Jewcan_Sam81

Account Executive

Hot Take: the only metric that matters is money (looking at you data hungry executives)

Again, this is a hot take: ARR, Renewals, PS, etc. dollars are the only actual metric that matters in our role. Touches, TAL buildouts, marketing campaign participation, etc. is secondary and we shouldn't be beholden to that as a metric of success.

Yes, if someone sucks ass at this job (because this job is not easy and sucks a lot of the time), having crappy metrics means they're not performing. BUT, if you're a performer, or even consistent and closing biz, metrics don't mean anything.

Thoughts?

Add-on: I work in SaaS/Tech so this is something that is part of the day to day, actually super curious if this is industry specific or if it's everywhere

🔎 Prospecting

🧢 Sales Management

📊 Metrics

22 comments

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poweredbycaffeine

WR Lieutenant

☕️

Go jump in a bucket of ice water because you are BUGGING.

All funnel metrics are equally important. Leads sourced, leads touched, meetings booked, meetings delivered (all the conversion numbers between them), deals created, time in each stage, time to close lost, time to close won. All of them roll up to show sales leadership and operations teams the health of an organization. None of them can go away, like it or not.

However, how that data is used by an organization to create KPIs is another story. If the sales leadership/exec team understands what each metric understands (heavily dependent on the talent of their ops team), and which levers there are available to pull to accelerate certain metrics, then they won't ever turn KPIs into a "holding you over a barrel" situations.

Even for top performers, understanding how your metrics drive you to be on the top of the board each month/quarter/year is crucial. If you can do the funnel math that proves that if you make X inputs you'll achieve X outputs then you can plan out your entire life based on a few simple metrics. Again, this skill is only gained if you have a talented ops team that can A) collect accurate data and B) make it actionable/consumable.

At the end of the day, yes, your dollars are the MOST important metric and a leading indicator that you are a healthy member of an organization and worth the cash burn. However, when you dig in, there is far more nuanced as to why metrics matter.

xoxo
BeanBoi

Jewcan_Sam81

Politicker

Account Executive

*Disclaimer on this: I make sure all of my metrics are right where they need to be, my goal in life is to be left alone and fly under the radar as much as I can*

That being said, it's honestly really tough argue with this dynamite breakdown, it covers legit every base and is just masterful. On my team I bring in business most consistently (not a brag just facts) and to get hit with the "you're not doing enough to represent the team's abilities when business is happening, it's a hard pill to swallow.

poweredbycaffeine

WR Lieutenant

☕️

Why is it that the top-performers get the bullshit backhand of "YOU aren't doing enough to show the company what the REST OF THE TEAM is capable of"

Like, bish, tell them to do more.

Jewcan_Sam81

Politicker

Account Executive

And this is what I’m getting at. It’s not that the importance of them is lost on me, I get it, but there’s a “set a good example so the rest of the team can follow you” aspect to it. If they want me to be an actual leader I’d really prefer a title upgrade and a pay bump

mitts2

Politicker

Account Executive

Absolute nuclear bomb of knowledge. Well said PBC.

1nbatopshotfan

Politicker

Sales

Round of applause here. Great answer.

Diablo

Politicker

Sr. AE

This was an operational encyclopedia in jusst a couple of powerful statements. You're a genius Caffeine!

poweredbycaffeine

WR Lieutenant

☕️

What can I say...second cup be hittin.

mitts2

Politicker

Account Executive

I think there is more to unpack here than just a blanket statement. From an individual contributor perspective, I agree, attaining quota and closing biz should really be the only metric I am metered on. It's probably true that the more activity I have and the more I lean on other factors like marketing to help open opps, the better chance I have to succeed, but it should not be a requirement.

That said, from a managerial perspective or if I am running an org, those other metrics can be very important and insightful for me to understand if there are gaps in my strategy, where I can better allocate resources, invest in tools / partnerships, etc.

At the end of the day, ARR and churn are what a lot of investors look at to determine if a business is moving in the right direction so those inherently will be the most important metrics, but I would not say they are the only metrics that matter.

mitts2

Politicker

Account Executive

^^ this is also specific to SaaS. Could be different for other industries.

Jewcan_Sam81

Politicker

Account Executive

100%, totally on the money, appreciate you getting that out there

justatopproducer

Politicker

VP OF SALES -US

Great points but there are many reasons for KPI’s. And all sales positions have them for those reasons.

mitts2

Politicker

Account Executive

Curious what you mean by this and if you could expand a bit?

UrAssIsSaaS

Arsonist

SaaS Eater

Bingo. As an AE, sure but any other leader on the org needs to understand the entire business, beyond just revenue.

Jewcan_Sam81

Politicker

Account Executive

I get it, and rolling upwards has to happen in certain ways, but as a rep in the pool it's so difficult to get hassled about other metrics when we should be focusing on closing biz

UrAssIsSaaS

Arsonist

SaaS Eater

See the forest through the trees my man. All of this is designed to focus on closing more biz.

How do you know where to prioritize your time and development when you are behind? How can you understand where your strengths and weaknesses are as an AE? You want to be a top rep in your org and close a ton, you need to know these things.

Youll put a nice ceiling on your career with this line of thinking because you will get to a point where you dont know how to get better, what it takes to close more etc

Jewcan_Sam81

Politicker

Account Executive

Oh don't get me wrong, I'm still making sure the other metrics are met, I always prefer to be under an umbrella during a shitstorm, and the value is there when it comes to prospecting and allocating value resources, the issue I have is when these metrics are treated as more valuable then the dollars being brought in the door, and it happens more than it should

Jewcan_Sam81

Politicker

Account Executive

This is coming from a purely IC perspective, and I'm not ignoring the visibility needs of management for other areas of data rolling up from the ground level and the need isn't lost on me.

I'm the knowledge end all be all, far from it, but getting scolded for misses in other areas when business is being is where this Hot Take comes from, that there should be a less stringent focus on this when reps are doing well as opposed to when they're not

MCP

Valued Contributor

Sales Director

Bruh. The owl knows it takes more than 3 licks to get to the center of the tootsie pop. But he gamed the system and told folks 3 was the number even when they knew better. This is when a win isn’t really a win, because it’s not repeatable without documentation and doesn’t scale. Way to be a lone wolf, owl.

justatopproducer

Politicker

VP OF SALES -US

100%

Jewcan_Sam81

Politicker

Account Executive

As a kid I wanted to hit that owl with a tennis racket for effing with that boy's pop. As a grown up, that owl is a true hero to everyone that struggles to get a tootsie pop

Flippinghubs

Opinionated

Account Executive

Youre speaking my language

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Jewcan_Sam81

Hot Take: the only metric that matters is money (looking at you data hungry executives)

22 comments

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