Use METRICS to Supercharge Your Sales

Earlier this month we created a series of metrics and used them to evaluate sales performance. Last week we discussed how metrics define one's productivity.  We also showed how we can view a task more clearly by breaking it up into component sub-tasks.  Each of these sub-tasks is a link representing a particular skill in the sales skill chain.

It's apparent how improving a single skill X% will increase productivity X%.   But by dissecting the sales task chain and improving several individual sub-tasks a savvy manager can dramatically improve their rep's performances.  We know from last week that overall productivity is the product of the all sub-tasks in the sales process chain. So improving many component links within this chain will have a multiplicative effect on productivity. A smart manager will strive to subdivide the sales chain into as many links as s/he can.

I’ve Measured my Reps’ Sub-Tasks; Now What?

So you're armed with your METRICS, a list of ratios for each task for each rep.  Now where do you go from here?

Train Individually

Each of your sales employee has a different set of micro-skill ratios.  You can see how improvement in each one contributes to their overall sales volume which increases your rep's commissions.

Show your reps how training and improving micro-skills in this manner will directly impact their compensation.  If you explain and share your rep’s metrics with them, they’ll be excited to discover how transparent and easy it is to improve their productivity.  You’ll be able to help them plan a roadmap to success, thereby helping them increase their earning power.  Great salespeople derive their esteem from their ability to sell so helping them achieve high performance will empower them and give them tremendous job satisfaction, a common problem of managers.

Train each rep's weakest micro-skills.  Since each ratio improved grows productivity, choose the sub-tasks with the greatest room for improvement.  The sub-tasks with the lowest ratios are the easiest to grow.

Put responsibility for your rep's progress in their own hands.  Empower them to evaluate and improve their own METRICS.  After awhile they’ll be ready during your coaching sessions to discuss their weakest areas and their plans to improve them. You’ll be surprised how invested in the process they become.

Get Expert Help

Although the concept may be simple, developing appropriate metrics for a company is an involved and specialized discipline.  Done poorly, you can do more harm than good.  To achieve the best results, you need an expert in your corner.  Feel free to contact us to customize a high-performance sales development solution for your company.  We can also show you how to use METRICs to create a highly accurate sales forecast.

This concludes our series on Ingenious Sales Management.  You can now promote a high-performance environment and culture; develop individual metrics for each rep; analyze performance and structure training to improve performance; and develop compensation that incents high performance.

Next week we'll turn our attention to financial management. Okay, I see you yawning but trust me. Reading this material might save your business. We'll discuss three common cash drains - you could be throwing away half your profit without realizing it - and easy fixes. Look for it next week. Until then,

profitable business All!