Grace Hopper said, ‘One accurate measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions’.
This stands true in the business scenario where the numbers dictate the success-failure ratio. An acute judgement of productivity is a must-have trade skill.
Where sales are concerned, productivity measurement is a compulsory asset to be undertaken. If you are not able to measure the productivity of your sales team then you cannot manage them. Also, an accurate measurement of someone’s performance is very important in her/her improvement.
Every organization has a specific outline of measuring the productivity of their sales team. Be it conversion rate or closing percentage, gross profit, revenue growth, the profitability of the customer, or contact to conversation ratio; it is a gist of the efficiency of your team's efforts. Make sure your productivity measurement tool is not flawed.
So, how exactly do you measure the productivity of various parts of the sales team? One can measure the performance of field sales with the help of revenue numbers but what about inside sales and cold call executives?
Let’s have a look at some sales productivity measurement techniques.
How to measure the productivity of field sales?
How to measure the productivity of inside sales?
How to measure sales productivity of field sales
1. Measure the quality of sales meetings
Each sales meeting should have a significant strategic reason. Salespeople spend a lot of time in sales meetings and hence it should be ensured that their time is used with a strict intention.
Many organizations believe in focusing on the number of meetings per week per salesperson. Consecutively, they emphasize on a higher number of meetings.
That’s not completely wrong!
But do you think meeting prospects out of your sweet spot zone is worth it?
If your sales team is spending 60-70% time on worthless prospects, will it help your business?
So, it is important to measure the quality of these meetings. Quality is the most significant productivity tool.
Experts say, ‘It is very important to move the prospect forward in the funnel to keep key customers engaged with regular interactions.’
Organizations can measure meetings with respect to the following points:
- Meetings done with active prospects
- Meetings done with key customers
- Meetings done with leads
- Meetings done for lead generation
- Supplementary meetings
Track calls, emails, and meeting metrics in your CRM. The ratio of these meetings will give you a direct rate of successful conversion which is in fact a quota of productivity measurement. A thorough report will not only offer you with the precise numbers but also a keen decree of your sales reps.
2. Develop your dashboard with key performance indicators
KPI or Key Performance Indicator is a value of measuring the performance of different aspects of a company about whether it has achieved its objectives or not. For each department or business, KPIs need to be customized as per the desired outcomes and influencing situations and should be developed to help you achieve your goals.
It is very important for any sales organization to develop a real-time dashboard to measure the performance of your sales team. A dashboard helps you to drive your team in the right direction. A dashboard keeps track of progress done on every front of the sales process.
Every organization should have a keen understanding of its KPIs and figure out a simple yet effective way to ensure the goals are met. An intelligently designed dashboard will act as a proactive assistant to each salesperson breaking down the KPIs into actionable items.
Subsequent KPIs is imperative for any organization:
- Sales revenue against target
- Your asking rate for the current month
- Your expected closure in the next 2 months
- Value of your sales pipeline
- Progress on your hot opportunities
- Active customer growth
Branching of your complex tasks into smaller ones with the aid of the dashboard will ensure a rise in productivity as timely execution and efficacious completion is guaranteed.
3. Evaluate your forecasted business vs actual business vs targeted business
Forecasting your business is not a mere number game. Rather it’s a well-researched prediction that determines an organization’s impending inclinations. The veracious forecast numbers offer a benchmark for salespersons to see if they are on track to achieve their target. Accurate forecast reports articulate how many deals are required to meet your goal, who are the most likely candidates who will make the purchase and the amount of prospecting required to fill your sales funnel.
The targeted business implies the objective of at least meeting or preferably surpassing your business goal. This is the point of reference for every salesperson and reaching or crossing this mark denotes his/her success rate.
The actual numbers give you a clear depiction of where you stand on the productivity graph. The scrutinized report of these three parameters will be a genuine efficiency testimony.
This data will aid you in changing the working conditions, approach techniques and strategic management of your business.
How to measure the productivity of inside sales
Inside sales is a very important pillar of a sales team but organizations underestimate or disregard the performance metrics of this team. Inside sales or remote sales is the mainstay of the sales process and it is very essential to measure and improve the productivity of this sector.
This team is responsible for prospecting, nurturing, and converting leads to customers remotely, instead of face-to-face interactions. Inside sales reps remotely work with their potential customers to guide them through the sales process. Mostly inside sales handle cold calling, lead generation, sales support and related activities.
To pan out the productivity analysis of the inside sales, you should assess the below-mentioned specifics:
1. Measuring calling activity
While measuring the performance of calling activity, organizations usually measure the total number of calls. Each call should be fecund to guarantee the apt deployment of the team’s efforts. Hence, it is equally vital to dive deeper into call analysis with the help of the following metrics.
Call analysis with respect to the type of call: prospecting, follow up, or support.
Call analysis with respect to call results
The outcome of each call will regulate the success and productivity quotient.
2. Measuring lead generation activity
Remember not every generated lead is a win situation and again quality dominates quantity. Along with measuring the number of leads generated, one should also measure the quality of the lead and the conversion rate. Only then you can be certain of the factual productivity examination of the inside sales.
Monitor these metrics for precise judgment:
- Total number of leads
- Industry-specific lead analysis
- Lead conversion rate
Inside sales have supremacy when lead generation is concerned and hence auditing their performance in this module will permit you to evaluate the implications and strategize your next plan.
All said, measuring the productivity of your sales team can be a daunting task if a pertinent methodology is not instigated.
A CRM can simplify this quest and most notably save your time. Choose the right CRM for your business!
