5. Metrics and tracking: Measure what matters
Companies get results—sometimes unintentional ones—in the areas they measure. Salesforce automation technology provides accurate measurement tools, but they can sometimes distract an organization. The larger question is: What is the right set of metrics around which to align the organization? Best-performing companies are clear. They measure and manage such inputs as pipeline data coverage gaps and win-loss ratios within targeted segments. But they base their rewards on outcomes. Those output metrics are clear and support specific business goals. They are also externally focused and regularly benchmarked.
A process to track metrics is valuable only when sales management creates a standard rhythm around a transparent set of key metrics. Simply put, the metrics must be available to and understood by all. Net Promoter® Score, for instance, provides companies with a system to build customer loyalty and focus the entire sales organization on the customer. Companies need the discipline to use meaningful metrics that track performance and inform sales decisions. Done right, this creates a clear sales course, reduces risk and, most importantly, flags opportunities.
A global IT services company based in India, for example, recently installed a best-in-class bid-management process to help track its success rate for large multiyear projects. As part of a larger growth and sales transformation effort, the system also equipped the company CEO with a dashboard to measure progress in real time. By better illuminating its sales funnel, the company was able to achieve an industry-leading bid win ratio and improve its account management. The combined effort helped to grow its existing business by more than 30 percent in the first year, an increase of $200 million in net present value.
