Why would I write a post about measuring the performance of sales personnel?

Aren’t the only criteria that they make their numbers and close the deals?

I’m sure the answer for some of you is a resounding yes, and nothing else matters. When I was running sales teams, of course, the numbers mattered, I’m not naïve.

But sales alone are not the only criterion to measure the employee performance of your sales team.

Consider concepts such as: the percentage of repeat business with previous customers, customer retention, percentage of business generated through referrals, what they had to ‘give up’ to get the sale (think reduced fees or price, commission, etc.) and number of deals closed.

Unless your sales person’s focus is on large deals, the number of deals can be more important than the sales volume.

Do they know and understand the industry they represent?

Are they vigilant about understanding customers’ needs, or are they simply concerned about selling their product or service?

Sales personnel who don’t close deals are clearly a problem. However, closing deals and making sales do not guarantee you have a successful salesperson on board.

If you haven’t considered how to measure the performance of your sales personnel beyond the numbers, I encourage you to start this week.