Improving Sales Effectiveness

Sales Effectiveness relies on indepth understanding of the high-level dynamics behind sales performance.

In turn, this requires reliable, timely information on key sales performance metrics.

Sales processes includes a number of complex data entries into multiple SFA and customer service systems. With disparate systems it is difficult to gain a consolidated view of the end to end sale process, and as such it is equally difficult to measure its performance and isolate where action is required. This both extends the sales cycle, reduces sales team productivity and increases the cost of sale.

Using business intelligence tools such as Sales Performance Dashboards, sales managers and individuals can gain an instant view of the sales process and its performance at each phase of the pipeline.

By using key performance indicators [KPIs] linked directly to business strategy, sales performance tracking provides a critical step in improving sales effectiveness and productivity.

This includes such metrics as:

• Pipeline analysis by sales stage
• Sales trends
• Sales performance gains and losses by sales reps, products, and key customers
• Actual sales productivity vs. goals
• Revenue fluctuations
• Key changes in forecasts with projected impact

Analyzing Key Sales Drivers, Trends, and Root Causes

Underlying these key metrics is a wealth of data that can be further mined and analysed to yield further insight to find tune sales performance.

By gaining a deeper understanding of revenue and cost drivers sales performance can reach levels higher than possible using old spreadsheet style reporting.

As the business intelligence tools are used more and more, they are finely tuned to the needs of each individual, allowing them to personally manage their own contribution to the total sales process.

Using a capability called guided analysis that helps streamline cause-and-effect analysis to determine the root cause of issues, they are able to explore data to uncover the root cause of issues previously not visible.

With a single customer having multiple points of contact within an organization, without business intelligence the total interaction with the customer and the impact of each interaction is impossible to see and analyse.

This makes it nearly impossible to determine how to improve efficiency, eliminate redundancy, capitalize on cross-sell and up-sell, and present a cohesive front to the customer.

By contrast, using sales analytic applications the sales manager can gain a single view of the customer and monitor performance that provides invaluable insight to developing sales strategies and tactics and profitably allocation of resources.

Next: Improve Sales Cycles

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