ICONIQ’s 2026 GTM benchmark report reveals that top-performing enterprise account executives (AEs) are carrying annual sales quotas of $2.25 million, while mid-market and SMB reps have quotas of $1.35 million and $750,000 respectively. The data, collected from GTM executives at over 150 B2B and AI software companies, shows that sales quotas have increased but the overall sales process remains similar to the pre-AI era, according to saastr.com.
The report is based on a survey of 143 to 149 respondents across early to late-stage companies, focusing on fast-growing, well-funded startups with proven product-market fit. It highlights that 65% of high performers now have sales teams owning cross-sell responsibilities, up from 49%, and 55% own upsell compared to 44% for others. Additionally, attainment rates among top B2B and AI companies have risen to 85-90%, surpassing the traditional 65-75% range.
This shift reflects changes in compensation structures, with account executives now earning about 20% of what they close in base and bonus, and compensation increasingly tied to expansion activities like cross-sell and upsell. The findings suggest that AI and B2B software companies are adapting their go-to-market strategies to increase revenue per rep while maintaining high attainment rates, marking a notable trend in sales operations within the SaaS sector.
ICONIQ’s report underscores that these quota benchmarks are representative of the top quartile of performers in the sector. The next update from ICONIQ is expected to provide further insights into how AI integration continues to influence sales quotas and compensation models across B2B software companies.