Are you a sales manager tired of basing your team's success solely on the end result? Are you ready to shift your focus from just the numbers to the efforts that lead to those numbers? Look no further! In this blog, we'll show you how modern revenue intelligence can power your sales training by identifying leading indicators such as the rep booking the most meetings and the rep with the most positive sentiment in their emails. Say goodbye to the guesswork and hello to effective coaching techniques that drive long-term success. Ready to join the effort-over-results revolution? Keep reading!
What are the leading indicators?
Leading indicators in sales and revenue operations provide insight into a company's future performance. They are often used to predict future trends and identify areas for improvement. Some leading indicators in sales include the number of appointments set per week, the number of calls made per day, and the quality of customer relationships that can be measured through sentiment on calls and emails. In revenue operations, leading indicators may include the efficiency of the sales process, the speed at which deals are closed, the number of upsell opportunities, and the pipeline generated for the current and next quarters.
By tracking these leading indicators, companies can identify patterns and trends that may not be immediately apparent when focusing only on lagging indicators, such as revenue or profits. This allows them to make data-driven decisions and take proactive steps to improve performance.
It's important to note that leading indicators are not a crystal ball – they are simply tools to help guide decision-making and identify areas for improvement. Utilizing leading and lagging indicators can give a well-rounded view of a sales team’s performance and help drive long-term success. So go ahead and embrace your inner data nerd – your team(and company) will thank you.
From dashboards to data stories and beyond…
Most sales managers have some form of a dashboard built on either BI tools or existing CRM solutions. These are limited to overall KPIs and metrics such as conversion rates at different stages or numbers of closed-won/lost deals. Even though these dashboards are effective in understanding the overall state of the pipeline but ineffective in breaking down reasons for the current state or areas where the pipeline can be optimized.
Using leading indicators, it can be quite clear why deals may fall out of the pipeline. Take an example of a company that sells to the pharmaceutical industry and small European manufacturers. Over 30% of their reps were not adequately trained to sell to large pharma companies, but 5% were exceptional at selling to small manufacturers. The regional sales manager realized this by understanding the effort this 30% were putting in and areas for improvement. She soon realized that most had below-average sentiment on calls when handling simple objections from pharma companies.
Using this newfound information from leading indicators, she quickly re-assigned them to the small manufacturer sales teams, where they saw conversions going up by 15%.
It's important to use these leading indicators to understand the buyer's journey and identify which teams or reps are most successful in specific geographies or with certain customer profiles. For example, if it takes an average of 8 meetings to close a deal with a large software company with multiple decision makers, analyzing your team's sentiment and performance with each decision maker can reveal which reps are most effective at handling objections from each individual. This information can be invaluable in coaching and improving the overall performance of your team.
Build similar stories for each of your teams and use the practices from the most successful reps to benchmark performance and create a culture of data-driven decision-making.
How can Revenue Operations and Intelligence platforms help?
Looking for a way to boost your sales team's performance and make data analysis a breeze? Revenue operations platforms might just be the solution you've been searching for! These platforms provide a centralized location for all sales data, allowing managers to track leading indicators and identify areas for improvement. Here are five examples of how revenue operations platforms can help with coaching sales reps and making data analysis easy:
Tracking appointment setting:
No more scribbling appointments in a planner – revenue operations platforms allow managers to easily see which reps are slaying it in the appointment-setting department and which ones could use a little extra coaching.
Analyzing customer data: By analyzing customer data, managers can uncover trends and patterns to help guide sales efforts and increase revenue. It's like having a crystal ball for your sales strategy!
Identifying upsell opportunities:
Revenue operations platforms can help managers identify opportunities to upsell to existing customers, boosting the bottom line.
Measuring customer satisfaction: Customer satisfaction is key to long-term success. Revenue operations platforms allow managers to track satisfaction scores and provide targeted coaching to struggling reps.
Monitoring team performance:
Revenue operations platforms provide real-time data on team performance, giving managers a bird's eye view of how things are going and allowing them to address any issues quickly.
Overall, revenue operations and intelligence platforms make it easier for managers to track, analyze, and act on data, leading to more effective coaching and improved sales performance.
In conclusion, revenue operations platforms provide a valuable tool for sales managers looking to coach their reps and make data-driven decisions effectively. By tracking leading indicators and analyzing customer data, managers can identify patterns and trends that may not be immediately apparent, leading to more targeted coaching and improved sales performance. As we head into 2023, revenue operations will become increasingly critical for managers looking to provide the best possible coaching to their reps and make informed data-driven decisions. Don't get left behind – start leveraging the power of revenue operations today!
