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One of the biggest benefits of sales performance management software (SPM) is how it helps enterprises tackle modern sales challenges.
Sales has always been a proactive game. The more you put into your sales efforts, the more you see results. But lately, sales teams seem to be working harder – without the results to match.
Sales reps need data insights to do their job well, but businesses are taking a more-is-better approach: more technology, more sales tools, more analytics software, and more commissions systems.
In fact, most businesses use as many as 37 sales automation systems. With so many siloed tools and technologies, it’s no wonder we’re all looking at a fractured picture of sales.
It’s time for sales reps to work smarter, not harder. Sales performance management software can help.
What is sales performance management software? SPM defined
Sales performance management (SPM) software is a data-informed approach to help businesses plan, create, track, manage, and analyze sales outcomes and organizational strategies. SPM is used to assist sales reps in achieving their target quotas and goals, as well as track their incentive payments. Comprising tools and processes to unite front and back-office data, sales performance management software also increases operational agility and efficiency.
Connected, proactive sales performance management
Sales performance management provides a foundation for a better experience across the data, tools, and processes your sales reps tap into every day. Those aforementioned 37 sales systems a business uses? Sales performance management unifies experiences spanning them all.
SPM helps businesses move from a rear-facing, reactive approach to sales to modern processes that harnesses the power of real-time data.
Using sales performance management software, sales reps can make proactive decisions to help keep them motivated. With a renewed sales strategy and the right sales performance management software, organizations can align rep behaviors with company goals across the entire sales experience, including total rewards.
The software strikes back at inefficiencies and outdated processes by improving experiences for reps and the business at the same time.
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Sales teams are becoming increasingly mobile and virtual, regardless of whatever you’ve heard about mass migrations back to the office after the pandemic. That means businesses need to provide sales reps with access to the tools, workflows, and visualizations that support sales performance data – anytime and anywhere.
Sales performance management software empowers reps to access the tools and technology they need through a single, unified user experience. This includes expected commission data, dispute resolution, incentive plan documentation, and dashboards on performance and compensation.
You can even connect reps with individualized recommendations to improve payout.
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Sales performance management benefits: Competitive experiences, better efficiency, room for innovation
Sales performance management software helps your business tackle modern challenges.
Some of the top SPM benefits include:
- Aligning incentive compensation plans with organizational goals
- Configuring sales territories strategically
- Setting realistic and achievable quotas for sales reps
- Creating motivating sales behavior
- Ensuring transparent dispute resolution
- Reducing the gap between closing and getting paid
Previously, fast and easy access to organizational insights were simply a “nice to have” for reps – something to put your company a cut above the rest. But now, reps are demanding tools and technology that make clear why your business is the right choice for their own productivity and growth.
This includes the data they need to do their jobs, as well as things that make working easier, like accurate and timely information on incentives.
With the right technology, you can transform into an employer of choice, one that reps want to work with.
It’s no secret that attrition is expensive. It takes time and money to onboard new sales reps – often a six- to nine-month period during which they probably aren’t generating much value for your company. Even worse, reps sometimes take customers with them when they leave.
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What is the main function of sales performance management?
Sales performance management, or SPM, has one big goal: To help businesses do a better job when it comes to selling their products or services. To make this happen, SPM focuses on giving sales teams the tools and support they need to be successful.
SPM can be used to improve sales results by:
- Setting goals: Sales goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. This helps the sales team stay focused and motivated.
- Tracking progress: Sales managers should track the progress of the sales team on a regular basis to ensure that they are on track to meet their goals. This can be done by tracking metrics such as sales calls, leads generated, and deals closed.
- Providing feedback: Sales managers should provide regular feedback to the sales team on their performance. This feedback should be specific, constructive, and actionable. It should help the sales team identify areas where they can improve.
Think of SPM like a coach for a sports team. The coach helps the team practice, get better, and make a winning plan. So, the main function of sales performance management is to make sure the sales team has everything it needs to win at selling, which helps the entire business grow and succeed.
What are the types of sales performance management (SPM)?
Sales Performance Management (SPM) is a comprehensive approach to improving the effectiveness and efficiency of a sales team. There are various aspects of SPM that can be broken down into distinct types or components, which include:
- Sales Training and Development: This aspect of SPM focuses on improving the skills and knowledge of the sales team. It includes providing training programs, workshops, and coaching sessions to help an organization’s salespeople learn and adopt best practices, develop essential selling skills, and stay up-to-date with industry trends and customer needs.
- Sales Territory and Quota Management: This component of sales performance management involves allocating sales territories and setting sales quotas for each sales rep or the sales team in general. Effectively managing territories and quotas ensures a balanced workload and helps motivate sales reps by setting clear, achievable targets. It also helps in maximizing the potential of the sales team and increasing overall sales performance.
- Sales Performance Metrics and Analytics: Monitoring and analyzing sales performance data is crucial for understanding the effectiveness of the sales team and identifying areas for improvement. Key performance indicators (KPIs), such as the number of deals closed, average deal size, and sales cycle length, are tracked and analyzed to measure sales performance. These metrics help sales managers make data-driven decisions and adjust strategies as needed to improve results.
- Sales Incentive and Compensation Management: This aspect of sales performance management (SPM) deals with designing and managing compensation plans for the sales team. Incentive and compensation structures, such as commissions, bonuses, and rewards, are created to motivate sales reps to achieve their goals and perform at their best. Effective sales incentive plans align the interests of sales reps with the company’s objectives, and drive higher sales performance.
- Sales Process Optimization: SPM also involves reviewing and refining the sales process to make it more efficient and effective. This includes identifying bottlenecks, streamlining workflows, and implementing best practices to improve the overall sales process. A well-optimized sales process helps sales reps close deals faster, reduces the sales cycle, and ultimately improves sales performance.
These are some of the key types or components of sales performance management. By addressing each aspect, companies can enhance their sales team’s overall performance, leading to higher revenue and business growth.
Boost sales with AI and machine learning
Ultimately, the new data strategy you create with sales performance management enables you to use AI to boost sales efforts. Consider the impact of predictive modeling and forecasting efforts, powered by AI and machine learning.
With modeling, you can predict the effectiveness of sales plans, territories, and more – all in time to make corrections before seeing adverse impacts in the real world.
Modeling puts power in the hands of sales leaders who need to know whether incentive spend is optimizing business outcomes, and can help by providing a look at how sales strategies will play out.
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How to get started with sales performance management software
First, your business provides the foundation for connected data through a sales performance management solution. It brings together virtually all of the financially relevant data that exists across your organization. This integration is what makes it possible for you to enhance the sales rep experience across a range of connected tools and technologies.
It’s at this point that sales reps gain the deep visibility they need to boost their performance. They can tap into insights on their current performance, potential performance, and the steps they can take to improve their performance in the future. None of these insights are trapped in Excel spreadsheets – a common frustration that demotivates even the most dedicated reps.
Thanks to SPM software, reps make decisions based on readily available, accurate data insights.
Better rep performance. Increased rep retention. Audit-ready process trails and data. What are you waiting for?
