Sales Performance Management Best Practices Blog

Get more out of your Sales Performance Management dashboards

Posted by Jerry Hegarty on Tue, Oct 13, 2015 @ 11:10 AM

World@Work recently posted an interesting interview that touched on an often overlooked aspect of the ‘Sales Performance Management’ analytics discussion which focuses on sales force feedback.

In the in interview below, thought leaders Mark Donolo & Dean Ketridge say that focusing on productivity metrics only when considering SPM dashboards & analytics is only half the story, inclusion of what they term “People” metrics is a critical element of the discussion as well. The logic being that if motivation is the goal, how are you monitoring sales force motivation and how is this being incorporated into your dashboards?

Organizations may or may not view motivation as the desired output of sales incentives (as opposed to results), but the concept of incorporating a method of measuring sales force motivation is a powerful one worthy of consideration.

The ‘People focused’ analytics tend to be qualitative as opposed to quantitative. This poses the challenge of how to get at the important insights that this information can bring. Surveying your sales team in one way to add structure to the discussion in a way that provides sales leaders with the ammunition to confidently make changes to the system.

Some information to consider as part of your effort’s to understand what you team is thinking;

  • How do your reps view the pay competitiveness of their plans? Is there any differentiation along dimensions such as role, geography, customer segment?
  • How does your sales team feel about their career path? With so much being written today about explicit rewards, how one views thier future and career path can be a temendous motivator.
  • Based on sample statements from c-level leaders, how does your sales team feel their plan aligns with the stated strategic goals?
  • How well do they feel their plan aligns with their role?
  • Do the reps themselves feel that the plan is a good motivator?

With this as a backdrop, the next question involves how to use this insight to chart your course to a Best Practice that sets your sales force to deliver at world class levels. Here are some thoughts to consider;

Are you are you gathering and analyzing feedback from your sales team on the issues described above?

  • If yes, how? Can the process be improved?
  • If not, why not?
  • Is soliciting this feedback a repeatable ongoing process (regular sales force surveys) or a one-time event?

Imagine the power of the insights which can be gleaned from your Sales Performance Dashboards with features built into them that incorporate input from your team along the lines described above as part of the performance feedback! 

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Topics: Sales Performance Reporting, CEO, Human Resources, Sales Operations