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The_Sales_Badger profile picture

The_Sales_Badger

Account Executive

Notorious Answer
Catalyst
Valued Contributor
+9

Sales Leaders - What metrics do you use, and what's the formula?

As a former sales leader that's trying to transition to another industry, I am finding myself somewhat lost within these analytic systems used to measure KPI's. Since Bravado seems to have leaders of all backgrounds, I was hoping you could assist in identifying and formulating the numbers that assist with reporting.


I'm a Honey Badger - as a salesperson, the only numbers that matter are the ones on my commission check. As a leader, I'm asking for help on the metrics that will drive a team forward, and appease upper management with reporting.


I hope I get some sort of response.... If not, I'll keep reposting every other day.... Not a threat - it's just the HB doesn't give a fuuuuu...


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🧢 Sales Management
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12 comments

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34fifty
Valued Contributor
3
Team Lead
I can't really pin point the exact metrics to use unless I know more info. But I have something to get you thinking. 

I feel that an efficient way of monitoring the system would be through three types of metrics:

1. Effort - Any metric that helps you track the effort of a sales person. Something like Average Calls/day, average demo/day, new leads generated, lead enrichment etc 
2. Result - Pretty much straight forward. Revenue.
3. Process Control - These set of metrics may have some overlaps from the other two. Process control metrics are important to ensure that the set processes are being followed. Ex - CRM Compliance, Attendance, Training scores etc

A combination of these three should give you a composite score which you can use to track progress. It is upto you to decide how much weight to allocate for each of these metrics'. 
The_Sales_Badger
Notorious Answer
1
Account Executive
This is extremely helpful.  As the responses come through, I will be sure to tag you on responses that I find applicable.  Thanks @34fifty 
34fifty
Valued Contributor
0
Team Lead
Glad i could help
LordOfWar
Tycoon
2
Blow it up
Where I'm at they used to use: (all are monthly)

- # of quotes issued
- # of quotes converted to orders
- $ of quotes
- $ of orders
- Contribution

It's a good overall view but doesn't reflect the truth of the situation. They used to shotgun quotes out, but since I joined I've targeted a smaller number of high-value customers so our overall quotes dropped but the quote value and conversions have increased. It might look like I'm slacking in less reach-out and prospecting, that is until the orders roll in.

For the team I'm building I'm going to incorporate a more rep-based metric that includes outbound prospecting (calls/emails/DMs) and conversions (meetings, quotes, referrals). This is because I'm hiring a jr team rather than seasoned sales pros like you fine people.
The_Sales_Badger
Notorious Answer
1
Account Executive
Great perspective.  Thank you for using examples!
LordOfWar
Tycoon
1
Blow it up
Happy to help and a great topic, I'll be checking back in to see other responses.
justatopproducer
Politicker
1
VP OF SALES -US
This is a tough one, as upper management from what I see wants to be able to track KPI's. Depending on the roles you manage - Calls, emails, drop, touches and attempts. Meetings, demo's, proposals. 

Essentially so they can say these people are behind or ahead of the average which correlates to a sale. So it depends on your leadership, and in my experience the easier you make it to track these items and less time consuming on your team the better. Don't micromanage but be able to hold them accountable. It's also a plus to be able to reward them for the small wins when someone is struggling to help build their confidence. 

Now, if you're managing yourself than back into the numbers for the commission checks you want/need to make. My goal to keep it simple is double. 2x every metric that's expected of me. That typically keeps me in the top 1% of everyone in the company and makes me the money I want to make. 
The_Sales_Badger
Notorious Answer
0
Account Executive
This becomes difficult with a fully remote workforce.  With those I mentor, I was first seeing less dedication or commitment to the process.  Once we found ways to adapt, we had a completely different process.  All of that to say, personal accountability for remote employees seemed to drop off.  

The forms for tracking do have to mind-numbingly simple to get their buy-in.  Being able to track their progress myself, without micromanaging is the ultimate goal.  I appreciate you sharing!
justatopproducer
Politicker
0
VP OF SALES -US
Welcome, hope this helps! 
poweredbycaffeine
WR Lieutenant
1
☕️
Effort metrics do not matter as much as results metrics.

Dials do not matter as much as connects, which do not matter as much as meetings booked.

You can have a rep who is crushing dial numbers, but if they aren't booking meetings then you have a wasted resource on the phones. Not to say the effort isn't worth consideration, but this model of behavior is either indicative of gaming the metric or a hole in the skillset. 
The_Sales_Badger
Notorious Answer
0
Account Executive
Okay, looking for solutions......

How would you address that?  What will you be looking at specifically if you were a Director?  What metrics would YOU be looking for in a quarterly review?
poweredbycaffeine
WR Lieutenant
2
☕️
I have built metrics systems and tracking dashboards for a few companies now. Here are my keys:

1) Outbound activities per Day/Week/Month
2) Connected Phone Calls
3) Meetings Booked
4) Meetings Held
5) Opportunities Created
6) Opportunities Won
7) Opportunities Lost

Based on a trailing 2 quarters of data collection, I can then create average/target metrics for each of these metrics. For example (totally made up), I want to see 100 Outbound Activites per day, with a 15% connect rate and a 10% book rate. 80% of your meetings should be delivered, resulting in X qualified opportunity rate with an average close rate of Y. I can then turn that into forecasting data (which we can go deeper into by stage). I also track loss rate to see if my reps are qualifying shit ops.

Based on the baseline metrics we can then assess rep skills/holes in the bucket that result in coaching and remediation actions by management.

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