How to Measure Performance: 7 Metrics to Achieve Complete Visibility

How’s your business doing? This may seem like a simple question to those on the outside – but anyone on the inside knows it goes a lot deeper than that.

Sure, the establishment may be turning a profit and moving products at a decent pace. But exactly how fast are those products moving? What is the percentage of profit gained now in comparison to a year ago? How many leads are turned into satisfied customers with deals closed?

Knowing how to measure performance based on real data is important for any business and especially any sales team. Better visibility means to know how the business is doing, where it is heading, and how to go about achieving organisational goals.

What Are the Top Metrics Sales Teams Should Track?

Here are seven metrics any sales team should track. Knowing how to measure performance with these metrics allows for improved visibility, and eventually, complete visibility of all major sales progress.

1.     Revenue

This one may seem simple, but tracking sales revenue is an important task for any sales team. It isn’t just about tracking revenue overall – there are many sub-metrics which could reveal a wealth of information.

Teams can track their sales in specific time periods, such as by year, quarter, or even week. They can gather individual data on sales numbers for specific products or services, as well as sales from any number of lead sources. The amount of revenue per sale as well as how much comes from new vs existing customers can also yield valuable findings.

Consider using tools like Microsoft Dynamics 365 to boost seller productivity and provide intelligent guidance toward a simplified sales process.

2.     Customer Loyalty

Also called retention, satisfaction, or return rate, this metric shows how often customers stick with your business – but more importantly, it reveals how your team is treating those customers.

If customers are well cared for, they’ll return for the same experience. If businesses fall short in meeting customer expectations, they’re at risk of losing business. The best way of keeping customers happy Is to make better decisions regarding those relationships. Using tools like Microsoft AI for sales, understanding customers is easier than ever.

Based on notes entered about customers, this tool helps us provide actionable insights on how to improve relationships and take advantage of new sales opportunities.

3.     Gross Margin

Of all the money you bring with your sales team, what percentage of it is retained – and better yet, reinvested back into the business? This percentage is known as the gross margin, and it is one of the more important metrics your company needs to track.

Knowing how to measure performance means knowing how much of your revenue is really going back into the company. One way of improving this metric is by using Microsoft Power BI, this can be very helpful for improving profitability per individual sale.

4.     Company Quotas

The same tool used to improve sales profitability can be used to hit sales targets. Every company has them – and they’re often made specific to the industry, size, and state of the company. With dashboards that display proper analytics, companies can see how they are progressing toward any given goal.

Our solution built on Microsoft’s powerful toolkit helps companies see lists, charts, and other helpful insights. They can even be viewed based on specific company locations where sales are made or based on which individual account agents made those sales.

5.     Overhead

For many businesses, their focus is on tracking those costs that fluctuate – but what about the ones that don’t? Overhead is defined as those expenses which aren’t dependent on the sales a business makes or the profit they turn. Examples include:

• Salaries
• Insurance
• Licenses
• Property Tax
• Rent
• Utilities

Why keep an eye on these metrics if they’re constant? Because they may be constant most of the time, but subject to change at times. Understanding when these expenses have changed helps companies better understand where their money is going and how they could possibly save in the future.

6.     Inventory

This is one of the key metrics any company should keep track of. It’s important for all departments, but the sales team especially can benefit from understanding the amount of inventory a company has on hand at any given time.

If there is an excess of one product, a goal could be set up to move it. If a product is flying off the shelves quicker than the others, sales teams can see where the leads from those sales came from, as well as how sales of the product compare to those from other time periods.

7.     Lead-to-Client Conversion Percentage

How many customers walk into your business, browse your website, or even talk to a sales associate. Now how many go through these motions and actually complete a sale?

The percentage of leads that ultimately become clients is one of the most important metrics your sales team has at their disposal. The importance of lead-to-client conversion is that it shows how well your team is at capitalising on leads, which are one of the most valuable resources any company has.

The way to determine it is by dividing the number of new leads by the number of new customers within a given time period. Set your metrics, collect your data, then see how well your business is faring in converting leads to paying customers.

How to Measure Performance and Why It Matters

Knowing how to measure performance is very important – whether you work on PC, mobile, or both, and in whatever industry you’re based in, data-based metrics are your guiding roadmap.

The fact there are tools available to help you find this makes things even easier – it is why Crimson’s approach using Microsoft’s proven tools is successful. We enable sales teams to sell smarter, better, and faster.

We at Crimson work closely with users to create systems that help support sales teams in the way they work. By breaking projects down into shorter sprints, using reliable metrics, and knowing what figures to track, we can help any sales team achieve complete visibility.