Anyways, let’s do this: 

KPIs: Old way vs New way: 

When people say ‘sales is a numbers game’ they aren’t wrong. 

It’s just often interpreted incorrectly. 

Aka, it’s interpreted as more = more. 

Simply put; more inputs = more outputs. 

And wouldn’t that just be amazing? 

For example; 

• if I do 50 calls and I get 1 meeting 

• if I do 100 calls I will get 2 meetings etc 

Unfortunately, this line of thinking is too simplistic in the modern day. 

It doesn’t factor in the fact every buyer is different. 

They have different problems, they have different experiences, etc. 

There are so many variables on the buyer side it makes it impossible for a simple ‘more=more’ model to predictably work. 

So what’s the new way? 

Well, with the rise of technology, we now have more and more granular data points we can analyze to help with our performance. 

Previously (1990) we could only look at inputs like no. of dials and emails sent. 

Now we can use tools like Gong and Salesloft etc to look at very granular actions we take to help direct our performance. 

Data points like; open rates, bounce rates, and even as granular as how many questions you should ask in a call to optimize conversion rates. 

There are actually endless data points you can get access to these days. 

I call these data points the ‘MIDDLE METRICS’. 

Let me show you how to use them to improve your funnel: 

OLD WAY: 

• 100 calls 

• 5 conversations 

• 1 meeting booked 

• 50% chance of conversion to opportunity 

• 20% chance of conversion from opp to closed won 

• So for every 1000 calls, you get 1 deal to closed won. 

• Av. deal size = 50k 

Total Revenue = 50k. 

NEW WAY: 

• 100 calls 

• 5 conversations 

• 2 meetings booked 

• 50% chance of conversion to opportunity 

• 20% chance of conversion from opp to closed won 

• So for every 1000 calls, you get 2 deals to closed won. 

• Av. deal size is 50k 

Total Revenue = 100k. 

You’ll notice everything is The SAME apart from the number of meetings booked as increased conversion from 1 meeting to 2 per 5 conversations. 

Here’s another example: 

NEW WAY 2.0: 

• 100 calls 

• 5 conversations 

• 2 meetings booked 

• 75% chance of conversion to opportunity 

• 20% chance of conversion from opp to closed won 

• So for every 1000 calls, you get 3 deals to closed won. 

• Av. deal size is 50k 

Total Revenue = 150k. 

All we improved was the conversion from meeting booked to opportunity. 

And voila we got an extra 50k and another new customer with the SAME inputs. 

So yes, the numbers matter. 

And yes, it’s a numbers game. 

But maybe it’s time salespeople thought about putting more time into other numbers than just inputs. 

The aim should be to drive down input numbers. Not up. The better the sales rep the lower their input number per result. 

Hope this helps. 

Good luck!! 

P.S. If this is useful, feel free to share it with your team. 

SDR Leader Spotlight:

Please meet the legend himself; Rob Playford, SDR Manager @data.ai.

His journey:

Graduated from Loughborough Uni and played hockey at the highest level in the UK. An ex-sports friend told him about an account manager role selling websites to car dealers which is where he found his love for new biz! He moved through the ranks into leadership before he married up his love for coaching and Biz Dev and took a role at Data.ai as EMEA SDR Manager. He loves being on the frontline with his reps and figuring out how to break new ground! 

His top prospecting tips:

• Triple touch for the win. Rob LOVES 3 touches on day 1 of your sequence. Email. Phone. LI Connection. 

• As soon as someone connects on LinkedIn send a voicenote saying; ‘Hey, it’s Rob Playford, hope you got my email’. 

• Ask your prospects for their opinions. E.g. What do they think about ‘‘XYZ.’’ Want to share X, what are your thoughts? This puts your prospect in a position of power. 

His advice for new leaders: 

• Understand how your team is feeling day to day - it will change. Don’t expect everyone to always be at 100%. 

• You are part of two teams - the sales leaders/board and your team of direct reports- you need to balance them. 

• Always be prepared to get in the trenches - understand WHY it’s not working by trying it yourself. Don’t guess or blame reps. 

• Get comfortable trying new things. Your prospects buying behavior changes all the time so you have to adapt to that. 

Pretty solid from a seasoned pro. 

Gracias, amigo!