The “legend” has it that commercial indicators are only used to feed management’s big appetite for dashboards and all kinds of statistics… But KPIs really make sense once they’re tailored to the specific needs of each individual.
A quick overview of the indicators that are essential for the different players on the sales team.
CRM indicators for sales representatives
Salespeople are people who have no time to lose, who get straight to the point and whose main objective is the sales revenue they generate. Even if this view is somewhat simplistic, it reflects a reality: the sales force is there to sell (hence the name!). That’s why salespeople only need a clear and concise set of indicators.
The KPIs to be set up for the sales force are therefore those that allow them to measure the progress of their results and actions, over a more or less precise period of time-monthly, quarterly or semi-annually.
Among these are the sales revenue or gross margin achieved (overall and by period). This is one of the indicators most closely monitored by sales representatives because it is generally used to determine the amount of their commissions or bonuses. Depending on the compensation system defined in the company, some will also pay attention to the volume invoiced or produced, since all or part of their variable pay depends on it.
The activity data results are also a set of essential CRM indicators used to measure the number of new contacts and leads recorded, the number of calls, visits, demonstrations and proposals made. This information makes it possible to determine the real sales effort and, if necessary, to adjust the next actions to be taken.
Finally, CRM alerts are extremely useful here to regularly remind you of the actions to be taken and those that may be overdue.
CRM indicators for sales managers
The sales manager, through their role and responsibilities, is in charge of supervising their team’s activity and the people who make it up.
It is important for the sales manager to have an overview of their team. They therefore need KPIs that compile all the activity data for each sales representative (number of calls, visits, demos, orders, etc.), as well as information related to the overall results (sales volume or gross margin achieved). For more details on these indicators, find out which are the essential B2B indicators for managing your company’s sales activity.
But they will also need activity indicators for each of their sales representatives, in order to help or motivate them with the actions they find challenging. In short: to manage.
Because if the team’s performance is not there, it may be due to:
- a widespread problem. In which case, a team brainstorming session is required.
- one or two salespeople in difficulty. In which case, an individual reset (or new training) will be necessary.
The sales manager is the “link” between the field and the sales department. They are the one who ensures their team meets its targets… As you will have understood, dashboards are therefore central to the day-to-day performance of their duties.
CRM indicators for sales management
Beyond the desire to have a large number of indicators of all kinds (!!!!!), the core mission of the sales manager is to supervise overall activity, recommend necessary adjustments and determine the company’s short-, medium- and long-term sales strategy. It is therefore difficult to fly blind without accurate field data!
To do this, the sales department must have:
- indicators to aggregate all sales data from the teams at a given time
- indicators to compare current activity/results with meaningful reference periods (to distinguish structural from cyclical, especially in sectors of activity subject to seasonal variations)
- indicators for each of its sales teams, in order to manage sales managers and, where appropriate, organize sales contests.
Thus, it will be necessary to develop CRM KPIs tailored to each role, avoiding the two traditional pitfalls: indicators that are too “macro”, in which field roles will lose their bearings; and indicators that are too “micro”, in which managers and executives will lose sight of the overall picture.