How to set quotas and improve the yield from sales

Newsflash: Dangerous fugitive 'Last Year Plus Ten,' known to many as "Sales Quota," is on the run. He is armed and extremely dangerous. Do not approach!
Ok, so maybe I'm getting a little carried away, but the reality is, if you don't entirely understand it, setting a Sales quota can be rather ambiguous to approach. Let's think about it. What's considered a normal quota per sales rep? And are you talking revenue? Or gross profit? Is it lifetime value or one-time value or one-year value? But what you do know, at least, is that if you want to improve yield, you just hire better reps. Right...?
Unfortunately, the longer you remain confused, the harder the elusive Sales Quota becomes to catch.
In his latest blog, Hugh captures Sales Quota in an ultimate show down and simplifies the whole approach. He explains why you need to focus on inputs (or more specifically, meetings) and comparing these inputs to the outputs required to run your business. He demonstrates how alignment of inputs to the Buyers' Journey facilitates clarity in the Sales quota model and ultimately helps improve the overall yield from Sales.