[Message to Management]: Are Your Sales Metrics Messed Up?

(Photo Credit: Austin Distell)
Set metrics around sales activities you can measure and coach.
“Revenue is the only metric that matters.” Somebody actually wrote that in a recent blog post. If that’s how he manages his team, I’m glad I’m not one of his reps.
Sure, revenue is our goal in sales. Beating our numbers is our passion and getting to Club is our reward. But in terms of sales metrics, revenue is a lagging indicator. We can measure revenue, but we can’t manage it. We can, however, measure and manage the key sales activities and behaviors that drive revenue.
Some execs promote giving reps a sales quota and letting them figure out the activities that will help them meet it. Bad idea! Perhaps that’s why 56.9 percent of salespeople missed quota in 2019, or why seller attrition rose to 18 percent, according to CSO Insights’ World-Class Sales Practices Study.
Not only does this strategy