Understanding Sales Analytics
Sales analytics is a term that frequently gets tossed around in the industry but can often be very vague. Generally speaking, sales analytics refers to any measurement of metrics related to customer procurement and retention. This can refer to something as straight-forward as how many sales calls are made by your sales reps to something more variable, such as your average cost per lead. “Sales analytics” is typically interchangeable with the term “sales analysis” – which refers to the actual action of analysis.
Sales analytics are an important aspect of overall sales analysis. You need to understand your metrics in order to get a handle on how your sales organization is doing and if you’re on track to meet and exceed your quota. Without good sales analysis you cannot perform accurate sales forecasting and your organization is essentially flying blind.
Many tools are available, including from People.ai, that allow organizations to get a handle on the myriad metrics they have to track. Products such as Google and Twitter also offer their own analytics to show how often a search is being executed or how your number of followers has grown.
Sales Analysis and Determining Focus
Because so many different possible metrics exist to track and analyze sales performance it can be easy to get lost in the “noise.” A good overall sales analysis program will help you understand the key metrics you need to focus on – what’s really going to move the needle for your business. For example, do you find that the longer users spend on your site the more likely they are to buy your product? Then you need to focus on ways to make your website more sticky, such as by creating content that prospects will find valuable.
Goals of Sales Analytics
The advantages of sales analytics go beyond simply providing insights into customer behavior. While that’s important, another goal is to find ways that your own sales team can improve. Are they spending too much time on a particular prospect? Not enough? Should there be a different focus in the future? Are there particular activities that they should be focusing on? In short, good sales analytics can show you ways to optimize team behavior and sales management.
Predictive Sales Analytics
The future of sales analytics is predictive. The idea is that once enough information on metrics is gathered your analytics system can tell you not only what is currently happening, but also make intelligent recommendations about what your next move should be.
Predictive sales analytics relies on the latest trends in technology – using artificial intelligence (AI) to run analyses on massive data sets in order to forecast future events. While incredibly powerful, it’s important to remember that this process is only as powerful as the data it has to work with. If the information on your sales metrics (such as the data stored in your CRM) is inaccurate or incomplete even good AI is likely to draw the wrong conclusions. Remember, good data hygiene is critical to sales analytics!
Want to find out how People.ai can take your sales analytics to the next level? Get a demo today!