You have to hand down a number you don't love
Sooner or later every manager carries a number down the hall that they argued against. How you hand it over decides whether the team spends the first quarter selling or complaining.
Own it
Don't say "corporate gave us this." Your team hears "my manager doesn't believe in it either," and they'll act like it. You can say you pushed back. Then say what you got, even if it's small, and that the number is the number.
Show the math
Most reps have never seen how their quota was built. Show them: last year, the team's run rate, and what the plan assumes about new logos, renewals and headcount. People take a hard number better when they can see where it came from.
Give each rep a path
In the first one-on-one, walk the number down for their territory: what's already coming in, what existing accounts can grow into, and how much new pipeline they need, by when. A rep who can see a path will work it. A rep who can't will update their LinkedIn.
Then stop relitigating it
Once it's handed down, stop complaining about it in team meetings. If something real changes, a territory or a big renewal, take it upstairs again with the math.
Pipeline Check works backward from each rep's number to the pipeline and deals it takes.
Try it