Sales KPI Development

Most sales VPs I talk to are frustrated. Their teams hit numbers sporadically. Deals slip. Reps plateau. They feel like they're babysitting adults instead of leading high performers. (Is this you?) Here's what I learned scaling teams to multiple 9 figures while hitting President's Club every single year: → High performance isn't about talent. It's about systems. The same 3 pillar system I used as a frontline leader (and now teach to sales VPs at 8 and 9-figure companies) can transform your team from reactive to proactive. PILLAR 1: Systematic Weekly 1-on-1s Not check ins. Performance drivers. 🔹Have THEM verbalize their numbers 🔹Review specific action items from last week 🔹Set crystal clear next actions (so specific a 2nd grader could understand) 🔹Use a pre-meeting form to drive self-awareness PILLAR 2: Weekly Scoreboards Visibility drives behavior. Period. 🔹Stack rank by your most important KPI 🔹Send every Monday morning 🔹Everyone sees where they stand 🔹Celebrate top performers publicly PILLAR 3: Strategic Call Shadowing This is where transformation happens. 🔹Plan monthly in advance 🔹Require agenda with minimum 3 calls 🔹Coach in real-time, not a week later 🔹Start with what they did well, then max 3 improvements If your AE can't prepare a solid half day for their sales leader, what are they doing when you're not watching? The result of this system: → Reps know exactly where they stand and what to do next → Problems surface early, not at quarter-end → Your team CRAVES feedback because they know it drives results → You hit bigger numbers without needing heroics every quarter Bottom line: Stop managing by hope. Start leading with systems. Your team (and your numbers) will thank you. — Ready to systemize your sales leadership? Book a call to see how we can implement this in your organization: https://lnkd.in/ghh8VCaf

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐊𝐏𝐈 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐩: 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬? In the world of dashboards and data, it's easy to fall for the illusion of performance. We celebrate spikes in impressions, footfalls, or likes—without asking the harder question: “𝑰𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒄 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒍𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒃𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔?” Welcome to the Vanity Metrics Trap—where numbers look good but don’t guide decisions. In my work across industries, I’ve seen teams obsess over what’s easy to measure rather than what’s essential to monitor. 🎯 So, how do we cut through the noise? I use a simple 3-layer framework to define Impact KPIs: 1️⃣ Objective-Centric – Does this KPI directly align with a strategic goal? 2️⃣ Actionable – Can the team act on this metric to change the outcome? 3️⃣ Outcome-Oriented – Is this tied to revenue, retention, efficiency, or experience? ✅ Examples of real Impact KPIs (by function): 💲 Sales: Instead of leads generated, track Lead-to-Close Conversion Rate ⚒️ Operations: Don’t just monitor machine uptime, track Downtime Impact on Fulfillment SLAs 🥖 F&B / Retail: Move beyond footfalls—focus on Spend per Transaction or Menu Item Profitability 🛃 Customer Experience: Rather than CSAT alone, track Repeat Purchase Rate or Churn-to-Recovery Ratio The goal isn’t to ignore surface metrics—but to trace them to the bottom line. 💬 Your Turn: 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝑲𝑷𝑰 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅—𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔𝒏’𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒆? Or, what’s one under-the-radar KPI that changed the way you made decisions? #DataDrivenDecisionMaking #KPIs #BusinessIntelligence #ImpactMetrics #BusinessStrategy

Your dashboard and Sales KPI are lying to you. This month, I sat with the global sales director, whose metrics showed green while their revenue bled red. The culprit? I call it "Metric colonialism," imposing Western KPIs on non-Western markets. Our research across global companies revealed a stark reality: ❌ 78% use identical KPI frameworks across all regions ❌ 91% apply the same qualification criteria everywhere ❌ Only 12% track region-specific indicators The costs are quantifiable: ⛔ 43% of the APAC pipeline was unqualified ⛔ 27% of EMEA deals stalled in late stages $11.3M in missed expansion revenue in Japan One software leader saw this firsthand. Their metrics showed solid activity in APAC but deals consistently stalled. The issue wasn't their team – it was their measurement system. By adapting their metrics to regional realities, they transformed results in two quarters: ✅ Pipeline forecast accuracy from 48% to 76% ✅ Sales cycle time reduced by 37% ✅ Rep productivity improved by 29% Metrics aren't neutral. They encode cultural assumptions about how business happens. The revenue teams that win don't standardize; they regionalize. They recognize that a meeting in Tokyo carries a different predictive weight than one in Toronto. In my latest Revenue Circle article, I explored this pattern among 5,000+ sales professionals. If your global dashboard feels suspiciously conflict-free, there might be a reason. The metrics that matter aren't universal. They're the ones that predict success in your specific context. Read the full breakdown in this week's Revenue Circle newsletter. #SaaS #Sales #b2bSales #SDR #GTM #Marketing #Technology #innovation #therevenuecircle #revenue #unicorn

𝘌𝘹𝘦𝘤𝘴: "We need pipeline and revenue NOW" 𝘚𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺: - Longer sales cycles & lower win rates - Continuous decline in outbound responses - Unpredictable flow of inbound leads, many w/ low revenue potential - Other marketing leads w/o intent are difficult to turn into pipeline and win Sales is under pressure to deliver on targets, while marketing doesn’t have the same accountability. 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺: - Marketing collateral is collecting dust - Reps tweak pitch decks, sprouting dozens of value propositions - "Can we interview customers?" "Let's not bother them, what do you need to know?" - "Who are ideal customers?" "5K+ employee companies w/ allocated budget for our product" - Suggests long-term programs, but gets shot down, "Just deliver the leads." They deliver the leads—then get blamed when the leads don't convert. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦: Sales loses trust that marketing can deliver real pipeline—and starts treating them as order takers (“I need this deck, can you make it pretty?”) 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘪𝘱𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦: 1. Break down accounts into three groups - DECLARED INTENT: hand raisers asking to learn more about the solution  - HIGH-ODDS ACCOUNTS: accounts with high likelyhood of becoming an opportunity this quarter - FUTURE PIPELINE: engaged Tier 1 and Tier 2 accounts with an indication of product need or a good relationshop 2. DECLARED INTENT - Automated qualification with account enrichment technology - Automated, immediate booking with the right AE to develop the deal KPIs: Won revenue, ACV and win rate. Time-to-value: how quickly does the buyer get the info they need and understand the value. 3. HIGH-ODDS ACCOUNTS 1:1 Account Development: - 1:1 account planning - Account research and buying center mapping - Expand the relationships with the buying center - Create personalised offers The goal is to book a discovery call with an AE (declared need). KPIs: account-to-pipeline ratio, pipeline velocity 4. FUTURE PIPELINE The goal is to nurture and develop relationships with multiple buyers, and qualify the need. - 1:Few programs with cluster-based content and messaging - Connect and engage with the buying center - Involve in cluster-based programs to create multiple meaningful touchpoints - Leverage these touchpoints to collect sales insights and close the blind spots (progressive profiling) KPIs: account-to-convo ratio, account penetration --- To accelerate revenue, you need multifunctional, lean teams that can deliver and iterate fast on relevant multi-channel cluster-based programs. P.S. If you happen to be near Antwerp, Belgium, on May 16th, join Andrei Zinkevich and me, at We Are Sales conference, where we'll break down this framework:  https://lnkd.in/enM699MH

The sales teams that consistently hit $500k+/mo. aren’t reactive to their KPIs. They engineer them. Here’s how: By the time you find out a rep is behind on quota, it's week 3. Pretty tough to turn the month around at that point. Most founders check their sales numbers at the end of the month, then spend the first week of the next one trying to figure out what went wrong. The most successful teams proactively control their month by doing this 1 thing: →→→ They check four numbers every morning. 𝟭. # 𝗼𝗳 𝗗𝗶𝗮𝗹𝘀 ( ✅ On pace or ❌ Off pace) Is each rep on pace for their weekly/monthly dial target? Formula: Divide the monthly target by the number of working days, multiply by days elapsed. If a rep is 20% behind on dials by Monday of week 2, it’s not likely they’ll hit their number this month. 𝟮. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 Track connects and meaningful conversations (2+ minutes) separately. A rep making 300 dials with a 5% conversation rate indicates a different problem than a rep making 200 dials with a 15% rate. 𝟯. 𝗣𝗶𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 How many new opportunities entered the pipeline this week? This is the leading indicator for what closes 3–4 weeks from now. A week with zero new leads means you’ll take a painful revenue hit in 30 days. 𝟰. 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 Are deals advancing through the pipeline or sitting untouched? Any deal that hasn't moved stages in 10+ days needs a next step logged or needs to be closed out. Stale deals distort your forecast and waste rep time. 𝟯 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗥𝘂𝗻 𝗮 𝟭𝟱 𝗺𝗶𝗻. 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗔𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 : 1️⃣ Pull these four numbers for each rep. 2️⃣ Compare actuals to pace targets. 3️⃣ Ask one question on any rep who's behind: is this a volume problem (not enough activity) or a conversion problem (sales skill/approach problem)? Volume problem → fix the activity standard (either marketing w/lead flow OR with sales rep pipeline management standards/compliance). Conversion problem → pull the calls and coach to the breakdown. That's it. 15 minutes. Every Monday. ⚠️ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗳𝗼𝗿:  • Dial attainment below 80% by end of week 1  • Conversation rate dropping more than 5 points week over week  • Zero pipeline adds in any 5-day window  • More than 3 deals with no stage movement in 10+ days Any one of these in week 1 is a fixable problem. All four of these in week 3 means a painful month. ❓ Are you reviewing rep attainment weekly...or finding out at month-end? ♻️ Repost this if you know a founder who only checks the scoreboard when it's too late. ➕ Follow Josh Alltop for daily posts on sales team management and rev ops. 📌 Looking to outsource your sales ops and rep management? DM me or comment "OPS" and I'll reach out personally.

After hiring 3,000+ employees across 3 companies, I can spot dead weight in 5 minutes. Most founders can't see it in their own teams. I look for someone always in meetings. Always "busy." Always has a reason their project isn't done. But when you ask "what did you deliver this week?" they give you effort, not outcomes. "I've been working on the strategy." "I've been coordinating with the team." Translation = Nothing measurable happened. Hard work without results is expensive theater. At Quest, I built a system I call The Public Scorecard. It makes it impossible for underperformance to hide. Every role gets 3-5 KPIs that everyone can see. No ambiguity. No interpretation. Just numbers. Each KPI must be: - Measurable (a number, not a feeling) - Owned by one person (no shared accountability) - Updated weekly (real-time visibility) Make them public. Slack channel. Dashboard. Weekly all-hands. At Impact Theory, each team member has a 90s style thermometer posted by their desk. Then tie consequences to the numbers: Green = crushing it → promotion track Yellow = inconsistent → 30 days to fix Red = failing → 90 days or out Some KPIs by department… Sales: - Monthly revenue closed - Pipeline value added - Close rate percentage - Average deal size - Days to close Marketing: - Qualified leads generated - Cost per lead - Lead-to-customer conversion - Content pieces published - Campaign ROI Customer Success: - Retention rate - Net revenue retention - Ticket resolution time - Customer satisfaction score - Upsell revenue Operations: - Fulfillment time - Error rate - Cost per unit - Inventory turnover - On-time delivery Product/Engineering: - Features shipped - Bug resolution time - System uptime - User-reported issues - Sprint velocity When everyone sees everyone's numbers: - Underperformers can't hide behind "I'm working hard." - Top performers get recognized instead of overlooked. - Peer pressure enforces standards without micromanaging. Politics die. The scorecard decides. Your culture should make underperformers uncomfortable and high performers excited. If you're running a business doing $1M+ in revenue and you can't tell who's actually performing vs. who just looks busy, I'm hosting a free leadership workshop. I'll show you how to build scorecards that expose underperformers, reward top talent, and create a meritocracy where the best people win. Register here: https://buff.ly/Kd2mb41

KPI in senior living is far more nuanced than most dashboards suggest. Inquiry to tour. Tour to move-in. Those numbers tell part of the story. But only part. Unlike product sales, we are not calling down a cold list of pre-qualified buyers. We are working with multichannel lead sources of wildly different intent and quality. Some families are early explorers. Some are in crisis. Some are gathering information for “someday.” Lead source variance alone can distort a conversion rate dramatically. And yet we still judge success primarily on two ratios. That is incomplete. If we want metrics that actually reflect performance in senior living sales, we should be looking at behavior-based KPIs: • Average number of meaningful touches per active prospect • Time between connected interactions • Percentage of interactions ending with an agreed-upon next step • Duration a prospect remains active without movement Why? Because senior living is not a transaction. It is a readiness journey. The family who moves in after 8 intentional touches with defined next steps is not less efficient than the one who moved after 2. They are often more properly supported. We do not lose occupancy because ratios are low. We lose occupancy because momentum dies. Momentum dies when follow-up is passive. Momentum dies when no next step is secured. Momentum dies when time gaps grow. If we measured touches, cadence, and advancement discipline as aggressively as we measure conversion percentages, we would coach very differently.

Are your Marketing and Sales KPIs lying to you? If your dashboards glow green while your bank account stays red... You've probably fallen into a VANITY METRICS TRAP: • High engagement rates ↑ • Impressive click-through rates ↑ • Growing social following ↑ • Increasing website traffic ↑ As flattering as those metrics are, they're pointless if revenue stays flat.... You need REAL BUSINESS METRICS like: • Customer acquisition cost • Lifetime value • Revenue per customer • Actual closed deals The solution? A revenue architecture overhaul. Start here: 1. MAP YOUR REVENUE SYSTEM Track every touchpoint from first contact to closed deal. Include hidden components like: • Cross-channel attribution • Time lag effects • Revenue leakage points 2. REBUILD ACQUISITION ECONOMICS • Factor indirect costs • Calculate true CAC • Measure time-to-revenue • Track retention costs 3. BREAK DEPARTMENTAL BARRIERS • Integrate sales and marketing data • Align team incentives • Create unified reporting 4. IMPLEMENT NEW METRICS • Revenue per campaign • Deal velocity • Customer expansion rate • Net revenue retention The LAST thing you want is marketing KPIs that look successful because you're measuring what's easy, not what matters. True success requires measuring what drives revenue - NOT what drives engagement. 👉 How confident are you in your KPIs? Are they lying to you? If you're ready to take a hard look at your RevOps, let's chat.

Dive into funnel analytics—a critical tool for any sales team looking to boost their performance and close more deals. Understanding your customer's journey through the sales funnel isn't just useful; it's a strategic necessity. 🎯 What is Funnel Analytics? Funnel analytics involves a detailed examination of each step a customer takes from initial contact to final sale. This method helps you understand and optimize every phase of the customer’s journey, ensuring no opportunity slips through the cracks. 🛠️ Addressing Sales Pain Points: Navigating the sales funnel can be complex, with potential customers dropping off at various stages. By leveraging funnel analytics, you can: Identify where you lose the most prospects. Assess the impact of your engagement strategies. Pinpoint unclear steps that prevent prospects from moving forward. Addressing these issues allows you to refine your approach, ensuring a smoother, more efficient funnel that maximizes conversions and boosts your sales revenue. 📊 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): To measure the effectiveness of your sales funnel, consider these crucial KPIs: Conversion Rate: The percentage of prospects who move to the next stage of the funnel. Time to Convert: The duration it takes for a prospect to progress from the first touchpoint to a closed deal. Drop-off Rate: The percentage of prospects who exit the funnel at each stage. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): The overall cost of acquiring a new customer. Customer Lifetime Value (CLV): The total revenue a customer is expected to generate during their relationship with your company. 🌟 Why It's a Game-Changer: Imagine you’re managing sales in a high-end B2B software company. By analyzing your sales funnel, you discover that a significant number of prospects drop off at the demo stage. Perhaps the demo fails to address key concerns, or it’s too generic. With this insight, you can customize your demos to better meet the needs of your prospects, drastically improving conversion rates and demonstrating the power of precise, data-driven adjustments. 💥 Conclusion: Funnel analytics goes beyond mere data collection—it's about making that data actionable. By translating insights into strategic actions, you can dramatically enhance your sales processes and drive substantial business growth. Don't miss out on the opportunity to refine your sales strategy and achieve better results. #SalesStrategy #FunnelAnalytics #DataDrivenSales #SalesManagement

Most sales teams stare at the scoreboard and ignore the game film. Over the last few years, I’ve noticed one pattern across beverage sales teams, from street reps to national accounts. Effort metrics are the real KPIs. Outcome metrics are just the receipts. We love lagging indicators: • Depletions • New points of distribution • Revenue growth • Features and displays They matter. But they’re outputs. They only tell you what already happened. And once the month closes, you can’t fix them. What actually moves the needle? The leading indicators: • Time in the field • Quality calls • Real buyer conversations • Tastings and samplings • Menus presented • Follow-ups completed These are controllable. These are coachable. These predict what happens next. So if you manage a team, don’t ask: “Why are depletions down?” Ask: “What happened to the effort last month?” Because when the inputs are right, the outputs almost always follow. Truthfully, Sam #TruthfullySam #BootsOnTheGround #BeverageSales #SalesLeadership #KPIs #EffortOverEverything FRONTLINE BEVERAGE