Using Sales Analytics to Improve the Productivity of Your Reps

As a sales manager, you are responsible for coaching and improving the productivity and performances of your sales reps. Using sales analytics with your sales reps not only allows you to quantifiably and accurately measure their performance, but can also help you as a manager to better diagnose and, subsequently, coach any problems or issues leading to underperformance. Here are three of the most important sales analytics that can be used to improve the productivity of your sales reps.

1) Activity ratios

Many managers measure activities by tracking the number of calls or emails that their reps make. The truth is that the raw number of calls alone is not a great indicator of productivity or effectiveness – a vast majority of these calls are unlikely to be productive connections. Instead, managers should be looking at activity ratios – the number of calls that lead to demos, trials and ultimately deals. 

Daily activity goals such as a set number of calls to hit provides a solid input-based foundation for employee productivity – everyday, no matter what happens, they can make this many calls. However, where managers come in with coaching is by tracking the conversion rates of all activities progressing through the sales funnel. If a rep has a poor ratio of demos to trials, you can focus on shoring up and improving how the rep is running demos.

2) The length of their sales cycle in terms of deals won or lost

The longer that a deal remains in your rep’s individual pipeline without closing, the higher the chance that your rep is going to lose that deal. Go over the open opportunities in each rep’s pipeline and help them understand their sales cycles and, more importantly, their sales cycle by stage. 

For instance, your rep comes up and tells you that he or she is optimistic about closing a deal that has been sitting in the trial phase for 35 days. However, looking at your historical pipeline, you know that typically the deals you win only stay in the trial phase for 14 days. This is a big disconnect between your rep’s expectations and performance and the historical data, providing an opportunity for coaching and deeper analysis.

3) How many opportunities are reps winning?

The bottom line is all about revenue, which grows as your reps win and close more deals. Look at how many deals your employees have booked and the total value of these deals compared to the goals you have set for them, as well as their fellow reps. This information can really pinpoint which of your reps are doing fine on their own and which ones require more coaching. 

The truth is that reps are likely to be more receptive to coaching when you can bring hard, actionable data directly to them. By pointing out specific weaknesses instead of generalizing improvements, reps will be put in a better position to grow their sales numbers. Sales management is all about coaching, and sales analytics provides the proof in the pudding to help both parties improve productivity. Tell us about how you have used sales analytics to improve your reps’ productivity.