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  • August 22, 2017
  • Article
  • Harvard Business Review (website)

Find the Right Metrics for Your Sales Team

By: Frank V. Cespedes and Robert Marsh
  • Format:Electronic
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Abstract

This article reports the results of a survey of key performance indicators (KPIs) used by more than 800 sales groups across industries. The most common KPIs are closed deals and salesperson performance against quota, which, on average, firms measure monthly. But a closed deal is an outcome and lagging indicator. This article discusses how some firms deconstruct their sales conversion funnels to identify relevant leading indicators and coach/develop selling behaviors. Thus managing sales performance and not only reviewing quotas and after-the-fact outcomes.

Keywords

Sales; Performance Evaluation; Measurement and Metrics; Salesforce Management

Citation

Cespedes, Frank V., and Robert Marsh. "Find the Right Metrics for Your Sales Team." Harvard Business Review (website) (August 22, 2017).
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More from the Authors
  • TagHive: Edtech Pricing and Distributor Decisions By: Isamar Troncoso, Frank V. Cespedes and Stacy Straaberg
  • Getting Value from Digital Technologies By: Frank Cespedes and Georg Krentzel
  • How One Company Used AI to Broaden Its Customer Base By: Sunil Gupta and Frank V. Cespedes
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