Sales Operations Performance

How do you measure and plan for the success of sales operations?  While some companies use sales ops as the reporting & analysis arm of sales, others are transforming sales ops to be a strategic partner in the sales, marketing, and customer satisfaction functions: bridging activities and results across those three areas of the business.  So how do you measure success for a smart sales operations team?

We divide sales operations performance “markers” (these could be metrics, KPIs, measures, or processes – any of which is a key driver of value in sales operations) into 3 categories: strategic (at the top level of the organization), operational (where planning and resource allocation live) and execution (the tactical layer of the business).  Here are some of the more popular markers:

Strategic
Sales Revenue
Forecast Accuracy
Territory Design Effectiveness
Quota
Productivity
Compensation
Average Selling Price (ASP)
Time to Revenue
Open Headcount
Pipeline
Product & Channel Mix
Customer Acquisition Efficiency
Demand Planning
Channel Efficiency
SG&A Expense
Net Operating Profit

Operational
Product Training Hours
Contract Quality
RFQ/RFI/RFP quality
Order Management
Product Certification
Collateral Effectiveness
Commission Management
Sales Entity Reviews
Sales Training Hours
Methodology Usage
Reference Quality
Competitive Intelligence
Sales Certification
Sales Meeting effectiveness
Award Programs
Sales Behavior

Execution
Sales Force Automation system usage
Expense Management
Territory Management
Sales Activities
Customer Relationship Management system usage
Channel Conflict
Dispute Resolution
Customer Face Time
Quota Accuracy
Commission Accuracy
Sales Initiatives
Sales Call Prep
Forecast Accuracy
Deal Registration Quality
Sales Incentive Overspend
Customer Intelligence

Please let us know if you measure, manage, plan, or model any others.