Key metrics can be magic numbers for sales teams If selling IT is a numbers game, does it matter if your salespeople can’t count? What numbers do IT sales teams count best? When they’re selling, it’s transaction volumes, application seats, hardware and peripherals. Of course, when it comes to the other numbers that are important to them ­ commission, bonus, interest ­ your salespeople can probably outperform your accountants. But can they count the numbers that really matter to your business? And does it matter? For the business leaders we work with, it matters a lot. Your salesforce must understand the critical figures that underpin the business ­ and plan and manage their activity accordingly. But this is where many firms fall short, and it’s why we are increasingly teaching basic financial and commercial principles at all levels in our sales training. If sales professionals don’t understand how the business numbers add up, any forecast they provide will be meaningless. Not that they are rushing to give you forecasts ­ their priority is to be in front of the customer, not “doing the accountants’ job”. But they are the only ones close enough to customers and prospects to deliver the forecasts you need. We sell the joys of number-crunching to sales professionals by doing it just like they do: tapping into what makes people buy; identifying, isolating and quantifying the need; making sure they perceive it as a real problem that affects their earnings; then proposing a solution with associated value and benefits. But what are the numbers that matter in an effective sales forecast? An accountant would say: predicted revenue and margin, with dates attached. But from the sales perspective, other numbers carry much more weight in determining more reliable and predictable sales performance. Most sales professionals can tell you the overall value of their pipeline. But you also need to know the number of prospective deals, how long each has been in the pipeline, what stage they are at, and how long it will take to close the most likely. Salesforce time management has to integrate all this to keep the open deals moving through to closure. You also want each sales professional to understand your key metrics, including sales conversion percentage and the time required for each deal, from lead generation to development, proposing and closing. A truly numerate salesforce will also have other numbers at its fingertips: sales mix and subsequent margin, market and competitive pricing, product characteristics and benefits. Teaching key metrics improves sales performance. Once the sales team sees a forecast as a plan for action that benefits customers and themselves, they will repay the effort involved ­ and find all the numbers they want in their ultimate bonus statement.