“Those who speak most of progress measure it by quantity and not by quality.” This old saying by George Santayana does match our experience with success in teleprospecting. Actually our most successful inside sales reps measure their work by quality vs quantity. Thus to be a successful inside sales rep, one must be focused on measuring the quality of their work as opposed to just the quantity. As our own Pete Gracey says, the process of teleprospecting is a mix of a science and an art. Recently, I had an inside sales rep approach me stating, “I make X amount of activities each day, which is X amount higher than my neighbor who is outperforming me.” They then inquired how this is possible. This rep definitely had the science part of the job in place, but it was now time to focus on the quality of their work and the importance of measuring that in order to succeed at the job. While it is easy to track hard quantitative numbers, quality can be far more ambiguous. Here are 3 tips to help you measure the quality of your inside sales team’s performance:
1) Listen to your inside rep’s prospecting strategy: While it is beneficial to hear live conversations your team is having, it is just as valuable to hear how your team is navigating their way around new accounts. When you train with your inside sales reps, start by listening to a healthy hour of how they are prospecting and pulling in new accounts to their rotation. After your rep leaves their first message with a new prospect, make sure they are calling back into the company to speak with administrative assistants and uncovering additional contacts. The goal is to make quality connections and get referrals that advance their way to the identified contact as soon as possible. The worst thing your reps can be doing is leaving voicemail after voicemail with contacts they are unsure about in order to hit a specific call volume.
2) Measure your inside rep’s connect rate: The connect rate is the amount of quality connects and conversations your rep has in comparison to their call volume. While continuing to maintain a healthy volume, a successful inside sales rep has around a 12-15% connect rate each day. This is so important because quality connects and conversations signify progress. Whether your rep is pointed to the decision maker or has a healthy conversation that will progress the sales cycle with an account, an increase in the connect rate will lead to an increase in opportunities.
3) Measure your inside sals rep’s lead rate: Lastly, it is important to identify how many of your inside sales rep’s quality connects are turning over as opportunities for your sales team. The lead rate is the amount of leads your rep uncovers in comparison to the amount of connects they have. While it is so important that your insides sales rep is having a lot of productive conversations, it is essential that a healthy rate (5-7%) of these connects are being passed over as qualified leads. If your rep has a high connect rate, but low lead rate, you may want to sit on scheduled calls and hear if they are having difficulty setting up appointments with fully qualified prospects. If your rep has a low connect rate and high lead rate, this means that they are passing over a lot of conversations. In this case, it is time to circle back with them and strategize on how to bring in more quality connects each day.
As we are emphasizing the importance of quality in a successful teleprospecting campaign, keep in mind that it is just as critical to take this process a step further and “close the loop” on the opportunities your teleprospecting team uncovers. Make sure to check out Chris Lang’s recent blog entitled Quality vs. Quantity discusses the importance of ensuring the quality of the opportunities your teleprospecting team is passing to your sales team. Chris talks about why it is so important to track the progression of their leads in the sales cycle and why this should also be tied into a fair compensation plan.
How do you measure the quality of your inside sales team?
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