Over the years I have noticed an all too familiar trend with new clients. They have a great product or service, good people and a good reputation, which has allowed them to be successful. The challenge is the sales reps have company goals that have been set by management but they are unsure “how” to reach them. This is where sales metrics or KPI’s (key performance indicators) come into play.
When looking at these metrics start with the end in mind and work backwards. What is the revenue that is expected from the individual? Once this is established, how many new clients will be required to achieve the revenue numbers? What is their quote to close ratio? How many conversations lead to a quote? How many prospecting calls or meetings lead to conversations?
Once these numbers have been established (and they can or will be different for each rep) you have started to develop sales metrics for them to reach their goals. Clarity has been achieved and now you will find reps who were caught up in busywork are now focusing on the behaviors that are required to achieve their numbers. Keeping in mind, any metric that improves the probability of closing a sale will help take the pressure of the salesperson to perform. As a sales professional, you cannot control whether or not someone invests money with you, however you can control the behavior that is required to get you to the end.
When you manage numbers, you manage the past. However, when you manage behavior and metrics, you are managing the future. Take the time now to plan out what you want in the future and how you will get it instead of looking back and wondering what happened.
