Cloud-backed databases are helping sales compensation management practices become more sophisticated, and as a result sales leaders are gaining more opportunities to track their sales processes in different ways.
Sales used to be all about hitting quotas, nothing more. Now, sales is rapidly progressing into an industry focused on tracking performance across a variety of metrics, all of which help increase sales, employee motivation and revenue.
Tracking sales by time
The time sales reps spend on various portions of the sales process says a lot about which strategies do and do not work.
Docurated suggested tracking how much time sales reps are actually selling their product. Paying attention to the precise time spent selling will help managers determine if sales reps are appropriately managing their time or if there is something else taking up too much of it, limiting their selling opportunities. Once these problems are identified, a manager can take steps to solve them. If he doesn’t keep track, he won’t be able to figure out whether a problem exists.
It is also key to track how long sales reps wait to follow up after an initial sales call. Docurated explained that sales has joined the rest of the world in becoming a fast-paced, web-centered industry, meaning quick, efficient communication is vital. A good rule of thumb: the faster, the better. Contacting a lead within an hour of the initial call makes a sales rep way more likely to qualify that lead than if he waits even one or two more hours more. According to Entrepreneur, you should also keep track of how many sales you make per week, month, quarter or year, or any combination of those time periods. Doing so allows you to measure success by comparison. For example, you can determine if there is an issue if you sold significantly less from one month to another.
The more data you track, the more awareness you’ll have about what needs to change.
Tracking sales by wins
Keep track of which products are selling. Entrepreneur encouraged managers to do so because it will help them figure out which products to focus on promoting (those that are already selling) and will also help them ensure the company has enough inventory.
Docurated urged managers to track sales reps’ “Opportunity Win Rate,” meaning the amount of closings a sales rep makes after moving a potential customer down the sales pipeline. If managers pay attention to which sales reps are not seeing deals through until the end, he can identify who needs more coaching and help everyone improve their win rates.
“If you only track your quotas, you are doing far from enough.”
Iconixx compensation management software, also known as sales performance management software, provides a simple, easy-to-use dashboard that can help managers track all of these metrics and more. With an automated system, compensation management software eliminates the headaches and complications of spreadsheets while also providing managers extensive business insights.
If you only track your quotas, you are doing far from enough. Of course, there are many metrics through which you can measure a company’s sales progress, and your business’s exact goals will determine the precise metrics on which you should focus.
Compensation management software allows you to personalize your dashboard and view your sales progress through exactly the lenses you want.
