As a Customer Success Manager at LevelEleven, I have the privilege of working with sales leaders from high-performing sales teams across the country. As the VP of Inside Sales and Sales Administration at Applied Systems, Jim Pattermann is one of these sales leaders. Recently, Jim was kind enough to share how Applied Systems uses Scorecard from LevelEleven to manage their sales teams.
Please read below for a real-world example of how modern sales organizations use LevelEleven to manage their sales metrics.
How Applied Systems Uses Scorecard
“At Applied Systems, understanding and measuring the right activities that lead to positive sales results is an area we’ve been relentlessly focused on. Our first step was working with the data to understand what activities lead to the results we desired. We always had a challenge getting real-time metrics for reps and trending data for front-line coaches. With Scorecard from LevelEleven, we refer to this now as our ‘Sales Fitbit.’ Fitbit doesn’t show someone how much you weigh every day (the result); it shows a person all of the leading indicators (steps, calories, intake, sleep, etc.) that should lead to the desired result the individual is striving for (a healthy weight). We treat Scorecard the same way someone would treat a Fitbit.”
Focus on the Fundamentals
“Our reps and managers focus on the critical activities that we believe lead to sales results. We weigh early stage pipeline activities higher in our LevelEleven Performance Index (LPI) to ensure that we are driving and measuring the behaviors that reps have direct control over. As a result, Scorecard has become part of our sales culture and cadence. We use our metrics in our weekly, monthly, and quarterly one-on-ones, as well as Quarterly Business Reviews, forecast meetings, etc.”
Data-Driven Coaching
“Unfortunately, data is not a magic bullet that replaces the effectiveness of a strong coach; just like putting a Fitbit on your wrist doesn’t automatically mean you’ll reach your desired health goal. The Scorecard doesn’t give us the specific answers to why a rep is succeeding or not, but it does help us ask the right questions. We can direct our focus back on the right activities, and steer coaching efforts to specific areas where the rep can move the performance needle.”
Identify Trends and Take Action
“Scorecard has been a powerful tool for us. It helped us tremendously to identify trends that we can now start to use on upstream activities such as pipeline health, activities, etc. in order to provide better downstream forecasts. If there is a team or department concern, we can usually spot it earlier and can use the tool to understand the levers we may need to pull (e.g. a ‘power hour’ contest using LevelEleven’s ContestEngine).”
Key Takeaways
- Identify the key performance indicators for your sales organization
- Stay focused on these fundamental sales metrics
- Use a Scorecard to track performance against these metrics
- Identify trends and take action
NOTE: Scorecard is one of the products within LevelEleven’s Sales Management System. If you would like to learn more about LevelEleven, visit our Product Tour page at leveleleven.com/product-tour.
