What are key performance indicators (KPIs)?
Key performance indicators (KPIs) are metrics that evaluate the success or progress of activities in companies or projects. They help you to understand whether you are achieving your goals or where you need to make improvements. KPIs can be of a financial, operational or customer-orientated nature.
Key sales figures: Which KPIs are useful?
Key sales figures, also known as key performance indicators (KPIs), are essential tools for companies to measure and analyse the success of their sales strategies. They help to monitor and evaluate progress in achieving sales targets.
There are a number of KPIs that can be helpful in sales, and their relevance can vary depending on the specific goals and requirements of the organisation.
Some of the most common sales KPIs are:
Revenue: This is probably the most basic and important KPI in sales. It measures the total amount of money raised through the sale of goods or services. Turnover can be measured at regular intervals, e.g. weekly, monthly or annually, and can be broken down by region, product line or sales team.
Close rate: This KPI measures how many sales calls are converted into actual sales. It is particularly useful for evaluating the effectiveness of sales staff and strategies.
Average order value: This measures the average amount realised on each sale. An increase in the average order value can be a sign of a successful upselling or cross-selling strategy.
Customer acquisition costs: This KPI measures how much it costs to acquire a new customer. It includes all marketing and sales costs incurred to generate leads and convert these customer enquiries into customers.
Customer retention rate: This KPI measures how many customers are retained over a certain period of time. A high customer retention rate is often a sign of customer satisfaction and successful customer relationship management strategies.
Sales cycle length: This KPI measures the average time from the first interaction with a potential customer until the sale is closed. A short sales cycle length can indicate an efficient sales process.
Each of these KPIs provides valuable insights into different aspects of the sales process. By regularly monitoring and analysing these KPIs, companies can optimise their sales strategies to achieve their goals more effectively and efficiently.
Winning end customers
Gain more end customers together with your dealers and sales partners and have an easy overview of all KPIs
Indirect sales can be a real challenge. How often do customer enquiries that you pass on to your specialist dealers get lost? Either they are dealt with late or not at all, or you are not even aware of the next steps.
They often don't have the opportunity to keep an eye on all processes because many manufacturers and specialist retailers still work together in analogue form. Their customer enquiries are passed on by email or telephone and the processes are documented in Excel spreadsheets. In the long run, this is confusing at best and sometimes chaotic.
» Unfortunately, this means that warm leads are lost time and again and you miss out on real sales opportunities that your competitors might now be able to capitalise on.
We would like to give you a few tips on how you can manage your multi-level sales more transparently and predictably, so that you can recognise and counteract predetermined breaking points in the lead processing of your sales partners at an early stage and also have all the relevant figures at hand in every sales meeting!
7 methods for successful cooperation with your sales partners and how you can make success transparent with 5 key figures!
1. Only a suitable lead is a good lead
High-quality customer enquiries are well received. Every specialist retailer only gets involved if it is worthwhile. Make sure that you provide your sales partner with contacts that suit them. Criteria for a good match are, for example, the regional proximity of the partner to the contact, a possible level of certification or the question of whether the requested product division fits into your sales partner's portfolio at all.
Tip: |
What use is it to your partner in Munich if he receives an enquiry from Hamburg? Certainly just as little as a prospective customer for offers that he cannot cover at all. So set the right matching parameters and sales KPIs in advance. Want to bet that your sales partner will have a lot more fun processing the enquiries? |
2. Honesty lasts the longest
Do not make promises that you cannot keep. At best, ‘lukewarm’ leads are often passed on to sales partners as ‘hot’. This usually doesn't work very often, because nothing is more demotivating than hopes that don't materialise. A contact who has merely downloaded information from your website is far from being a hot lead.
Provide your sales partners with honest information and as much information as possible at the same time. This makes your customer enquiries high quality and attractive. Not least because your partner knows what to expect when they accept the enquiry for processing. This in turn allows them to give you an honest assessment of whether they really want to or can deal with the enquiry. In this way, you create a good basis for a successful business relationship from the outset.
3. Commitment or First come first served
The key figure for lead acceptance
Do not simply pass on your leads without asking, but offer them specifically and encourage your sales partners to become active themselves and actively accept them. This will create commitment, as your partner will be more willing to process the enquiry quickly and reliably.
A little gentle pressure also helps to boost reliability. Why not offer your leads to several suitable specialist dealers at the same time? This makes it clear that enquiries should not be left unanswered for too long, otherwise another partner will quickly snatch them up.
First come, first served. Make it clear to your resellers that it doesn't matter when they pick up the lead and when they process it. A good key figure that you can use to measure how quickly your leads are accepted is the average acceptance time.
Key figure #1: Acceptance time › You can use the average acceptance time to measure how long leads are on the average offer list and waiting to be accepted by a sales partner. The higher this figure, the more likely it is that the leads do not seem attractive enough. A good value is when the leads are accepted within an hour. › If nothing has happened after a few hours, forward the customer enquiry directly to the next partner. Keep escalating until a suitable partner has been found and takes care of the enquiry. » Acceptance time = time of lead acceptance - time of lead offer |
4. Forge the iron while it's still hot
KPI Contact duration
Even the hottest leads get cold. And quickly. Often after just a few hours. It is therefore extremely important that your enquiries are processed as quickly as possible. So make sure you keep track of whether the sales partner who has snapped up a lead is also contacting the customer directly.
Key figure #2: Contact recording time
› The value determined should also be less than one hour and gives you an indication of whether and to what extent your sales partners are taking responsibility for enquiries from potential new customers. » Contact initiation time = time of contact initiation - time of lead acceptance |
5. Exchange leads for feedback
Key sales figure Processing time
Trust is good, control is better! Admittedly, this doesn't quite work in our case, because who wants to be controlled? Nevertheless, you are responsible for ensuring that your end customer enquiries are answered quickly and therefore want to know the current status of processing. To do this, you need feedback from your sales partners. Make it clear that they will only receive customer enquiries if they inform you of the current status of processing. Partners who do not provide feedback will not receive any new enquiries. As motivation, show them the leads that are still on the pick list, but which they can only pick up if they commit to providing feedback.
Key figure #3 and #4: Processing time & feedback rate › But please note: keep it short and simple. Make it as easy as possible for your partners. Cumbersome exchanges of information with complex questionnaires wear you down and are not very promising. › Important key figures that you should determine here are the average feedback rate, i.e. the percentage of all completed leads for which you have received feedback, and the average processing time. › The processing time limits vary greatly depending on the industry. The feedback rate should not be below 75%. » Sales KPI 3: Processing time = time of closing - time of lead acceptance » KPI 4: average feedback rate = number of lead responses / number of leads picked |
6. Quick and (not) dirty - motivate your partners
Key sales figure Processing time
What motivates your partners the most? Of course: hot leads with which they can close deals quickly. This is where you can provide good support. Provide as much relevant information as possible. Online, accessible via tablet and smartphone.
Important information materials include
✔ Current price lists | ✔ Presentations |
✔ Offers | ✔ Contracts |
✔ Results from configurators |
Everything the partner needs for customer communication should be available at any time and from anywhere in the latest version. Your sales partners should be able to sell as well and as easily as possible. The best way to measure whether and how well they do this is via the conversion rate.
Key figure #5: Conversion Rate › This figure becomes particularly exciting when you have collected a lot of information about your sales partners and can see exactly where they have achieved the most success. This is exactly when you can distribute your customer enquiries in a targeted manner and thus create a win-win situation for everyone involved. Above all, this will improve your overall business.
» Key figure 5: Conversion rate = number of leads gained / number of leads picked |
7. Get behind the wheel and keep an eye on your cockpit
For your indirect sales to work well, you need to control the processes and keep an eye on them. Only then can you intervene at any time if something goes wrong. If you keep an eye on your processes, you will always be able to provide information about current sales activities, whether to colleagues, partners or at the next meeting. This makes you credible and competent!
Tip: |
You should be able to answer the following questions at any time: › Which product sells best in which sales territory? › Where do you need to invest in order to achieve a higher return on investment? › What turnover can be expected when and from which sales partner? › Which KPIs are the most relevant for me when it comes to the performance of my partners? › Does my sales controlling work automatically?
» Conclusion: With a sophisticated sales dashboard, you are at the helm of your indirect sales. You have an overview of all your partners' sales figures and can track their performance at any time. This gives you the security of being able to react quickly and flexibly to potential weak points in order to optimise your lead processes. |
