The field of ‘sales’ is entirely metrics-driven. But instead of looking at sales through a peephole, you should look at it as a process. In other words, you should monitor various metrics that lead to a conversion instead of simply looking at the sales numbers. This will also help you identify gaps, if any, in the processes that your sales team follows.

Depending on the dynamics of your team and the kind of clients your company services, the metrics will differ. By analyzing these metrics, you can plan action items for improving your sales team’s progress.

Here are some other metrics you can customize and use according to your requirements:

1. Retention 

Retention, as a metric, can help you gauge how consistent your service has been. Although acquiring new clients/businesses is great, if you lose existing customers, it will affect the rate at which your business is growing. This is why retention is one of the essential metrics when we talk about the big picture, i.e. growth of a business.

2. Average deal size

The primary aim of a sales team is usually to close as many deals as possible. But when it comes to measuring their progress, you may want to consider the deal size too. Are you acquiring too many small deals or has your sales team been consistently bagging bigger deals?

The number of deals closed is also significantly important. But when you consider the revenue side of things the average deal size will make a significant difference.

3. Customer satisfaction 

This will help you understand how well you are servicing your existing clientele. You can also take into consideration how fast client concerns are being addressed, and if the team is taking appropriate steps to speed up the process. Anonymous surveys are one way of getting to know the satisfaction level of your customers. It will also help you understand if there are any improvements they’d like to see.

4. Conversion rate

This sales metric entails taking into consideration the number of clients that the team approaches and how many of them came on board. By studying this data, you can identify if you have been approaching the wrong individuals – or if things need to be improved at your end for a better conversion rate. By having a further bifurcation of the type of clients that didn’t convert, you may even identify a pattern. For example, if too many B2B clients don’t convert, you can conclude that maybe your sales reps need training specifically for dealing with B2B clients.

5. Sales cycle

The sales cycle will differ for every acquisition you make. This metric is basically the time it takes to convert a lead, starting from the first interaction until the time the deal is closed. Here, you can also factor in things like the number of calls it took to close a deal, and if face-to-face meetings proved more effective than phone calls.

Incorporating these sales metrics

Setting sales metrics such as the ones mentioned above may seem tedious and a lot of work. But investing where it matters is definitely worth the effort. The end goal for every business is the same – to boost sales. So monitoring and building around these key metrics will definitely help your team’s performance, thereby improving sales.

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