By focusing on the most predictive leading indicators, sales operations leaders can improve sales rep productivity.
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Sales productivity is limited by the current state of analytics
Sales leaders have more data and insights at their fingertips than ever before — but something isn’t adding up. Many sales operations leaders fail to highlight the most relevant performance metrics, resulting in an analytics program that has little effect on sales reps’ productivity.
In contrast, an explainable framework of seller performance metrics separated into a clear hierarchy, from a strategic definition of productivity to historical lagging indicators to leading indicators that drive action, makes the links between metrics explainable and allows sales operations leaders to prioritize the metrics based on quantifiable correlations.
Drive sales productivity with a tiered model
When deciding which performance metrics are most relevant, sales operations leaders should follow the guidance below.
Use a tiered model to design sales performance metrics
Organize performance metrics into tiers to simplify the tasks of finding and communicating relationships among seemingly disparate metrics.
Tier 1: Definition of productivity — Metrics such as revenue per time period, profitability, and customer and revenue retention that describe the primary function of a sales role.
Tier 2: Lagging indicators — Descriptive metrics that can be used to assess historical performance, such as deal count, win rate and average deal size. Examine these lagging indicators to determine which are most impactful for the business and most useful for comparing sellers.
Tier 3: Leading indicators — Predictive metrics that signal future sales performance, such as lead response time, interaction quality and sales cycle time. In collaboration with key stakeholders such as chief sales officers (CSOs), sales operations leaders should hypothesize which leading indicators contribute to sales outcomes, and then test these hypotheses with tools like linear regression analysis or AI capabilities within the RevTech stack.
Focus on maximizing adoption to increase sales productivity
After separating performance metrics into tiers, the next step, in partnership with your CSO, is to roll out the model to the front line organization.To foster user adoption and engagement, emphasize the model’s benefits, such as helping sellers focus on behaviors that have the greatest impact on sales productivity.
While sales managers can be opinionated about their preferred metrics, leaders can improve trust by being transparent about how the model was built, delving into the technical details if necessary, and presenting examples and evidence of the model’s effectiveness.
Measure the model’s impact on sales productivity
Once the model rolls out, measure and reevaluate its impact on a regular basis. This involves:
Establishing productivity baselines to use as a future point of comparison.
Determining whether the current tier 3 metrics remain the best leading indicators.
Making tier 3 metrics more visible by adding them to dashboards, town halls, sales kickoffs, etc.
Using tier 3 metrics as a basis to interpret sales productivity, by incorporating them in meetings and performance reviews.
Sales productivity FAQs
How can you increase sales productivity?
To increase sales productivity, develop an explainable framework of seller performance metrics separated into a clear hierarchy that links quantifiable metrics and enables sales operations leaders to prioritize the metrics based on comparative analysis. This brings clarity to teams and sets the groundwork for tracking and coaching.
How do you calculate sales rep productivity?
To calculate sales rep productivity, conduct an assessment on where sellers are focusing their time using the Gartner Seller Time Spend Assessment diagnostic tool. The assessment evaluates 56 activities to provide a holistic view of how sellers use their time and enables you to identify potential areas for increased sales force efficiency. By understanding how sellers currently allocate their time, you can determine opportunities to optimize time management and enhance productivity.
What is a leading indicator?
A leading indicator is a metric businesses use to predict future trends or events. In the context of sales productivity, leading indicators help sales leaders predict which sales representatives are likely to be most successful.
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