Sales is more than the sum of its parts. There’s a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes. It can be challenging to see the big picture in the moment, when business owners and their sales force are often focused on landing the next deal.
Slowing down to check in on goals isn’t always possible, especially during busy seasons. Oftentimes sales teams can be siloed as a result. Over the course of months or years, they can get too caught up in the hustle and neglect to check in and consider where they’re going and how to get there.
Sales tracking, on the other hand, is all about intention, focus, and objectivity. It can help everyone get on the same page and achieve individual and organizational goals. It can mean the difference between a sales strategy that wins customers and one that’s floundering.
What is Sales Tracking?
Sales tracking is one strategy to help teams align and better perform. The term refers to the collection of metrics, its analysis, and how this data can help to inform the process. Ultimately, this undertaking can help your sales team (and organization) reach new heights.
Sales tracking challenges teams to:
- Monitor and measure sales progress in areas like lead quality, close rates, etc.
- Gauge sales rep performance
- Forecast sales
- Adjust sales processes to improve outcomes
Investing in these efforts can pay off on several fronts, in both the short and long term. Setting up a sales tracking program can help you make progress in key areas, like:
Empower Sales Managers to Coach Effectively
Even the most seasoned of sales managers can benefit from a data-driven approach. Looking at a sales team’s performance individually and holistically helps you understand how to best motivate and empower people.
Provide Personalized Experiences for Customers
Depending on where a customer is in the buying journey, they might be more receptive to certain messaging and more apt to buy. Sales tracking can help you tailor outreach to help move them from one stage to the next. Tracking is also a great way to understand how demographics, buying habits, and other trends affect results over time.
Uncover Sales Insights with Real-time Data
Sales tracking can provide a look under the hood. This visibility means you can see which salespeople are performing and how their efforts contribute to team and organizational goals. On the other hand, this review can reveal room for improvement. These insights can reveal who might be struggling in certain areas so you can correct course.
Forecast the Future
The past isn’t always indicative of what’s to come, but historical data can provide helpful background. A sales tracking platform can help you anticipate future sales by looking at trends. This information can mean entering a busy season prepared or being caught off guard
Improve Efficiency
Sales tracking can help identify blind spots you might have overlooked in the past. Metrics around sales cycle length, conversion rates, and lead sources can inspire you to make changes. Getting on the right path can help you close my deals in less time and even reduce the cost of acquisition.
Monitor Progress
Sales tracking can help business owners understand where and how their sales teams shine. At the same time, certain metrics can suggest individuals might need training and support.
5 Types of Sales Tracking Your Business Should Consider
Not all types of sales tracking are created equal, however. The best approach for your team might not work for another. In general, sales teams can typically get the most from their investment in these areas:
1. Sales Lead Tracking
This is a close-up look at prospects and how they respond to your initial efforts. This is the right time to segment leads by source and tracking metrics like lead score and last contact date. You can better determine which sales approaches are yielding the best results. You can also adjust your approach if certain tactics are underperforming.
2. Sales Pipeline Tracking
The objective here is to assess your ability to turn leads into customers. By getting a handle on your sales processes through markers like sales cycle length and win rate, you can find weaknesses and opportunities. These efforts might bring insights to the surface that identify a place in the sales funnel where prospects fall off.
This is only so helpful, though. Determining the what can help you make adjustments. Pushy sales tactics, too many emails, or irrelevant promotions, or a combination of these factors might contribute to these losses. As the saying goes, knowing is half the battle. When you know the root cause of a leaky sales funnel, you can start to troubleshoot.
3. Sales Activity Tracking
Sales activity tracking can reveal where a buyer is on their journey. It can also provide insights into a prospect’s needs and interests so salespeople can reach them with the right message at the right time. Track sales activity by looking at the success rate of your sales calls, demos, and other sales efforts.
This is also helpful in times of turnover on sales teams. When someone leaves and another sales rep takes over, they can review this information and not lose traction. You don’t want to lose a hot lead because of internal changes.
4. Sales Performance Tracking
As the name suggests, sales performance tracking can help you determine the performance and efficacy of your sales team. You might be interested in seeing the number of emails sent, opportunities won, or total value created to compare the performance of individual reps or teams.
If tracking suggests a sales rep is falling short, consider it a learning opportunity. You might match them with a more seasoned colleague to help build confidence. Every veteran sales professional was once green, after all.
5. Sales Funnel Tracking
Sales funnel tracking helps sales teams follow a customer in their buying journey from the first touchpoint to their latest purchase. By looking at key metrics like total inbound leads and conversion rates, you evaluate your current marketing and sales efforts, identify lags, and get more out of your investment in certain channels or campaigns.
How to Track Sales in 4 Steps
Sales analytics can set your team on the right path. Instead of shooting in the dark or hoping for the best, sales tracking offers an element of objectivity. This is important when determining next steps. Tracking sales calls for four steps. This is the process that can take you further faster.
Step 1: Define the Most Important Metrics
When in doubt, key performance indicators (KPIs) may be the best place to begin. Pay attention to factors that affect your bottom line. The same goes for growth rate and the overall value of each customer.
Step 2: Define Workflows and Set Up Your Process
Consistent and well-defined workflow are not optional elements in sales tracking success. When sales teams are on the same page operational, all following the same practices, policies, and processes, it’s easier to draw conclusions about which efforts are producing which results.
Step 3: Translate Insights Into Strategy
Standardization in the sales process can help you determine how and where to focus your efforts. Sales tracking tools can present data in a visual way so that you can compare and contrast total revenue by product, retention rate, conversion rate, etc.
Step 4: Refine the Process
Sales tracking data is only valuable if it leads to process improvement. Its findings should inform your moves. When making changes, it’s important to compare and contrast your original metrics so you can see how and where your actions made an impact.
7 Sales Tracking Tools
Mastering the art of sales calls for more than just knowledge and expertise. Having the right tools matters and can help your team achieve goals faster than without them.
What is Sales Tracking Software?
Sales tracking software helps teams monitor, analyze, and refine sales-related processes and procedures. While each solution has its own features and benefits, you can expect data gathering and reporting functionality in every tool. The most effective sales teams are informed, and sales tracing software can help set them up for success.
And behind every high-powered sales team are systems that help them execute. You might be familiar with sales tracking software solutions on the market. Here’s a look at seven options and their points of difference.
1. Salesforce
Salesforce is a CRM with sales tracking abilities. You can keep tabs on your sales pipeline, leads status, and metrics related to performance. It’s a popular choice due to its sophisticated dashboards and real-time insights. Salesforce can help teams of all sizes achieve their goals.
2. Close CRM
Close CRM helps users better manage leads, email campaigns, and sales pipelines. An intuitive calling and texting integration makes it easy to reach prospects in their preferred way.
3. Keap
Formerly Infusionsoft, Keap helps users attract, engage, and retain customers. The platform makes it easy to improve sales and marketing workflows and increase sales.
4. Bitrix24
Bitrix24 iCRM makes sales tracking easier with project management and communication capabilities. Sales teams can use it to work smarter, taking advantage of its lead tracking, sales automation, and collaboration tools.
5. HubSpot CRM
HubSpot CRM can take some of the stress off your sales team. Features like contact management, email tracking, and task automation can help sales people track and monitor leads. Plus, reporting and analytics can help teams understand how their efforts fit into the larger picture.
6. Pipedrive
Pipedrive’s customizable sales reports and analytics can help users make data-driven decisions. This platform syncs with third-party tools and applications to support coordinated workflows.
7. Zoho CRM
Zoho CRM makes marketing, customer support, and collaboration a breeze. Users can track leads, manage contacts, and automate sales processes. Customizable dashboards, reports, and analytics can help business owners stay on track with their goals.
The solutions mentioned above can help you achieve your goals. When researching these options, you should keep the following in mind:
The Size of Your Business
A mom-and-pop business has different needs than a Fortune 500 company. A simple tool that has the basics might work for you. You might not need to pay for additional features and benefits.
The Nature of Your Business
If you sell physical goods, you need a platform that can track inventory. If you’re a service-based enterprise, then this is not necessary.
Your Budget
Sales tracking tools can run the gamut in terms of price. Only you can decide what you’re willing to spend. However, keep in mind that this is an investment. Consider the cost of lost opportunity when making your decision.
Your Sales Process
Some sales tracking tools lend themselves to internal sales processes more than others. The best tool is the one that aligns with your operations.
Your Reporting Needs
Do you need detailed reports or just the bare-bones? Whatever solution you choose should support your need for visibility.
All things being equal, sales tracking can help your business get ahead of the competition. Podium makes success within reach. By investing in Podium, you can expect to close sales deals much faster than going it alone. Here are a few of the key features:
- Consolidated Communication: Podium places all customer interactions into a single platform, so that you don’t miss out on any leads. Plus, you save time because you don’t have to toggle between various platforms or channels.
- Review Management: It’s easy to solicit and manage online reviews by using Podium’s automated review management feature. This helps with online reputation and credibility.
- Team Collaboration: You can use Podium to help your sales team members stay organized on task with assignments, performance tracking, and real-time updates.
- Integration: Podium can work in tandem with CRM systems so that sales teams can refine processes, deepen customer relationships, and close more deals.
Tools like Podium can refine modern sales in that they centralize and standardize key data.
Better yet, sales teams always know where they stand, so they can make better decisions and avoid the frustration that results from a lack of visibility.
Podium also offers advantages in the workflow department. Sales reps can save time because they no longer have to worry about data entry and other time sucks. Spreadsheets and one-off software programs don’t cut it either. Sales teams need to be coordinated and have the ability to collaborate 24/7. Podium delivers in both areas.
Ready to Revolutionize Your Sales Process?
You don’t have to go it alone. Podium is your partner in growth. Supercharge and simplify your sales tracking and connect with more customers in less time.
Watch a demo of Podium today. You’ll see firsthand how Podium can help your organization grow and scale with lead management and communication tools.
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