What metrics do you use to improve sales productivity?

Sales is both an art and a science, even when it comes to activity reporting. While there are many metrics sales managers can measure and track, it takes more than crunching numbers to decide which are the most important, how to use them to improve productivity and effectiveness, and how to apply that knowledge to each unique sales team.There is no one right way to answer those questions, but the more data sales teams can gather, the more tools they have to help them figure out what works best.

Cloud-based call recording is a cost effective way to gather a lot of useful data and studies even show it can dramatically reduce costs. The Aberdeen Group’s November 2012 study “Multi-channel Contact Center: Delight Customers Where They Live” found companies that rely on voice communications see a 3.5% average annual increase in revenue when they use call recording analytics to improve sales productivity and effectiveness.

Those that didn’t use call recording saw an average 3.3% annual decrease in revenue and a 4.5% increase in customer service costs.

Cloud-based call recording captures useful data to improve sales productivity.

Not all of these metrics would be helpful for every sales team, but tools like cloud-based call recording and smart reporting and analytics can provide managers with the rich data they need to improve their teams’ productivity and effectiveness.

Number of calls per conversion:

This number gives managers a simple way to compare effectiveness across teams or offices and an entry-point to discover what actions an agent or office takes on calls to continuously improve.

Actions taken after a call:

Information about what steps an agent took after completing a call – such as left a message, sent literature, or set appointment – is cumbersome to capture manually through a CRM, but can illustrate important trends over time in how deals get done. For example, managers can see if the literature their agents are sending is having the intended effect.

Sales effectiveness scores:

Smart analytics engines amalgamate a wide range of data into a single number managers can use to gauge an agent’s overall performance. They also allow those managers to dig deeper into that number to find out what training they can provide to help that agent improve.

Script adherence:

Managers don’t need to be within earshot of their agents in order to ensure they are sticking to a script. With cloud-based call recording, managers can provide that in-depth support and guidance even to geographically dispersed agents or those working mostly from the road.

Emotion alerts:

It’s easy to gauge the mood on the sales floor when everyone is in the same place every day, but today’s sales forces are increasingly mobile and dispersed. Few call recording solutions offer automatically triggered emotion alerts, but they can go a long way in understanding if prospects, or sales agents, are getting impatient or frustrated.