The $293K Cost of Burnout: Why Wellness Is a Sales Metric
Most sales leaders track close rates, pipeline velocity, and average deal size. Almost none track the metric that affects all of them: agent wellness.
Here's what that oversight is costing you.
The Hidden Math of Burnout
Let's run the numbers for a 10-person sales team:
Turnover costs:
- Average sales rep turnover: 35% annually
- Cost to replace one rep: $97,690 (recruiting, training, ramp time)
- Annual turnover cost: $341,915
Most sales leaders obsess over close rates, pipeline velocity, and average deal size.
Almost none track the metric that quietly drives all three: agent wellness.
And that blind spot is costing you more than any missed quota.
The Hidden Math of Burnout
Run the numbers on a 10-person sales team:
Turnover costs
- Average sales rep turnover: 35% annually
- Cost to replace one rep (recruiting, training, ramp): $97,690
- Annual turnover cost: $341,915
Performance degradation
- Burned-out reps close 23% fewer deals
- Average revenue per rep: $500,000
- Lost revenue from performance dip: $115,000
Sick days and absenteeism
- Stressed employees take 2.5x more sick days
- Additional coverage + lost productivity: $36,000
Total annual cost of burnout for a 10-person team: $492,915
Scale that to 30 reps and you’re looking at nearly $1.5M in preventable losses every year.
Burnout isn’t a “people problem.” It’s a P&L problem.
Why Sales Is Uniquely Vulnerable
Sales isn’t just stressful. It’s a very specific kind of stress that generic wellness programs don’t touch.
1. Rejection Is Constant
Most roles don’t involve hearing “no” dozens of times a day. Sales does.
That constant rejection creates a cumulative psychological load that erodes confidence, motivation, and resilience over time.
2. Metrics Are Relentless
Sales performance is:
- Public