TIP #12:

Use your metrics to improve efficiency

"I get so many apps, how come I'm not getting approvals? It must be bad luck."
"Ugh I got 10 approvals this month and nothing funded!!!"
"I leave 100 voice mails every day and never get any calls back!"

Sound familiar in your office?

Wouldn't having some way of measuring each stage of the sale, and improving your effectiveness at each stage be valuable for your team?

In case you aren't a sales or marketing guru, there is a simple answer to this: key performance indicators.



Key Performance Indicators (KPI's for short) explain your conversion rates from each stage of the sale. It shows you what percentage of clients move towards the next stage. This is what we typically refer to as the "sales funnel."

Here's a brief example:

250 phone calls = 1 application
10 applications = 6 approvals
6 approvals = 4 docs out
4 docs out = 3 docs in
3 docs in = 2 funded

But Zach, what is the value of understanding this? Shouldn't I be making more calls and trying to fund deals, rather than crunching numbers? I'm not some frickin' accountant over here, man.

WRONG.

Here's an example to prove the true value of KPI's:

Picture you have two salespeople that are struggling. You want to help them, so you've finally taken the time to measure their KPI's and identify their "sticking points" (an area where the salesperson needs improvement).


Salesperson A's KPI's are as follows:

100 calls = 1 app
10 apps = 6 approvals
6 approvals = 5 docs out
5 docs out = 1 docs in
1 docs in = 0 funded

Salesperson B's KPI's are as follows:

300 calls = 1 app
10 apps = 2 approvals
2 approvals = 2 docs out
2 docs out = 2 docs in
2 docs in = 2 funded



Salesperson A has some notable achievements here. They are above-average at prospecting, garnering 1 application per 100 phone calls. If they do 150 calls daily, they will get roughly 7 apps per week at this rate. Excellent call-to-app ratio.

Where salesperson A fails is in their closing abilities. Salesperson A gets tons of approvals, but couldn't close their own front door.

The clear solution here is for them to keep up their powerful prospecting, but learn how to convert their approvals to funded.

Salesperson B is also strong in some ways. Their prospecting is poor, however their closing rate is out-of-the-park.

If salesperson B learned how to prospect from salesperson A but maintained their closing ratios, they would be a phenomenal asset to your team.

If salesperson A learned how to close from salesperson B but maintained their high prospecting ratios, they would also be a superb rep.




Long story short, learn your rep's metrics, and help them get over their sticking points.