The days of sales management based on guesswork and manually entered reports are changing. Specifically, forecasts not based on data are becoming obsolete as managing with sales metrics has become the new standard. After all, the technology that exists today is too powerful for sales managers not to employ – especially when it comes to managing daily activity.

Sales acceleration technology allows managers to view their team’s activity in real time, enabling them to locate any problem areas their reps may have and provide better coaching. This also gives managers insights into the metrics that are most important to making their reps more efficient. Additionally, metrics give reps the information they need to fine-tune their outreach and know where they stand amongst their teammates. Due to these benefits, the most successful sales organizations are managing with sales metrics to gain unprecedented insights into daily sales activity and give reps the tools they need to succeed.

Managing with Sales Metrics

Eliminating forecasting inaccuracies is a top challenge that managers face today. Recent data reports that only 50% of salespeople base their forecasts on data-driven insights. Traditionally, managers have used CRMs to process leads and opportunities, but your CRM is not always the most accurate tool on its own. While a CRM can be effective when used to track and organize pipelines, sales managers should constantly be on the lookout for new ways to project wins and losses and get their team to adopt the same processes across the board.

It is incredibly important for managers to have historical and/or comparative data at their disposal to better coach and uncover issues struggling reps may be experiencing. Having access to 100% accurate data enables managers to set expectations— and provides them with the information they need to coach struggling reps and train new hires.

Implementing Analytics

The reality is that high performing teams are 2.1X more likely than underperforming teams to have fully integrated data systems. Therefore, implementing a sales tool to more accurately manage and train reps is a manager’s best tool to improve team performance.

Applying analytics to customer calls allows managers to track patterns of rep behavior. From there, specific, successful behaviors can be highlighted and replicated amongst reps. Analytics provided by a sales acceleration tool help managers quickly identify the strengths and weaknesses of their reps, and let them provide coaching as soon as it is needed. Further, onboarding time is reduced as managers can provide new hires with data-driven blueprints for success from the get-go.

In addition to improving management, metrics provided by a sales tool serve to benefit reps by giving them a better understanding of their performance and areas where they could improve. These metrics let reps see which days of the week and times of day their outreach is most successful, how many outreach attempts they should be making to prospects to set an appointment, and so on. Further, giving reps accessible data at their fingertips can serve as a source of healthy competition and motivation for your team members.

A Tool for Managers and Reps

The bottom line is that, in order to alleviate the challenges of managing a sales team and hitting quota based on guesstimated forecasts, it is time to challenge existing and outdated internal process and begin managing with sales metrics. Every time a rep reaches out to a prospect, they are producing data that is yours to use or lose. Sales analytics will allow you to mold new hires into revenue-generating team members, ensure that your team is working towards a common goal, and surpass previously guesstimated quotas with hard-hitting numbers.

Learn how sales acceleration can improve performance at your organization by giving you access to the metrics that matter.

Understanding the risks of TCPA and DNC violations

Understanding the risks of violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and Do Not Call (DNC) regulations starts with understanding the regulations themselves. The TCPA was created to protect consumers…

Assessing TCPA Compliance ROI: A Recap of Contact Compliance Solutions

In the ever-evolving landscape of regulatory compliance, organizations face a critical task: determining the Return on Investment (ROI) of TCPA compliance solutions. Whether contemplating building an in-house solution or opting…

Regulatory update: Wisconsin’s prohibition of caller ID spoofing

Wisconsin senate bill 531 has passed, making caller identification (ID) spoofing illegal. Here is what you can expect. Overview of the new rule The bill prohibits a telephone solicitor from…