Skip to main content
AnalyticsIconixx Insights Blog

Finding the sales analytics sweet spot

By February 27, 2014June 11th, 2024No Comments

Big data may be all the rage, but you can’t let it take over your organization. Likewise, analytics holds a lot of potential for improving company performance and building revenue generation opportunities, but there’s a limit. There’s a deft art to sales analytics that should take precedence over big data blundering. But how much is too much? Finding the sweet spot of sales analytics techniques without overdoing it with metrics and rubrics can be a challenge, but it’s a worthwhile one. (artandhistory.org) With a few targeted implementations, employers can develop smarter sales strategies and drive productivity in their workforce.

The case for sales analytics
It’s not hard to make the argument in favor of sales analytics. The key to making successful sales – the key to doing anything successfully in business, really – is to know what the customer is thinking. Without a team of psychologists, and whatever the digital equivalent of a handwriting analyst is, a company has to find non-human means of assessing sentiments and predicting behavior. Sales analytics enable vendors to get this sort of feedback in spades.

Analytics can help describe customer behavior, spot patterns at a speed much faster than the human eye and anticipate what customers are likely to do next. This process establishes sales intelligence. As sales teams progress from simply drawing conclusions from past customer behavior, they can engage in prescriptive analytics, which allows them to make data-driven decisions. Concerned about customer retention? Look at behaviors that preceded customer churn and trace the steps that caused a customer to quit. Breaking up the retention process like this can help management gain more perspective on the performance of sales representatives and identify areas with room for improvement.

The dangers of complacency
The hazard of relying too much on data to drive sales strategies is that employees will lose their autonomy and see their critical thinking skills shrivel up. As information piles up and big data cheerleaders boast about its capacity to solve every problem known to man, workers can be more confused than ever, wrote SYS-CON Media contributor Laura Lilyquist.

“For most salespeople, the once simple task of making sure their message is reaching the right people is now a daunting, seemingly impossible endeavor,” Lilyquist observed. “Even with the ever-expanding options of communication and analytical tools available to sales professionals, the most well-connected sales teams have difficulty understanding what is working to engage customers and what isn’t.”

There’s a psuedo-medical term for it: Analysis paralysis. It’s a state of complacency, the belief that data can (and will) accomplish the task better than the person. Employers have to combat this notion. Policies that incentivize salespeople to use data tools as just one part of their arsenal can help keep the machines from taking over.

Leave a Reply

×
Ballast Point Ventures

Ballast Point Ventures is a later-stage venture capital fund established to provide expansion capital for rapidly growing, privately owned companies in diverse industries, with a particular emphasis on companies located in Florida, the Southeast, and Texas. The BPV partners have more than 70 years of combined experience investing in and building high-growth companies in a number of industries, including healthcare, business services, communications, technology, financial services, and consumer goods. BPV has $200 million under management and seeks to make equity investments ranging from $3 million to $10 million.

×
Harbert Management Corporation

Harbert Management Corporation seeks to generate superior returns for their investors by identifying and investing in the most promising early growth stage companies in the Southeastern U.S. HMC seeks to capitalize on what it believes are compelling regional dynamics, such as a strong and fast-growing economy, significant research and development activities, and an established entrepreneurial community. The HMC team combines substantial investment, advisory, and operating experience with capital and networking contacts to support great entrepreneurial teams in successfully executing their growth plans. With offices in Birmingham, Alabama; Richmond, Virginia; and Gainesville, Florida, it’s well positioned to partner with entrepreneurs throughout the Southeast.

×
KBH Ventures

KBH Ventures was an early investor in Iconixx Software. KBH's investment philosophy plays a significant role in the firm's successful track record. KBH believes in running businesses to be cashflow positive and profitable every month. Startups and companies in a startup mode, such as one that has been purchased in distress, are expected to generate revenue within the first six months and reach profitability within the first 12 to 18 months. KBH also only invests in or acquires companies that are in the startup phase or have less than $20 million in revenues. KBH targets technology companies that offer business-to-business services.

×
S3 Ventures

S3 Ventures is an early expansion and growth stage venture firm with $200 million under management. It’s focused on information technology solutions that solve large business problems. S3 also invests in medical devices that improve the human condition. S3 invests in category-defining opportunities. It partners with the team and help focus methodically on what it takes to build a successful company. S3 today helps talented entrepreneurs take their technology and market knowledge and form valuable businesses in a repeatable fashion. Investment sizes start at several million or more for Series A, B, and C financing.