Tracking sales performance statistics can be time-consuming and tedious, which is why so many people avoid it. Or they implement it, then don’t keep people accountable for fulfillment. Eventually, the initiative dies out and the statement is, “tracking stats doesn’t work for our team.”
This is one of the biggest reasons why companies fail to grow their sales. Every single high-powered sales team (and any team for that matter) you can think of, tracks their stats. It’s because stat tracking leads to better team morale, more collaboration, and most importantly, exponential growth in sales.
Here are 4 reasons why every team needs to track their sales performance statistics:
1. It Takes the Head Game Out of Sales and Turns it Into a Numbers Game
In my first company, we tracked every single stat we could think of for our sales team of 30. We tracked attempts, contacts, leads, estimates, and even what color shirt the person wore to the estimate. What was the result? After a year of data tracking, we were able to confidently tell each sales person that for every single estimate they went on, they made $750. The team was 100% commission, so how could we tell people that they would make $750 for every estimate they went on? Because over the course of the year we tracked every estimate each teammate went on and we compared it to their annual pay. The average value of an estimate turned out to be $750.
This made the prospecting 100x easier for the team because now it is a numbers game. They don’t have to worry about closing every deal. All they have to do is focus on getting as many estimates as possible. The more estimates they went, the better at sales they got. Knowing your numbers and being able to make standards like the one above turns your sales process (and your entire company) into a numbers game. Once you know the numbers, all you have to do is focus on the levers to pull and putting the foot on the accelerator.
2. It Gamifies the Entire Process, Creating Competition for a Team
Charles Schwab used interesting management tools to increase productivity.
Charles Schwab used competition to drive his lowest-performing mill to become his highest-producing one. One day, as the day shift was ending, and the night shift was about to begin, Mr. Schwab asked one of the workers how many heats his shift finished that day. The answer was 6. He took a piece of chalk, wrote a large number 6 on the factory floor, and went home. One of the night shift workers asked the day shift worker what the number meant. He told him how Schwab asked for the amount of shifts and wrote the number on the floor. The next morning when Charles Schwab came in, he saw that the “6” he wrote the day before was rubbed out and a giant “7” was written next to it. Shortly after this mill was producing far more than all of his other mills.
Schwab followed with this explanation, “The way to get things done is to stimulate competition. I do not mean in a sordid, money-getting way, but in the desire to excel!”
When you track sales statistics, you start to create a scoreboard. Your team sees this and naturally wants to improve. It gamifies business. You’ll start to have team members making that extra call or going that extra mile in an effort to beat the previous number.
3. It Leads to Iteration and Continuous Improvement
The difference between knowing your numbers in business and not knowing your numbers is comparable to flying a plane with GPS and radar compared to just looking out the window.
When you know your numbers, and as a team you review them regularly, you can start to iterate and constantly improve the numbers.
You can A/B test different scripts. You can see how small changes to the process improve your conversion percentage.
At one of my companies, we literally tracked and tested t-shirt colors for our doorknockers (blue won by a significant percentage.)
On the flip side of this, when numbers are down, you can see where exactly they are down and as a team collaborate on how to fix it. Like the GPS and radar helping you get back on track when you fall off course a bit, your numbers can keep you heading in the right direction.
4. Makes It Easier To Coach and Train New Salespeople
When the numbers are tracked and updated, the manager can coach during 1v1’s as opposed to the direct report just reporting. There is nothing worse than spending the first 15 minutes of a 30-minute meeting reporting numbers. That is a waste of both party’s time.
Tracking the sales performance statistics highlights areas of growth for team members immediately.
For example, two managers are trying to coach new team members who have only 2 sales in 3 weeks. One manager knows how many attempts, contacts, leads, estimates, and follow up calls his member made. Manager #2 only knows he closed 2 sales. Who is going to be able to coach better? Without the numbers, we don’t know if the team member is struggling with closing deals or getting deals on the phone initially or setting up estimates. We are totally blind to the situation.
Tracking your numbers isn’t just a good thing to have, it is vital for any business and team that wants to be great. It leads to more sales and a culture that is centered on collaboration and improvement. Start tracking some of your numbers today and watch the improvement your team makes.
