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1 Closed Won Opportunities


by Month





























Month on month, After a low-key start
Dave Apthorp is the to the year Sarah is
top sales performer. now a top performer.

Closed Won Opportunities

by Month




We all want to know how much sales revenue has been won. That’s what the Closed Won
Opportunities by Month dashboard chart tells us.


The chart shows how much sales revenue the company has achieved during the fi nancial year
or calendar quarter.


In this example, the dashboard chart and underlying report summarize the information by
individual sales person. If you have a larger sales organization then group the chart by team,
country or territory.

The dashboard chart and report give top-level insight into sales performance. In our example,
Dave is consistently the top performer. Sarah has improved her performance signifi cantly
after a poor start to the year. Peter, in particular, can benefi t from coaching and training to
improve his performance.


Combine this information with your personal knowledge of each team or individual to get
an immediate overview of sales performance across the company. Use the other dashboard
charts that analyze historic performance (for example conversion rates, average deal size)
to determine the specifi c support and actions each person needs to take in order to increase
their sales results.

Of course, the Closed Won Opportunities by Month dashboard chart doesn’t tell us anything
about future revenue performance. That’s where the pipeline charts we recommend in this
eBook come into play.

Recommended blog post: 10 Illuminating Ways To Measure Closed Won Deals

2 Pipeline Opportunities by Close


Date and Opportunity Stage




























Can deals at early What can be done to
stages in the sales bring these deals in
cycle be relied upon the Negotiation stage
to close this month? forward?

Pipeline Opportunities by Close

Date and Opportunity Stage




If you only use one dashboard chart to manage the sales pipeline then make sure it’s this one.

The Pipeline Opportunities By Close Date and Opportunity Stage chart delivers the
fundamental information needed to manage the sales funnel. Sales managers and executives
can use this chart to assess the size of the pipeline and to begin forecasting future revenue.


This dashboard chart also tells us whether the pipeline is suffi ciently mature this month and
next month to achieve revenue targets. This means managers and salespeople have an early
warning that tells them when remedial action is necessary.

The chart shows the value of Opportunities that are due to close each month. Within each
month, we can see the deals in terms of the Opportunity Stage. Stacking the chart by Stage
gives visibility of the overall health of the funnel.


Now we can start to interrogate the information.


For example, let’s assume we are in January. There’s a substantial amount of pipeline due to
close this month that is still in Prospecting and Investigation. If, for example, our typical sales
cycle is 3 months, are we confi dent these deals will close in January? Are they at the right
Opportunity Stage? Should these opportunities be scheduled to close in a later month?

What about the deals in April that are in the Negotiation Stage? Is it really going to take 4
months to close these opportunities? Maybe. Or are there steps we can take to bring these
deals forward?

A key variant of this dashboard chart is the Pipeline Opportunities by Close Date and Owner.
Use the summary by Owner to identify which teams or salespeople have the most pipeline due
to close both this month and in the longer term.

Recommended blog post: If You Only Create One Dashboard Chart Make It This One!

3 Traditional Funnel Chart































Should we be
Are we struggling to
concerned the
move deals to the
Investigation Stage
fi nal Stage in the
pipeline is smaller
sales process?
than the Prospecting
Stage?

Traditional Funnel Chart




The traditional funnel chart should be on your sales dashboard because it’s a good graph to
look at – once a week.

Here’s the thing about this chart. In most CRM systems, the shape never changes.


It doesn’t matter how big or how small your pipeline is. The outline funnel shape will always be
the same size and shape on your dashboard.

So why bother with it? Well, the answer is because of the value of the information the
segments within the funnel give you.

If the funnel was in perfect shape, the value of the pipeline in each segment would get
progressively smaller.


But that’s not always the case. In fact, if you look at our example, the value of deals in
Investigation is less than the value in Customer Evaluating. In other words, the later Stage has
more pipeline than the preceding Opportunity Stage.


Furthermore, shouldn’t the Prospecting Stage be larger, given that many deals may be
qualifi ed-out at this initial stage?


In other words, the chart is warning that your pipeline may be out of shape. Potentially we
need to initiate marketing campaigns to boost the size of the early-stage funnel. We may also
need to examine our qualifi cation and investigation processes in order to move deals more
effectively through the sales cycle.


Is the shape of the traditional funnel chart in your business a cause for concern? Only you
know the answer to that question within the context of your sales team.


And that’s why it’s a good chart to look at once a week.


Recommended blog post: Big is Beautiful: 4 Easy Charts To Measure Pipeline Size

4 Top 10 Pipeline Accounts






























Are we proactively
managing the Have we determined
prospect that has the priority order for
twice as much other prospects with
pipeline as any other signifi cant pipeline?
Account?

Top 10 Pipeline Accounts




In most companies, the sales team will be able to nominate immediately the top one or two
prospects.


But what about the top 5? Or the top 10?

The Top Pipeline Accounts table shows customers and prospects ranked by total pipeline. This
helps managers and salespeople in prioritize their time. It means salesperson time, effort and
other resources is focused on areas where it is likely to have the greatest impact.

Displaying the information on a dashboard table is a good way of focusing attention on the
top Accounts. Limit the dashboard table results to the top 5, 10 or 15. Then on the underlying
report, list all Accounts with Open Opportunities.

In our example, we can see that High Hill Estates has the greatest amount of pipeline. In fact, it
has twice as much sales pipeline as the next nearest Account.


Are we proactively managing the relationship with this Account? Is a robust key account
management plan in place? Do we understanding their buying process? Have relationships
been established at multiple levels? Has a close plan been established and validated with the
customer?

The underlying report shows the constituent Opportunities for each Account. Can a large,
single deal be done if the report reveals the total fi gure for High Hill Estates comprises
multiple, separate opportunities? If the CEO has time to visit only one Account, let’s make it
this one!

In short, the Top 10 Pipeline Accounts dashboard table and report provide the essential
information that helps executives prioritize the companies’ sales, account management and
business development activities.

And don’t forget, like any other dashboard chart, replicate the table at territory, team and
individual salesperson level to prioritize activity at all levels in your sales organization.

Recommended blog post: How To Build Key Account Plans

5 Long Term Pipeline Trend































Do we understand
Should we be
the reasons for the
concerned the size
recent upward trend
of the pipeline in the
in the size of the
later Stages has not
pipeline?
increased?

Long Term Pipeline Trend



Dashboard chart numbers 2 to 4 describe the sales pipeline as it stands right now.


But what about the trend in the size of the sales funnel over time? Is the pipeline increasing or
decreasing in size?

The Sales Pipeline As-At chart gives us the answer. It measures the size of the pipeline ‘As-At’
the 1st of each month. As such, it shows the long-term trend in the size of the sales pipeline.

Grouping the information by Historical Stage gives additional insight on the make-up of the
sales pipeline. It allows us to understand the overall trend by Opportunity Stage.


In our example, the pipeline has been growing over recent months, largely due to a signifi cant
increase in deals in the Prospecting Stage. That’s good news. Do we understand why it has
happened?


We might also want to investigate why the size of the pipeline in the Customer Evaluating and
Negotiation Stages has declined. Are the sales team having trouble moving deals through the
sales process? Was the pipeline created over the last few months of the right quality?


In some CRM systems, the As-At Pipeline chart has a little sister. It’s called Opportunities with
Historical Trending. This chart measures the short-term trend in the pipeline – for example,
the trend in the size of the pipeline over the last 4 weeks. Both our demonstrated in our
recommended blog post for this chart.

Use the dashboard charts in tandem to understand the trend in the size of the pipeline. The
As-At report gives the big picture – it tells whether efforts to grow the pipeline in the long-run
are effective. The Historical Trending chart demonstrates whether short-term initiatives to
boost funnel size are successful.

Recommended blog post: Measure The Trend In Your Sales Pipeline

6 Open Opportunities by Created


Date

























Should we be

Are the pipeline concerned about
deals created nearly the downturn in
12 months ago still the amount of
viable opportunities? new pipeline being
created?

Open Opportunities

by Created Date




Size isn’t everything. Quality matters too.

Here’s a simple but powerful way to assess pipeline quality. It’s the Open Opportunities by
Created Date dashboard chart.

The chart shows the existing funnel, summarised by Created Month and current Stage. You
may also want to create a similar report and dashboard chart that summarizes the information
by Created Month and Opportunity Owner.

Let’s say it typically takes three months to close a deal in your business. If there are many
opportunities open much longer than this, then are these genuine, viable deals?

As such, the chart and underlying report give executives the information they need to start the
process of validating the sales pipeline.


In our example, let’s assume we are in January 2017 and that our sales cycle is typically 3
months. What about the opportunities opened in February, March and April 2016? Are we
confi dent they are legitimate opportunities? Did the Close Dates shift regularly simply to
maintain the size of the pipeline? What action should we take to bring these deals to fruition?

Reviewing the pipeline by Created Date is a simple, but effective way of identifying potentially
dormant deals in your pipeline. But it also gives valuable information on how much pipeline is
being created month-on-month.


Look again at our example chart. Progressively less pipeline was created over the last 3
months of the year. Should we be concerned about this? Perhaps it’s due to a strong focus by
the sales team on closing existing deals before the end of the year. On the other hand, is it an
early warning that we may have insuffi cient pipeline to meet our sales targets in Q1 2017?

Either way, we may need to implement marketing and business development initiatives to
correct the trend.


Recommended blog post: How To Tell If Your Sales Funnel Is Emitting Warning Signals

7 Pipeline Quality Metrics Table






























Is the Oxted
Manufacturing Is the Alpha Gas deal
opportunity a still viable given that
dormant deal that it has slipped 4 times
should be removed already?
from the pipeline?

Pipeline Quality Metrics Table




If you want to predict tomorrow’s weather here is the most statistically reliable way to do it.
Whatever the weather is like today, forecast that is how it will be tomorrow.

Sales deals are similar. Deals that are stuck today will probably be stuck tomorrow.
Opportunities that slipped last month will are more likely to slip this month.


Here are three pipeline quality metrics that act as a barometer for managers and salespeople.

1. Number of Close Date Month extensions. This counts the number of times the Opportunity
Close Date has shifted from one month to another.

2. Number of Days Since The Last Stage Change. This is the number of days since the
Opportunity Stage was last updated.


3. Number of Days Open. This is the number of days the Opportunity has been open. The clock
stops counting when the deal is Won or Lost.

Display the information in a dashboard table. In our example, we are showing the metrics for
the top 10 deals due to close this month, ranked by the number of days they have been open.

This is high impact stuff. The table is a powerful way to draw the eye to deals due to close this
month that need to be scrutinised.


Are we relying on these deals to hit our sales quota this month? How confi dent can we be that
each opportunity will not slip to another month? Will the sales cycle complete satisfactorily on
those deals not updated for a signifi cant period?

Use the table to improve the accuracy of sales forecasts. The three pipeline quality metrics
do not give the answer in themselves. But they do give a heavy hint on which deals should be
reviewed and may need an urgent action plan.


Recommended blog post: 3 Killer Pipeline Metrics That Highlight When To Be Sceptical

8 Opportunity Conversion Ratios


/ Win Rates
























The win rate by
Do we understand
Amount is higher
than the win rate why the win rate
by Amount was
by Record Count.
signifi cantly lower
This means we are
than the win rate by
successfully closing a
Record Count in this
greater proportion of
higher value deals. month?

Opportunity Conversion Ratios /

Win Rates




A small increase in Opportunity conversion rates has a disproportionately high impact on
overall sales revenue.


That’s why measuring opportunity conversion ratios / win rates is critical.

The Opportunity Conversion Ratio / Win Rate chart shows the percentage win rate over time.
It does this in two ways:


• Win Rate by Amount.
• Win Rate by Count.


Measuring the win rate in both ways means we can understand whether salespeople are more
effective at closing higher value or lower value deals.


In our example, the win rate by Amount is higher in most months. This means we successfully
closed a greater proportion of large value deals compared to smaller opportunities.

In September and October, the situation reversed. The team successfully closed a greater
proportion of lower value deals.

Did the sales team lose focus on the higher value deals? Did we discount more heavily during
these months? Did we have new joiners that had less experience with larger deals?


The underlying report gives detail about win rates at the individual salesperson level. This is
crucial information for identifying coaching, training and support needs.

Nevertheless, be careful. An over-emphasis on win rates can have unwanted consequences.
Do not risk encouraging salespeople to leave opportunities out of the pipeline until a deal is
on the table. Conversely, don’t discourage salespeople from setting deals to Closed Lost when
opportunities no longer have legs.


Recommended blog post: How To Use Opportunity Conversion Rates For Superior Results

9 Average size of Closed


Won Deals


























Is Sarah consistently
Increasing Shaun’s
adding a greater
average deal size
number of optional
may signifi cantly
products to every improve his overall
opportunity
sales performance.
compared to the
other salespeople?

Average size of Closed Won Deals




Recent research with one of our customers shows a 65% variation in average deal size
between salespeople in one team.

That is a huge range.


All salespeople are working comparable territories. And selling the same products to similar
customers.

Increasing the average deal size for salespeople at the lower end of the scale was a business
development priority for this company. Addressing this issue resulted in increased sales
revenue without any increase in the number of deals in the pipeline.

Many things explain variations in average deal size. These include differences in experience
between salespeople, variations in the average number of products sold per opportunity and
different levels of discounting by sales teams.

These are challenges that our customer addressed through training, coaching, personal
development and adjustments to sales process and pricing strategy.

So quantify this essential metric to identify the right course of action for each individual
salesperson.


Recommended blog post: Why You Need To Compare Average Closed Won Opportunity Size

10 Completed Activities per


Salesperson


























Is the increase in
Sarah’s activities Do John and Peter
the key reason for need to up their
her improved sales activity levels to
performance? increase sales?

Completed Activities per

Salesperson




Sales deals do not close themselves. Pipeline does not grow on trees.

Tracking the number of completed sales Activities can provide valuable insight to explain
varying levels of sales performance. Review Activity reports in conjunction with the other
dashboard charts outlined in this eBook to analyse trends and variations in sales performance.


In our example, there is an upward trend in the number of Activities completed by the sales
team. That’s a positive sign. Indeed, the increase in Activity volume by Sarah may be a strong
contributory factor in the improvement in her sales performance over the year that we saw on
earlier charts.


However, we can also see there are variations in the number of Activities completed by each
salesperson. Shaun and Peter have recorded signifi cantly lower levels of Activity compared to
Sarah and Dave.


Consider tracking Activity levels by salespeople in several different ways. For example,
compare activity with new customers versus existing customers. This will show whether the
activities undertaken by salespeople are consistent with the overall sales strategy.


Recommended blog post: How To Spot Key Accounts You Might Be Neglecting

11 Leaking Funnel Report































Should we be
Are we qualifying-
concerned about the
out early stage deals
number of deals in
correctly?
the fi nal Stage that
were lost?

Leaking Funnel Report




Every sales funnel leaks. That’s the nature of the game. It’s why the traditional sales pipeline
chart is shaped like a funnel.


But there’s two things that sales managers need to know about funnel leakage. Is the funnel
leaking excessively? And is it leaking in the right place? The Leaking Funnel report tells you
both of these things.


The dashboard chart measures the number of times Opportunities have moved to Closed Lost
from each preceding Opportunity Stage. In our chart, it does this for deals that have been set
to Closed Lost in the last 120 days.


For example, the dashboard chart shows that 8 Opportunities have moved from Prospecting,
directly to Closed Lost.

All other things being equal, it is good that the fi rst Opportunity Stage that has the largest
number of Opportunities that move to Closed Lost.

This implies we are qualifying-out deals we are unlikely to win. It means salespeople are
not wasting time, effort and resources chasing deals when there is no clear competitive
advantage.

However, look at the Negotiation Stage. Five Opportunities went directly from Negotiation to
Closed Lost.


Again – all other things being equal – that movement in Opportunity Stage is bad news. It
means we invested a considerable amount of time and effort moving the deal through the
sales cycle, only to lose the opportunity at the last moment.


Of course, we need further investigation on the movement from Negotiation to Closed Lost
before deciding on the right course of action. Is the trend attributable to one particular
salesperson? How does the data compare for existing versus new customers? Does it apply
only to opportunities with certain product groups?

Recommended blog post: 3 Steps To Plug A Leaking Sales Funnel In The Right Place

12 Sales Performance


versus Target




























Can we make the
fi nal push to achieve
the sales target for
this month?

Sales Performance versus Target




Measuring sales performance against target is a fundamental aspect of managing a sales team.

So how do you measure sales versus target or quota? Well, there are three ways to do this in a
CRM system.


• Use a gauge on a dashboard.
• Use the in-built Forecasts or Target feature in your CRM system.
• Use a custom solution (e.g. GSP target tracker for salesforce.com).

It’s the fi rst of those options we illustrate in this eBook.


The dashboard gauge runs from a report that measures Closed Won opportunities. Manually
calibrate the red, amber and green settings within the dashboard chart settings.

The dashboard gauge option is quick and easy to implement. The downside, compared to the
other two options, is that it provides no insight on whether there is suffi cient pipeline to meet
the sales target next month or this quarter.

Separate gauges track performance versus target for each individual salesperson and sales
team.


If you are using salesforce.com, then the GSP Target Tracker provides easy-to-understand
charts and additional metrics to measure sales versus target. It also automates the forecasting
process and avoids the need for sales people to create or update manual sales forecasts.

Recommended blog post: 3 Ways To Measure Sales Versus Target

Conclusion




Without information, you’re flying blind.

That’s a dangerous and uncomfortable position to be in. And it explains why so many sales
managers are frustrated with the current level of information available to them.

The dashboard charts and the underlying reports explained in this eBook provide the visibility
Using salesforce.
and insights needed to relieve that frustration.

Where necessary, use the charts as building blocks. If you are using our free dashboard com? Want to
package, then clone the reports and adjust the settings to tailor the charts to your specific
kick-start
business.

Remember, the charts and reports will not – in themselves – increase the sales pipeline or your salesforce
improve sales performance. It’s the way you use the information that matters. They are your
compass that will point you in the direction of increased sales revenue.
dashboard?

Good luck!

Gary Smith Download the 12
Chief Executive, The Gary Smith Partnership
charts from the
Tel: +203 280 3665
Web: www.garysmithpartnership.com
AppExchange.