From crushing quotas to exceeding pipeline targets, the sales industry is all about performance. But how do you ensure your team is consistently performing at their best? That’s where sales performance management (SPM) comes in.
SPM helps sales leaders improve behavior, increase visibility, and build high-performing teams through tools like leaderboards, scorecards, contests, and data-backed insights. It’s an undeniably powerful tool for sales organizations, yet often misunderstood. Let’s break down a few common SPM myths and separate fact from fiction.
Visibility into sales activity is a key tenet of sales performance management. Some sales reps misinterpret this and assume their every move will be scrutinized. In reality, sales activity tracking serves as a quick pulse check for both sales leaders and reps.
For sales leaders, SPM helps foster rep accountability, autonomy, and growth. Solutions like LevelEleven equip managers to identify performance gaps early on, allowing for personalized support and coaching.
For reps, tools like team leaderboards and personalized scorecards show how their activity is directly impacting their progress towards goals. These insights can help them self-manage, fine tune their sales strategy, and take control of their own success.
SPM isn’t about hovering over your team’s shoulder — it’s about empowering them with visibility and support.
One of the three core pillars of sales performance management is motivating and incentivizing successful behaviors. Many sales teams assume this means constant contests and gift cards, but it’s not that simple.
While gamification and sales competitions can be great for energizing a team or driving focus towards a specific goal, true performance management goes deeper. If you want to create real, sustainable behavioral change, you need a multi-faceted approach that includes coaching, habit tracking, and meaningful metrics in addition to gamification.
Sales leaders are swamped. The thought of adding another task or tool to manage can feel overwhelming, to say the least. With the right SPM solution, you can actually save time and work more efficiently.
LevelEleven, for example, integrates with Salesforce to provide real-time performance data based on rep activity. No more manual tracking or updating fancy spreadsheets! Automated features like performance alerts, scorecards, and coaching check-ins make it easy to keep tabs on your team while you focus on leading them to success.
At the end of the day, sales performance management is not about creating more work; it’s about creating visibility into work that’s already happening.
One of the biggest misconceptions about SPM is that it’s only for struggling reps. The truth? There’s always room for improvement — even for top performers!
In addition to highlighting areas of improvement, SPM can be used to:
LevelEleven Badges, for example, are a fun way to celebrate reps’ achievements at all levels. Whether an SDR booked their first meeting or a seasoned rep crushed their monthly quota, badges make it easy to celebrate success and boost morale.
As humans, we are all motivated by something. The same goes for sales reps! Some thrive on public praise and competition while others prefer private recognition and focusing on personal improvement.
Think of it like the five love languages. What motivates one person may not be what motivates their teammate. That’s why effective SPM strategies are flexible and personalized to support each member of your team.
With LevelEleven, managers can tailor metrics, coaching cadences, and recognition strategies based on their individual team members. AI-powered features like Conversion Insights even allow you to see which behaviors are driving the most impact. Whether it’s a shoutout in the all company Slack channel or a customized coaching plan, you can meet each rep where they are and motivate them in a way that’s personally meaningful.
Likewise, each sales leader has their own unique management style. Some leaders are highly personable and relationship-driven while others are driven by data and cold hard numbers. The right SPM solution will adapt to your unique style.
Sales performance management is invaluable for today’s sales teams. If you’ve been on the fence for fear that it’s time-consuming or unreliable, we hope this blog showed you the power of SPM and why it’s a must-have tool for your organization.
At LevelEleven, we believe that performance management isn’t just about tracking metrics — it’s about unlocking your team’s full potential. Request a demo to see how LevelEleven can help you drive better performance, foster accountability, and build a winning sales culture.
