About the “Roadmap …”

This month’s topic is: “Measuring Sales Effectiveness” – Part 3 OF 3 Many salespeople/sales managers measure their Sales Effectiveness strictly by the dollar value of the results. In this series we’ll be discussing the importance of also measuring the quantity and quality of sales activities.

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Vol. 7 No. 3 March, 2006 – “Measuring Sales Effectiveness” – Part 3 of 3

For The first 2 installments of this series, please see:

http://www.salestraininginc.com/newsletter/2006/january/
and
http://www.salestraininginc.com/newsletter/2006/february/

“If you're trailing way behind in certain areas, you might want to look at fixing these. Conversely, there may be areas where you're ahead of the pack--those might be opportunities to really double down and create a sustainable, competitive advantage.” - -Barry Trailer, CSO Insights (CRMGuru.com 6/18/04)

Over the past 2 months we’ve asked “If sales activities need to be planned and their results measured, what are the Key Performance Indicators and why are they important?” And, we identified other, qualitative benchmarks, such as if/how we’re addressing the “right” prospects - ex. C-Level Executives.”

This month we’ll define other actual activities to measure to ensure our success - and why and how.

One way that we have found helpful is by reversing the typical sales “funnel” and working our way backwards.

So, for instance, if we wish to make “n” closes (c’s) in a given period, and we know what is the usual previous step to closing in our unique process (c-1), then our tracking mechanisms should be able to tell us how many of those we typically need to have to make a close. If these steps are coming up short, most likely the number of closes will as well.

Say for example that our offering is such that we usually close sales after a “demo.” How many “demos” has it traditionally taken to close a sale? Then, as we go backwards again, what had typically happened in order for the customer to allow us the opportunity to make a demo?

Before that, did we need to submit a proposal? And, how many contacts (visits, phone calls, corporate meetings, etc.) were typically needed to be given an opportunity to make that proposal?

Although our emphasis in Consultative Selling is on customer relationships and problem identification and resolution, sales is still very much a “numbers game.”

It is vital for our success therefore, that we identify the appropriate steps in our sales process, and determine the necessary number of completions for each step.

Then, as we track our important activities, we’ll be able to see which might be coming up short and can then change strategies to make each more effective.

Most good CRM/Contact Management systems (ex. Oracle/Siebel®, ACT! ® etc.) have excellent tools to help us do this. Examples are:

1. Siebel Sales Analytics:	2. ACT! By Sage CRM, Inc.
“Enabling the Intelligent Enterprise ”	“ Opportunity Pipeline”
© 2006, Oracle and/or its affiliates.	© 2006   Sage Software SB, Inc.

1.http://www.siebel.com/common/includes/pdf_frame.shtm?pdfUrl=/downloads/best_practices/
sales_analytics_bestpractice.pdf

2. http://www.act.com/products/2006/opportunities/index.cfm

Be on the lookout for the next issue of “Roadmap” where be discussing:
“Using Tools to Ensure Sales Success.”

Or, if you need assistance sooner, please contact us at:info@salespartnersinc.com

Until then, Good Selling!

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http://www.salespartnersinc.com

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