Open your CRM and gather your personal data from the last 90 days:

• How many opportunities entered your funnel?
• How many advanced from Discovery → Demo → Proposal → Closed Won?
• How many did you actually win?

This tells you your win rate and your conversion rate between stages, so you can see how much pipeline you actually need to hit target.

Example: If your win rate is 25%, and your average deal is £15k, you’ll need 4 deals to hit a £60k quarterly target. That means you’ll need around 16 qualified opps at the top of your funnel.

Step 2: Work Out Your Personal Prospecting Metrics

Now let’s look at how many actions it takes to generate those 16 opportunities. You’ll want to track:

• How many cold calls result in a meeting?
• How many emails lead to booked opps?
• What’s your response rate on LinkedIn outreach?

Again, use your actual numbers here - don’t guess or borrow someone else’s data. Reps have different strengths and styles, and your mix will be unique.

If it takes you 60 cold calls to create 1 opportunity, and you need 16 opps…
You’ll need 960 cold calls this quarter.
That’s 48 calls/day (assuming 20 working days/month).

When you break it down this way, your success becomes a matter of math and discipline - not chance.

Step 3: Identify the Real Problems in Your Funnel

Most sellers don’t fail because they’re lazy - they fail because they’re busy doing the wrong things.

By tracking your numbers weekly, you can pinpoint where things are breaking down.

With this level of insight, you know exactly where to focus your efforts. No more guesswork. No more wasted hours on what feels productive but doesn’t move the needle.

Why This Matters for AEs and SDRs Alike

Whether you’re a full-cycle AE or a specialist SDR, tracking and reverse engineering your numbers gives you:

✅ Clarity – You know what you need to do every day
✅ Confidence – You’re not hoping anymore—you’re executing a plan
✅ Control – You’re not dependent on marketing or luck—you can self-source success

It also makes coaching sessions with your manager more effective. You can come to your 1:1 with data, not feelings. You’ll get better support because you’ve done the groundwork.

What About Sales Leaders?

If you lead a sales team, reverse engineering is just as critical - only the scale changes. Our Sales Leader calculator includes inputs like:

• Pipeline coverage ratios
• Opportunity source breakdown (Marketing, SDRs, AE self-sourced)
• Average rep win rates
• Team capacity

This lets you stress-test your number and plan the right actions: coaching, hiring, raising deal size, or improving win rates.

Use the Free Calculator

This isn’t just theory. We’ve built a free, hands-on calculator that does the heavy lifting for you.

To get access:

1. Log into Sales University (Or sign up for free)
2. Go to Mini Content Vault → Know Your Numbers
3. Click Request Copy and personalise it with your data

You’ll also find call review frameworks, weekly performance trackers, and benchmarking tools inside.

Final Thought: Sales Is a Game of Math and Mastery

Top performers don’t wing it. They operate with discipline, structure, and precision. Reverse engineering your number is how you stop wondering if you’ll hit target - and start taking control of your success.

So take 20 minutes, get your data, open the calculator, and commit to a simple rule:

Know your number. Live your number. Hit your number.

We’re here to help you every step of the way.

Lastly, you can watch the webinar for Reverse Engineering Your Numbers, watch the video for the free download, and much more, in our learning platform. Access for free as part of the Sales University Starter Plan.

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