In order to ensure that the sales process is working, you also need to establish the right key performance indicators to track so you always know how well you are doing in each step. So what KPI’s should you measure? This post will look at four essential metrics to tell you if you're on track for success.
1. Quality appointments each week.
The definition is important. Let’s call a Quality Appointment any appointment that meets the following criteria.
- It’s scheduled in advance.
- It’s with a decision maker.
- The purpose is to discover needs or present solutions.
You could even break this out and look at new quality appointments as a separate breakout.
2. Proposals presented each week.
This is an important measure. You have to know how many proposals are going out and how much each one is asking. You also need to ensure they meet your quality standard. The closest thing to a tangible product that a sales department has is the proposal that gets presented. In manufacturing, companies always know exactly how many products are produced and they would be certain that each one met quality standards. Your business should be no different.
3. Orders booked.
It’s important that we track the business booked since it leads to revenue. Salespeople need to see that while we are looking at the process, we are also measuring the outcome of that process—which is, of course, the business written.
4. Pending business that has been pending more than 30 days.
Both salespeople and sales managers can sometimes have a false sense of pending. It is best to train salespeople to focus on and put the most stock in the business pending that is less than 30 days old. The likelihood of a deal closing goes down fast after 30 days. The real-world approach is to simply focus on your current pending. If the older stuff comes through, consider it a bonus.
Establishing the correct key performance indicators to track success will improve your performance. Unless you know what's working and what's not, you won't be able to adjust your team's actions accordingly.
