GTM & Hiring

Ramp Time: Time to Full Productivity

The number of months it takes a new sales rep to reach full productivity.

Definition

Ramp time is the number of months it takes a newly hired sales rep to reach full quota-carrying productivity. Ramp varies by complexity: SDR ramp is typically 1-3 months; AE ramp is 3-9 months; enterprise AE ramp can extend to 9-12 months.

Formula

Ramp Time is qualitative, but should be modelled as a percentage of full quota by month.

Worked example

An AE on £500k annual quota with a 6-month ramp might be expected to deliver 0% in month 1, 25% in month 3, 60% in month 5 and 100% from month 7. The total first-year contribution is roughly 50-65% of full quota.

Why it matters

Ramp drives capacity planning. If you need £2m of new revenue and your AEs ramp over 6 months at 50% effective first-year contribution, you need to hire substantially earlier than the revenue date suggests. Ignoring ramp is the most common mistake in sales hiring plans.

Common mistakes

  • Assuming a new hire delivers full quota from month one
  • Hiring late and trying to compress ramp by skipping enablement
  • Not differentiating ramp by experience level (a 15-year veteran ramps faster than a SDR-to-AE promotion)

Related terms

Quota AttainmentOTE

Read more in The Guide

Chapter: Building Revenue Teams →

Sources & further reading

  • — Drawn from Evara's working definitions used on retained search and revenue advisory engagements (2024–2026).
  • — Reconciled against industry conventions in SaaStr, OpenView SaaS Benchmarks and Bessemer State of the Cloud.
  • — Reviewed by Rich Evans, Strategic Advisor at Evara and former operator/founder.

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