Last quarter is in the books. How did your team do?

If you're like most companies, you know a) your team's actual vs. goal and b) the number of reps at/above quota. But does that truly give a full picture of performance?

Sales Team Grader

I've been working on a benchmarking tool to fill in the gaps. (Big thanks to the folks who participated in beta testing!) The tool benchmarks your team against:

• Group performance vs. goal
• % of reps at 90%+ (of quota)
• Median rep performance
• Top and bottom 20%

By way of example, I ran analyses on two companies. Here are the results.

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The strategy of dividing inbound qualification and outbound prospecting into separate roles has crossed the chasm. In our 2014 SDR Metrics report, we identified that nearly 40% of companies have implemented SDR role specialization.

On paper, I love this approach as it creates focus and accountability. In practice, it takes careful planning and diligent monitoring to reap the full benefits.

I recently chatted with 3 high-growth companies on their lessons learned.

GoodData: Distinct Model, Distinct Goals

Casey Corrigan, Director of Inside Sales at GoodData, segmented roles for three reasons. 1) Lead routing rules had become complicated to the point of being cumbersome. 2) Constant shifting of gears between inbound and outbound was impacting momentum. 3) Reps followed the money when the comp plan paid at different rates for inbound vs. outbound.

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If you lead a Sales Development team, or are in Marketing and deliver them leads, I'm sure you've been involved in debates about how many times a rep should attempt to reach a prospect.

You have a process. But are you able to accurately track it in Salesforce?  

For years, I've been tweaking reports trying to get an accurate picture and I think I've finally buttoned it up. Here's how you can too: (you might want to involve your Salesforce Admin)

Step 1 - Choose the right report

For most orgs, Activities with Leads will be the best report type.

Step 2 – Focus on a subset of leads

If you include leads that your reps are currently calling, it will skew your numbers. Similarly, you don't want leads your SDRs have disqualified without ever attempting (competitors, students, cartoon characters, etc.).

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What happens when your top rep gives notice? Or an A-player goes on maternity leave? Or that amazing candidate takes another offer?

Turnover and open territories are a sales reality. They also take a big bite out of your revenue.

The other day, I was talking to a SaaS VP of Sales with a team of 34 closing reps. Internally, she was facing 28% attrition (both voluntary and not). Externally, a tough hiring market made positions harder and harder to fill.

She told me filling open spots was like a never ending game of whack-a-mole and put her ability to make the number at risk.

I offered this: Ranger Reps to the rescue

A Ranger Rep is a seasoned, organized, and team-oriented rep who thrives on change and challenge. 

Their mission is to help the team hit the group number by flattening the dips that come from losing reps. Ranger Reps are there to cover (and sell!) in your open territories.

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