Top Metrics Sales Organizations Use

FINANCIAL Measures

% of Budget / Quota / Goal Attained
The standard measure most firms use to determine if salespeople are on track or ahead of financial plan. This indicator is at the root of positive coaching conversations to sustain the current trends, or to identify where focus can be applied in order to achieve the targeted objectives.

Sales by Customer Segment
Provides data on which segments are generating the majority of the sales, whether opportunities in other
segments are being ignored, or if salespeople may require additional training to be more effective in a given segment.

Sales by Product Type
Highlights the level of success of the product line, and potentially identifies opportunities for improvement and exploration. Further refinement and comparison can help determine where demand exists, where effort is being applied, or, it may highlight the proficiency or deficiency of an area or a salesperson.

Sales by Geography
This metric profiles how sales are distributed by geography. Analysis may suggest there is room for additional salespeople. Comparing sales by geography may also highlight possible causes for the variance by territory, or may suggest opportunities for territory redesign.

Sales to New vs. Existing Customers
This critical measure provides insight on where salespeople may be spending their time, whether existing accounts are being developed, or if time is being devoted to prospecting for new customers.

Forecast vs. Actual Results
In more complex selling situations, establishing metrics on where the salesperson is in the sales cycle is key. If the salesperson’s forecast is consistently within the expected standards set by management, the salesperson can be said to know what is going on in the market, and has intimacy with decisions affecting his accounts and territory.

Expenses – Actual vs. Budget
Highlights performance against budgeted expenses. When done at the salesperson level, these measures can help the organization contain costs when needed and illustrate how well the salesperson manages her budgets.

Average Revenue per Customer
This measure provides a BIG PICTURE look at selling effectiveness. As this measure changes over time, one
can assess the degree of effectiveness and the depth of penetration in the market. Typically, growth occurs when there is an increase in average revenue per customer and an increase in the number of existing and new customers retained.

Salesperson Rankings in Company
Rankings are insightful in that they help management know who the top salespeople are relative to the measure being tracked. Rankings can stimulate friendly team competition as well as encourage top performers to sustain their effort, since they appreciate the implicit recognition and achievement being given.

ACTIVITY Measures

# of New Account Calls
An indicator to determine if salespeople are prospecting for new business.

# of Calls by Segment
An indicator to determine if salespeople are calling on prospects in the market segments where the company wants to focus on.

# of Calls by Account Size
An indicator to delineate if a salesperson is calling on high potential volume or low potential volume prospects.

# of Proposals Submitted / Closing Ratio
An indicator on how much progress is being made in developing business and how effective the sales process is being applied.

# of Competitive Wins
A measure that highlights a salesperson’s competitive knowledge and how effective they were in differentiating their solutions to their customers.

CUSTOMER Measures

Customer Retention Ratio
A key indicator of customer satisfaction. When compared across territories, this provides insight into the
salesperson’s tenure and stability with the customer base.

# of Buying Centers Within An Account
Measures the number of buying centers which the salesperson is prospecting to within an account, and the depth of account penetration that has been achieved.

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