“If you don’t know your numbers, you don’t know your business.” — Marcus Lemonis
“It’s a numbers game, but I don’t know which numbers” — Average Salesperson
Okay — I made-up the last quote, but it’s still true. Too many times, I meet with sales managers and salespeople who firmly believe that sales is a “numbers game”, but they have no idea what numbers they need to know or even what numbers they should be tracking.
Most sales leaders focus on KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators) and while they are important, they do not help produce sales improvements. KPI’s are like your scorecard after a round of golf, fun to see how you played, but they can’t help you play better for the round you just finished.
Rather than focus on KPIs, it’s time to concentrate on Leading Indicators so that we can effect change during the game that will help you and your team win. Think of leading indicators as data that allows you to make “in-game” adjustments, so that your team can keep scoring.
What Are Leading Indicators in Sales?
Salesforce states that, “a leading indicator describes everything that leads up to making the sale. It’s the top of your sales pipeline and defines how capable you are at opening an opportunity — not closing a sale.”
Leading indicators provide insight into likely future outcomes, giving organizations the ability to act accordingly in the present. To improve “in-game” performance, we need to add leading indicators to your sales management toolbox.
Leading indicators help you determine whether you and your salespeople are doing good, bad, or ugly. They help us manage our activity so that we can know how much more we need to do to produce success. If this was a football game, your leading indicators would be:
- The number of offensive plays
- The yards per carry
- Your completion rate
- Your quarterback rating
If you know these numbers, you know if you’re doing the right things, in the right way, to score touchdowns and win the game.
In the world of sales, leading indicators give us real-time data on how sales are going. They tell you if your team has enough activity, the right amount of proposals, and what your closing ratios are.
Leading Indicators Sales Managers Need to Track
How often have you assumed that your sales team was going to hit their goals and then suddenly, all of their pending disappears, and they miss budget? Sadly, it happens too often. Most Account Executives are not good forecasters, which puts sales managers in difficult situations.
So, which Leading Indicators should you track? The answer depends on what is important to your organization and what indicators are predictive of the overall success of your team.
5 examples of Leading Indicators that you can track:
- Number of New Business Appointments
- Number of Needs Analysis Completed
- Number of New Proposals
- Closing Ratio
- Average proposals sold
Tracking leading indicators does three things for you:
- Gives you real-time data for your sales team and salespeople
- Helps you know what they need to be doing to be successful
- Predict the success of your sales team
You’ll be able to see in real-time if a rep is making enough new appointments, presentations, and ultimately sales to meet or even exceed their sales budget.
“Knowing your numbers” will help you not only know your business but also help you hit your goals.
Want to hear more from Trey? Register today for the virtual Revenue Momentum Summit on February 19, where he will be sharing about shifting from products to solutions!
Trey Morris
Senior Consultant, The Center for Sales Strategy
Trey Morris is a Senior Consultant for The Center for Sales Strategy. He is known as a leader, a creative storyteller, and for delivering hefty sales results.
He has spent 25+ years in the world of broadcasting and advertising by holding every significant role in the sales funnel. He’s sold advertising, managed radio station sales teams, ran his own full-service advertising agency, been a Chief Marketing Officer, and started a successful restaurant chain.
Born and raised in Dallas, he spent the first 10 years managing radio stations in Dallas and Chicago. While in Chicago, he branched out and ran a full-service advertising agency that specialized in developers and home specialty retailers.
In 2008, he launched Q BBQ, a Michelin award-winning barbecue restaurant with 4 locations in the Chicago area. In 2013, he left the business world for the ministry world. He joined the ministry of Pastor James MacDonald’s Walk in the Word. As Executive Producer, Trey oversaw his radio ministry and created the NRB award-winning Walk in the Word Television program that aired on TBN, Daystar, and Hope Channel in Canada.
In 2015, Trey felt the calling of Texas and moved the family back to North Texas, where he was the Chief Marketing Officer for the Boenker Group of Companies, a family-owned insurance holding company, that had revenues of over $300 million per year. Trey has been married for 25 years to Rebecca, his Baylor sweetheart, and father to Haley and Jordan.
Life 102.5 has a heart for Madison! For the 4
Spirit 92.9 continued its commitment of blessing the central Minnesota community through intentional service projects. As the pandemic affected another year, station listeners rose to the challenge of uplifting and encouraging those feeling loss, loneliness, or burnout. Thanks to the help of generous listeners and business partners, Spirit 92.9 raised more than $8,000 in an online tip jar that blessed the staff at 19 local restaurants returning to work full time with huge tips during the Big Tip promotion. The restaurant workers were grateful for the visibility and appreciation. Numerous area teachers nominated by their students and families received special honor at the end of the school year with flowers and $500 VISA gift cards as part of “Thank A Teacher” organized by Spirit 92.9. In the fall, Spirit 92.9 partnered with two local ministries and provided free holiday meals to the community. During the ‘More Than A Meal’ event, the station worked with community members who donated enough to provide 6,000 meals and give help to people in need. Station team members also prepared and served meals together at the local homeless mission. At Christmastime, 11 community members wrote Spirit 92.9 and shared the story of someone they believed deserved some extra joy due to personal hardships. The individuals received $1000 to bless that person during Spirit 92.9’s Share The Joy promotion. Phone calls were made to hundreds of listeners to offer prayer and encouragement. Prayer support and a personal response is offered all year long.
Jim Campbell, Founder & Network President of Radio Training Network, Inc. began his radio career in commercial radio in Tennessee in 1964. In 1966 he moved his family to Lakeland, Florida to attend college, and upon graduation he joined the staff at First Assembly of God Church where he and the church launched in the mid 1970s the first Contemporary Christian Radio Station in the nation, WCIE-FM. The station grew in both market impression and influence not just in Lakeland, but around the country inspiring others to follow Jim’s lead. In 1989 Jim left the church and founded Radio Training Network, Inc. (RTN) and over the next 30+ years, he oversaw the acquisition and development of 40+ stations plus translators. With 130 team members, RTN stations serve the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, and Missouri. These stations are well recognized in their respective markets thanks to the servant leadership of the staff, aggressive marketing, and a commitment to a strong emphasis on Jesus first. At present RTN has some two million listeners each week on air and approximately the same number online.
Andrea Kleid is a 24-year veteran of radio and records. She began her career working in Christian radio at WNLT in Cincinnati, and then moved onto WAY-FM in West Palm Beach working in programming and promotions. Her next stop took her to JOY-FM in Tampa where she served as the Promotions Director. In 2004, Andrea moved to Nashville to begin her music industry career in radio promotion under Grant Hubbard at Capitol CMG. In 2008, Andrea became the Vice President of Promotion at Word Label Group where she led one of the most successful and influential radio promotion teams in the Christian music industry. Through her signature brand of honesty, passion for Christian music, and focus on relationships, Andrea developed a reputation for successfully launching new artists’ careers including for KING and COUNTRY, NEEDTOBREATHE and Francesca Battistelli. This year, Andrea celebrates her fifth year as the President of her own company, Boxer Poet. An advocate for both radio and artists, Andrea continues to zealously host conversations around further representation for women and people of color on Christian radio.
Jason Sharp has a rich history with CCM radio and leadership. His early years at WONU/Chicagoland and The Bridge/Delaware gave flight to his passion for great programming and innovative promotions. As Program Director of WCQR/Johnson City and eventually the network PD for Positive Alternative Radio, Jason’s influence grew across the industry. In 2007, Jason joined the team at Northwestern Media as Program Director and then Station Manager of KTIS, Minneapolis/St Paul. In 2015, Jason furthered his formal education and earned his master’s degree in organizational leadership. Applying his leadership knowledge and skills to work, he now serves as Senior Vice President of Broadcasting at Northwestern Media’s 23 stations in 14 markets across ten states that service 1.5 million listeners each week. Jason also served Christian Music Broadcasters, first as a charter member and eventually as the lead of CMB’s educational track at Momentum for more than ten years. He then served as the organization’s board chairman from 2017-2020. Jason continues to inspire others within Christian media toward excellence and compassion through a Christ-centered attitude, education, and practical application.
In 1972, while serving in the U.S. Air Force in Orlando, Johnny Stone dreamt of a second kind of “air force,” that of radio. He took an overnight position at WDIZ-FM, the station where Z88.3 now stands. In the past 50 years of his career, Johnny’s work and personality raised the bar for other programmers in markets ranging from New York City, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, San Diego, Tampa, Atlanta, Tucson, and Minneapolis/St. Paul. During his stint as Program Director and Morning Show host at Star 99.1 New York, his team won the NAB Crystal Radio Award and CMB Station of the Year. Presently, Johnny serves as afternoon host with his wife, Stacey, at 91.9 WGTS in Washington D.C. winner of the 2021 NAB Marconi Award for Religious Station of the Year. Owner of StoneStudios, LLC. and as a 22-year veteran in Christian media, Johnny mentored several on-air talents. Today, along with his on-air role at WGTS, he mentors college students at CMBU, teaching and modeling the belief that “you have to win in the hallways to win on the airwaves.”
Lisa Williams was called to Christian radio while praying in 1990. She walked into KCVO in Camdenton, Missouri and started on the air that same week. Over the past 32 years, Lisa served in various roles in on-air, programming, fundraising, and station management at radio stations and networks including K-LOVE, Z88.3, Star 99.1, KCVO, and KCWN. As an on-air personality, Lisa earned several number one ratings in several markets and was the recipient of three industry awards. Lisa now serves as the Network Talent Coach for Northwestern Media, owner of 23 stations in 14 markets across ten states that service 1.5 million listeners each week. While at Northwestern, Lisa hosted the nationally syndicated show Life with Lisa Williams from 2016-2021. She stepped away from the show to focus on coaching more than 90 on-air talents, encouraging and nurturing them to shine the light of Christ through excellent radio. When she’s not coaching talent, Lisa helps stations raise money for their operations. She also hosts a Facebook group for women on-air in Christian radio called GodsRadioGirls and helps facilitate their annual retreat.