Do you know what the right metrics are for your role in the company? A front-line Sales Manager’s dashboard should vary greatly from the CEO’s because their influence and control are much different. Metrics must focus on what each role can influence and control.
Are you Measuring What Matters?
We are surrounded by metrics, but most simply serve a narrative instead of a complete story. If you’re interested in the full story on sales metrics, I invite you to read this post by my colleague Dave Kurlan. The facts might infuriate you.
Helix works with mid-market CEOs to identify and eliminate the hidden weaknesses in their sales organization to create explosive growth. So, when we ask what the key metrics that drive sales, the answers are frequently meaningless because they measure lagging indicators.
Remember Econ 101?
Lagging indicators measure what has occurred and have a delayed reaction to correcting the problem. Think unemployment rates, corporate profits, gross domestic product, and last quarter’s sales revenue. They confirm what happened and are hard to fix unless you have a time machine.
Leading indicators allow us to predict future change. In Sales they include things like:
- The number of new SQLs or opportunities added weekly to the sales pipeline
- Win Rates for reps
- Value per opportunity
- Conversion rates from MQL to SQL
- Velocity of Opportunities in the pipeline
- Probability / Weighted Value of Sales Pipeline
Leaders must understand what is important to measure every day, every week, every month, and every quarter to hit their revenue objectives. Everyone on the team needs to be measuring what they can control or influence.
Who Controls What?
Sales Managers can control how much time they spend coaching salespeople on opportunities. Salespeople can control the prospecting activity. The prospecting activity must be managed so the pipeline leads to the number of deals necessary to hit revenue targets (Leading Indicator). Coaching is a key component, so Salespeople continually improve the way they manage prospecting to meet or exceed revenue goals.
Do You Have the Right Tools?
Helix uses a Goal Setting Tool that helps you define goals and how to get there. In the example below, the Salesperson has a $1M annual sales goal. We can help the Salesperson understand what they need to do every day while ensuring the Sales Manager is clear about the accountability.
If the revenue goal is set capriciously by management, the Salesperson will not buy-in and the entire process will rest on luck and hope. Keep it simple and clear for success—don’t make the plan and put on a shelf. It must be managed every day, week, month, and quarter! When you’re ready for expert guidance and help, send us an email.
