Tracking sales productivity blindly, or ignoring it completely, can be detrimental to your business growth and your bottom line. Although sales figures alone can give you an indication of the demand for your product or service, other factors determine whether those sales are translating to increased profit – as well as how they match up to the team and market potential.
With many factors to consider, including marketing, the business sales pipeline, competition, communication, and pricing, measuring sales productivity may seem like a complicated task. Here’s the good news: it doesn’t have to be! Modern technology, such as automated data tracking, can help you gain insight into real-time sales figures and process effectiveness. This highlights where gains can be maximized and losses minimized in the sales process.
The right sales productivity management system drives efficiency by providing sales teams with the right tools and information to enhance sales efforts. This guide will briefly discuss top strategies to effectively measure sales productivity and boost your team’s success.
Are you meeting sales forecasts?
Sales forecasting is a prediction of the estimated revenue a company or sales team will secure within a given time frame. It can be calculated weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annually.
Accurate sales forecasting assists leaders in setting realistic goals, making smarter recruiting decisions, and budgeting appropriately. Companies must streamline their strategy for future success.
Sales forecasts allow managers to detect potential target deviations/issues while there’s still time to course-correct. This proactive approach can have a significant positive impact on revenue.
Sales forecasts that predict fewer profits for a given period can help companies curb expenses, invest in strategic marketing, and hold off on hiring new team members. When used correctly, sales forecasting can also be an effective motivational tool.
It is important to consistently keep track of actual sales versus forecasted sales and to take the necessary actions to achieve business goals. Jeff Sheehan, co-author of Hired! Paths to Employment in the Social Media Era explains it as follows:
“No matter how you might want to slice and dice it, the number one measure for sales is the amount of revenue which is generated versus that forecasted. Is the salesperson meeting his or her plan? If so, at what percentage to plan? Any deviations need to be thoroughly explained and corrective actions taken to ensure that the person gets back on track during the upcoming month, quarter, or other reporting period.”
Look at your sales pipeline progress
A sales forecast formula is the method used to determine the sales forecasting figures. Most formulas pair historical data with customer representative insights concerning the number of customers and rate of closure.
Managers can track sales productivity by considering the rep’s point of departure and the number of opportunities they started with. The number of qualified sales that moved through the pipeline can indicate whether the rep is applying the right strategies at the right times. Essentially, it can tell managers if their representatives are spending their time efficiently. Comparing this data to actual closed sales and the value of deals can help determine issues such as poor communication or lack of urgency.
Carefully observing sales pipeline progress will highlight where training can be beneficial. Perhaps you will learn that your sales representatives are lacking tools or information that could facilitate deal closures. Knowledge is power!
Check for quality customer interaction
In today’s connected world, it’s important to formulate a framework that ensures your team doesn’t miss opportunities to connect with customers. When customers communicate with a business, regardless of the channel, they take note of responsiveness, assurance, reliability, and empathy.
Customer interaction management ensures that every interaction is high quality and promotes relationship-building and customer satisfaction while effectively conveying information. Equipping teams with customer context and sales history data will give them a point of reference. This allows them to deliver accurate information and quotes, which contributes to an improved customer experience.
Customer interaction software offers a single hub where customer communication and information are housed. This means the customer doesn’t have to repeat basic information every time they interact with the business. The sales representative should immediately be able to see their query history, purchase history, contact information, and account information. This readily accessible data assists them in resolving concerns without department-hopping.
Why is measuring sales productivity important?
By comparing sales forecasts with actual sales, analyzing sales pipeline progress, and examining customer interactions, sales productivity management allows you to pinpoint flaws in your sales process and take action to drive sales enablement and improve productivity.
Sales reps often spend a lot of time on mundane (though necessary) tasks. This eats up time that could be better spent nurturing relationships. When you provide your team with the right tools and strategies to work more productively, everybody wins. You truly do reap what you sow.
Boost your sales productivity with Skynamo
Sales reps face constant struggles between administration, meetings, and finding time to nurture leads effectively. Although administrative tasks will never go away, automation can significantly minimize the time reps spend away from the frontlines. This saves time, increases productivity, frees your team up to better invest their efforts, and reduces human error.
As an industry leader, Skynamo can immeasurably benefit your sales representatives and company. We do so by facilitating their administrative tasks, streamlining sales activities, and providing real-time sales insights and reports.
With Skynamo, field sales reps have access to the most recent product, pricing, and customer information. They can view customer order history, check stock, generate quotes, and submit orders from their mobile devices. Orders and customer information can even be entered offline. When they get back online, they simply sync their device to activate the information.
Chat with Skynamo’s expert team to learn how you can track actual vs. forecast sales, access real-time field reports, and boost your team’s sales productivity.
