Whether they track daily, weekly, monthly or annual activity, commercial activity management indicators allow you to capture the actions and individual results of each of your sales representatives:
- number of clients visited each week
- average time spent per visit
- number of appointments cancelled each month due to service issues (reliability)
- assessment of negotiations (proposal rate, conversion rate, total number of cases received and processed)
- success rate of offers or prospects = number of prospects or offers converted into orders compared to the total number of offers or prospects
- turnover per month and per salesperson
- total production hours sold
- change in representation expenses in relation to turnover
- margin on orders / commercial costs incurred
- new customer acquisition rate
- customer order renewal rate
- orders / offers made
- customer satisfaction index
- number of complaints related to commercial activity = number of complaints / total number of commercial interventions
- speed of response to a request for proposal (tender) or specifications
- responsiveness of the sales department
- delay in making products/services available to the customer
- discount amount
- penalty amount
- number of deliveries to customers that do not comply with their request
- feedback provided to the customer within the requested time frame
- customer delivery lead time
1. Turnover achieved versus targets
This is the first indicator I recommend setting up (though I’m sure you didn’t wait for me to do that!). It lets you see in real time how far you still have to go to meet your targets (monthly, half-yearly and annual). A ratio equal to or greater than 1 shows that sales are above target; a ratio that is too close to 0 should alert you and prompt you to look into possible issues in your sales force.
Be careful not to rely on this single metric, as it does not reflect the sales effort put in. A low rate does not necessarily mean your salespeople are idling. Compare it with the sales activities carried out, via the activity rate.
2. Turnover achieved per salesperson
This indicator lets you measure each salesperson’s performance over time, and more importantly, spot a possible slowdown, lack of motivation, temporary difficulties or, conversely, exceptional results. For you, it’s an excellent management tool to recognise good work and re-energise the team.
Also make sure you review, for sales representatives who have not hit their numbers, the sales effort put in that might qualify this indicator: the work may be real, but the method ineffective.
3. The sales pipeline
The sales pipeline is one of the key indicators of a top-performing sales manager. It allows you to consolidate the % chance of winning a deal (the closer the deal is to the order stage, the higher the %), along with the expected signing date and the value of the quotation (or its estimate) by month, quarter and/or year.
It lets you look beyond revenue at a given point in time and forecast future sales. You can also gain visibility on how well your team is meeting its targets and take the necessary collective and individual actions.
4. Activity rate
This means tracking the sales activities carried out by your team (number of calls, qualified leads or prospects, meetings set, demos, quotations, etc.). In short, all the metrics used to evaluate each stage of your sales process, and to compare these indicators with the targets you have set.
However, do be careful not to build this indicator over too short a period. Some periods are more conducive to calls, while others are better for fixing appointments.
5. Volume of lost business
Lost business is not something we usually like to talk about… Nevertheless, it is a key trend indicator for anticipating your future sales activity. Losing one deal is not alarming; losing several over the same period is. You will need to ask yourself questions about the market (has a new competitor entered?), your offer (pricing, services, etc.) and management (is there an internal issue within your sales team?).
Only after these 5 indicators have been put in place does it make sense to go further and look at additional KPIs to deepen your analysis.
CRM indicators: strategic tools for business development
