Annual plan, in the order that works

Each step is an input to the next. Doing them out of order (comp before territories, quota before capacity) is how plans get missed by March.

1 · Segment
ICP, size bands, geographies, which motion serves which

2 · Capacity
reps × ramp × attainment, net of attrition = what this team can book; the gap to target is the hiring plan

4 · Quota
per territory, from its potential; sum of quotas exceeds target by an over-assignment buffer

Lock and publish
plan letters out before the year starts; territories and quotas loaded in the CRM

Run and adjust
mid-year: backfill, re-carve on attrition, quota relief only by rule

WHEN · for a January fiscal year

Sep
target, segmentation

Oct
capacity model, hiring plan

Nov
territories, quotas

Dec
comp plans, plan letters, CRM load

Jan to Dec
run; quarterly adjust

Who is in the room: RevOps runs the process and the models; the CRO owns the numbers; Finance co-owns capacity and signs the comp cost; sales leaders carve their own territories inside the rules. The test for a finished plan: every rep can see their territory, quota, and plan letter before the year starts, and the sum of quotas, less the buffer, equals the target.