Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are quantifiable measures of performance over a specified period for targeted objectives. Your KPIs provide targets for you, your team, and your organization to strive for and milestones against which you can gauge your progress. The right KPIs can also help you make more informed business decisions.
So, you may be asking, “how can I set the right KPIs for my business?” The information below will help!
Focus On What’s Important to Sales
As a sales professional, you might want to consider KPIs that focus on one or more of the following:
- Sales leads and source(s)
- Sales calls made and/or emails sent
- Conversion rate (the percentage of leads that turn into sales)
- Cost per lead
- Written premium (revenue per customer – new and renewing)
- Deals won/deals lost
- Retention/renewal rate
- Sales growth (new and renewals)
- Sales by contact method
- Average purchase by customers
- Referrals earned/resulting revenue
- Average sales cycle length
Like with your personal goal setting, you need to build your KPIs based on SMART criteria. They should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant (and Focused on Results), and Time Bound. For more information, refer to Marc McGinnis’s SMART Goal Setting blog post.
5 Other Things to Consider in Setting KPIs
1: Align your KPIs with your established business goals and objectives. Seek input from others on your team concerning your KPIs. Their contributions and commitment are important to your success.
2: Choose KPIs that will fit with things that you can influence. Pick a combination of short-term and longer-term KPIs. The short-term KPIs can help stay on target for longer-term KPIs. If your goal is to increase revenue by 20% in six months, a complementary short-term KPI could be a quarterly increase of 10%.
3: Don’t go overboard in the number of KPIs you target. Doing so will undermine your focus – and your likely ability to achieve your targeted objectives.
4: Develop a mix of quantitative and qualitative KPIs. A quantitative KPI is one that uses numbers to measure your progress. A few examples might be number of qualified leads, written premium, retention, etc. A qualitative KPI is non-numeric. Feedback from customers would fit here. Surprisingly, page views, search engine hits, and SEO measurement fits here, too.
5: Be realistic. As much effort as you may have made to make your KPIs measurable, achievable, relevant, and challenging, it’s critical that they be achievable, too. You may find one or more KPI needs an adjustment during your established timeframe. That’s okay. What’s important is that each KPI remains relevant to your overall business plans and objectives. Your team can help you evaluate your progress.
Strategic KPI development and tracking are fundamental to your success. Your KPIs can help you create a culture of growth and gain a competitive advantage. Commit to investing the time to develop KPIs designed to ensure your and your team’s future.
Your GA Can Help, Too
If you’re working with Word & Brown, ask your representative how we can help you achieve your KPIs. We offer a broad range of support, services, and tech to help you achieve your goals.
If you are not already doing business with us, it’s easy to get started. Fill out our online registration form, or call us today at 800-869-6989.
