I have a confession: when I first got into sales, my understanding of call metrics was pretty limited. The only sales call metrics I ever thought of were very basic call center metrics like average talk time, inbound calls per day, outbound calls per day and calls by time of day.
Over time, I realized that some of the most important sales call metrics are ones that are seldom tracked. Sure, those basic call metrics will always be essential. But if you want to coach your reps to their true potential you should be tracking more advanced call metrics. Imagine if you always knew how many calls your reps needed to make in order to fill your pipeline with meetings, opportunities and revenue.
What if you could see which reps were leaving voicemails that actually got responses? Or if you could go to Marketing and tell them which of their efforts were driving the most meaningful calls. Are you tracking these five advanced inbound and outbound sales call metrics? If not, you could be missing out on powerful opportunities to optimize your sales efforts.
What it measures: The percentage of dials that result in a prospect picking up the phone.
Why it matters: You may have reps on your team that are dialing leads like crazy but not actually connecting with prospects. There may be reps that are dialing less but are simply more efficient at connecting with customers. Time of day, voicemail skills and a rep’s dialing technology can all play a role in how many dials actually result in prospects picking up the phone.
What it measures: How many conversations result in actual appointments (demos, meetings, etc.)?
Why it matters: Sales organizations that put a lot of emphasis on calls need to know which reps are best at booking meetings and which need work. If you have reps that are connecting with a lot of leads but not booking enough meetings, it’s important to drill down and listen to call recordings in order to identify ways that those reps can improve their pitch.
What it measures: How many dials should your team make per day to achieve your opportunity creation goals?
Why it matters: This metric is both predictive and analytical, revealing not only how much effort is needed to create an opportunity, but also how efficient your current team is. Knowing approximately how many dials it takes to create opportunities can help ensure that your team is properly staffed and that reps are keeping busy enough to move leads to the next stage.
What it measures: Which marketing efforts are driving the most valuable calls?
Why it matters: To make the best marketing investments possible, it’s vital to track revenue from leads that convert online and also revenue from leads that convert over the telephone. This is possible with a call tracking tool that integrates with your customer relationship management (CRM), where your revenue data is stored. A revenue-based call tracking tool can report which channels, campaigns, ad group and even keywords are driving calls that result in the most revenue.
What it measures: How successful are reps at getting leads to return voicemails?
Why it matters: Getting prospects to return voicemails can be one of the most difficult tasks in outbound sales. Looking at a voicemail return rate can help you identify which reps are leaving the most successful voicemails and which reps need additional coaching. You can also check to see whether coaching initiatives improve reps’ voicemail return rates.
Want to become an inside sales analytics expert in less than an hour? Download our Complete Guide to Inside Sales Analytics!