Zeroing in on the right sales metrics

Sure, everyone knows that more activity leads to more sales. The question is, how do you identify exactly which tasks and how much of each task will create your most efficient sales machine? Chances are, you’re tracking calls, emails, meetings, etc. Maybe you’re even tracking other milestones in your sales cycle, like second and third meetings, access to power, competitors identified, proposals, etc. Of course you want to be sending out more quotes and proposals, but what are your top reps doing to get there more efficiently than the rest? How can you incorporate these foundational skills into your new reps as you on-board them?

Zero in on the right sales metrics

Go back to school and isolate your variables. For example, one of your reps swears by picking up the phone, but your reps are reluctant and even if they make calls, they don’t document them in your CRM. Well, then run a SPIFF for a week. You’ll be amazed at how many calls they make and you’ll quickly determine if you should make it a daily mandate, or if the time they spent talking to voicemail boxes just wasn’t efficient. Then move on to the next variable: maybe to identify which content pieces are best to send out, or how much time is wasted on stalled accounts. Pretty soon you’ll have a roadmap to success that you can train your new reps on so they are performing best practices from the get go. Then sit back and manage to the numbers!