What I’ve Learned About Sales Productivity Over 10 Years in Sales
- CEO at DeckLinks, Speaker, Podcast Host
- Published on September 4, 2024
- Updated on September 13, 2024
Table of Contents
Ever feel like your sales team is stuck on a hamster wheel? Running faster and faster, but somehow ending up in the same place? You’re not alone. It’s easy to fall into the trap of mistaking sales activity for sales productivity. To truly measure sales productivity, it’s crucial to track different sales metrics and understand their impact on your overall performance.
I’ve been in your shoes, trust me. After a decade in B2B sales, I’ve seen it all – the good, the bad, and the “how did we even close that deal?” Let me share my strategies to help you supercharge your sales productivity and smash your sales goals today.
PDF Documents Tracking
Identify the most engaged viewers and understand how they interact with your PDF presentations and documents. Learn more.
High Sales Productivity Starts with a Winning Mindset
Before we jump into sales productivity strategies, tactics and tools, let’s talk mindset. The most successful B2B sales teams I’ve worked with, like StackAdapt for example, all share something special – a growth mindset.
Think of your sales team as athletes. The best athletes don’t just rely on their natural talents. They’re constantly training, learning, and pushing their limits. That’s the kind of mindset we need to foster.
So, how do we do this? Start by encouraging continuous learning. Maybe it’s a weekly “Sales Insights Wednesday” meeting where team members share insights, wins, and even losses. If your sales team can’t commit to weekly meetings, the easiest way to get things rolling is to create a Slack channel dedicated to sales tips. In my experience, Slack works wonders!
Also, don’t just celebrate the big wins. Sure, closing that enterprise deal deserves a money dance, but don’t forget all the hard work that goes into prospecting, follow-ups, and building relationships.
And hey, while you’re at it, foster a culture of experimentation. Encourage your sales team to try new approaches. Not every experiment will succeed, but the ones that do? They will boost your sales productivity metrics.
RELATED POST
Written by Ton Dobbe
Optimizing Sales Tech Stack to Increase Sales Efficiency
Now, let’s talk tech. Having the right tech stack can literally make or break your sales productivity and sales effectiveness. I’m not over exaggerating here. Ask any sales rep who used Salesforce ;D. Technology should enhance your process, not define it.
Your CRM should be your best friend. Invest in a robust system and – this is crucial – make sure your sales team actually uses it. You know what really gives sales leaders and sales managers a headache? When their sales team doesn’t log their activities. Very frustrating.
I mean, come on! We’re living in an age where people voluntarily share every mundane detail of their lives on social media. “Just had a tuna sandwich. #LunchGoals” But ask sales reps to log a sales call? Oh no, that’s where we draw the line! I don’t blame sales reps though, some of these CRMs can be a real pain in the neck (cough Salesforce).
Automating things should be your main priority when optimizing sales productivity. Look for those repetitive tasks that eat up your sales team’s time. Email follow-ups, data entry – these are great candidates for automation.
The time saved can be switched to high-value activities like building relationships with decision-makers. Schmoozing? Nothing says “sales productivity” quite like spending three hours convincing a client that their golf swing is perfect while secretly plotting how to upsell them on the back nine. I’ve never been good at schmoozing but I’ve seen real pros. Let them cook!
And let’s not forget about AI. Even the basic tools like Chat GPT can increase sales productivity immensely. Specialized AI tools that provide predictive analytics can easily 2x your sales productivity. AI can help prioritize leads and identify the best times to reach out. Keep in mind though that AI is a tool, not a replacement for human intuition and relationship-building skills.
One last thing on tech – make sure your sales tools are mobile-friendly. Being able to update a deal status or access crucial information on-the-go can make a huge difference. I’ve closed deals from airport lounges thanks to mobile-optimized sales tools.
The Power of Prioritization to Improve Sales Productivity
You know that feeling when you’re juggling a million tasks and don’t know where to start? I’m sure many sales reps can relate. So what’s the key to boosting sales productivity? Ruthless prioritization.
Let me introduce you to my friend, the Eisenhower Matrix AKA Eisenhower Box. It’s a simple but effective time management matrix that categorizes tasks into four quadrants based on urgency and importance. Focus on the important and urgent tasks first, then move to the important but not urgent ones. I always use it when I’m swamped.
Time-blocking is another sales productivity strategy I always use. Assign specific blocks of time for different activities. For instance, I like to dedicate the first hour of the day to prospecting, and set aside Friday afternoons for sales pipeline reviews. It helps me create a rhythm to my day. It also helps me ensure that important tasks don’t fall through the cracks. I use Google task manager inside GMail. Nothing fancy.
And let’s not forget our old friend, the 80/20 rule. Identify the 20% of sales activities that generate 80% of your results and double down on those. In my experience, this often means focusing on nurturing relationships with your highest-value prospects and existing customers.
RELATED POST
Written by Lidia Vijga
Empowering Sales Reps with Sales Enablement Tools to Close More Deals
A strong sales enablement strategy can be the difference between your sales team consistently closing deals and struggling to generate revenue and meet sales targets.
Centralized sales content library is a must. Ever wasted time searching for that perfect case study or product sheet? A well-organized sales content library can save your sales reps hours of precious selling time. Think about it, if your sales team spends an average of 30 minutes per day just looking for the right sales collateral. That’s 2.5 hours a week per sales rep! Imagine what they could do with that extra time. Not only that but a well organized sales content library will help you train and onboard new sales reps much easier. Which brings me to my next point.
Don’t neglect your onboarding program! The faster new sales reps can start selling effectively, the better. Create a structured onboarding process that combines product knowledge, sales skills, and your company’s unique selling proposition. I’ve seen new sales reps go from zero to almost hero in record time with a solid onboarding program.
If you’re paying a $100K base salary, every month your sales reps not working at 100% is costing you over $8,000. Not only that, but they could be wasting leads that sales reps working at 100% could have closed. So, invest in the right onboarding and sales enablement tools. These productivity tools may be expensive, but having reps operating at low sales productivity is even more costly.
Gartner says sales teams really need personalized sales enablement strategies to give buyers the tailored, high-value interactions they’re after.
Regular training sessions on new products, industry trends, and sales techniques can keep your sales team sharp and motivated. For example, when I worked at StackAdapt, we did monthly “lunch and learn” sessions. Not only did it boost skills, but it also created a great team culture.
Align your sales and marketing teams. When these two departments work together, you can hit all your sales goals. Regular meetings between sales and marketing can ensure that the sales content being produced actually helps move prospects through the sales funnel. Deals close faster and smoother when sales and marketing teams work in sync.
Optimizing Your Sales Process to Shorten the Sales Cycle and Boost Productivity Gains
A well-defined sales process guides a sales team from prospecting all the way to closing and beyond. But here’s the thing, your sales process shouldn’t be set in stone. It needs to evolve as your business grows and market conditions change.
Start by mapping out your current process. You might be surprised at how many unnecessary steps or bottlenecks you discover. One of my friends that joined a B2B SaaS company from SF told me their sales team had a 12-step sales process. 12 steps! It was a nightmare to track and to follow. Eventually, their VP of Sales managed to streamline it down to 7 steps, and their sales cycle shortened by ~20%.
Look for those friction points – areas where deals tend to stall. Is it during the proposal stage? Or maybe during contract negotiations? Once you identify them, brainstorm ways to streamline them. Maybe it’s creating better proposal templates or giving your sales team more autonomy in negotiations. Just talk to your sales reps.
Creating sales playbooks for different scenarios can be incredibly powerful. Having ready-made sales playbooks for common situations (like handling specific objections or selling to different industries) will save time and improve consistency across your sales team 100%. Your sales reps don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Just give them what works and experiment together.
Review your sales process quarterly and make adjustments. You know the drill.
RELATED POST
Written by Daniel Zhao
Driving More Sales Opportunities with Optimal Lead Qualification
Not all leads are created equal. Spending time on prospects that are never going to buy is like trying to squeeze water from a stone. It’s frustrating, time-consuming, fruitless, and ruins your sales productivity metrics.
The most obvious is to develop a robust ideal customer profile (ICP). Get specific about who your best customers are. This goes beyond just industry and company size – think about pain points, buying processes, and even company culture. The more detailed your ICP, the easier it is for your sales reps to spot a good fit when they see one.
Personally, I’m a big fan of the BANT framework (Budget, Authority, Need, and Timing), but I like to add two more elements: Value and Fit. BAN TVF! Does the prospect fit your ICP, and can you provide significant value to them? Welcome to the BAN TVF sales framework – where we don’t ban TV, we just ban wasting time on unqualified leads :D.
Here’s something that might seem counterintuitive for some sales leaders: don’t be afraid to disqualify prospects early. It might feel wrong to turn away a potential sale opportunity, but sometimes the most productive thing sales reps can do is to disqualify a prospect early. It frees up time to focus on more promising sales opportunities.
And don’t forget about lead scoring. Use your CRM to set up a system that automatically scores leads based on various criteria. This helps prioritize which leads to focus on first. To increase sales productivity, your sales reps should focus their time on activities with the max impact.
Adopting Social Selling to Boost Sales Productivity
These days, social selling isn’t just a nice-to-have – it’s a must-have. So you absolutely need to encourage your sales team to develop their personal brands on social media platforms like LinkedIn. Even spending 15 minutes a day sharing content and engaging with potential customers can significantly boost their sales performance and increase your brand’s visibility.
Social listening tools can really help your sales team here. Set up alerts for your target companies and decision-makers. We once closed a major deal because I saw a LinkedIn post from a prospect about a challenge they were facing – a challenge DeckLinks could solve.
But here’s the key to social selling – engage authentically. You don’t want to pitch on social media. Instead, add value. Comment thoughtfully on posts, share relevant insights and stories, and build relationships over time. Think of it as planting seeds that will grow into sales opportunities down the line.
And don’t underestimate the power of video. A personalized video can cut through the noise and help your sales reps connect with prospects and clients on a human level.
RELATED POST
Written by Lidia Vijga
Leveraging Customer Data to Increase Sales Performance
Here’s a secret that took me personally way too long to learn: your existing customers are your best source of growth.
Implement a robust customer relationship management program. Don’t just focus on landing new logos. Dedicate resources to growing your existing accounts. I’ve seen companies double their revenue without adding a single new customer. All through effective account expansion.
Create a customer health score. Use metrics like product usage, support tickets, and engagement to create a health score for each customer. This can help you identify at-risk accounts and opportunities for expansion.
Schedule quarterly calls with your key accounts. Use these to showcase value, gather feedback, and identify upsell opportunities. I once uncovered a pretty sizable upsell opportunity during what I thought would be a routine check-in call.
Bain & Company found that companies that rely on data-driven insights to guide their sales activities tend to grab more than double the market share compared to those that don’t.
Your ultimate goal is to turn your customers into advocates. Happy customers can be your best salespeople. Develop a formal referral program if you can. Make it easy for satisfied customers to spread the word. Word-of-mouth recommendations are priceless.
Using Sales Productivity Metrics to Improve Sales Performance
Gut feeling isn’t enough. You need to let data guide our sales efforts.
Start by setting clear KPIs. Beyond just revenue targets, track metrics like conversion rates at each stage of the funnel, average deal size, and sales cycle length. These KPIs can give you a more nuanced view of your team’s sales performance.
I absolutely love data visualization tools. For me, seeing the sales data visually always helps uncover insights easier than by looking at raw numbers. Usually Excel is plenty but you can try something more fancy like Tableau or Google Looker Studio.
Get into the habit of A/B testing everything. From email subject lines to sales pitches, constantly test different approaches to see what works best. And if you really want to take it to the next level, consider implementing AI predictive analytics. This can help forecast which deals are most likely to close and where to focus your sales efforts.
| Sales Productivity Metric | Description | Why It Matters | How to Improve |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conversion Rate | Percentage of leads that become customers | Indicates overall sales effectiveness | Improve lead qualification, refine sales pitches, enhance follow-up strategies |
| Average Deal Size | Average value of closed deals | Helps forecast revenue and assess sales strategy | Focus on high-value prospects, improve upselling techniques |
| Sales Cycle Length | Average time from first contact to deal closure | Indicates efficiency of sales process | Streamline sales process, address bottlenecks, improve follow-up speed |
| Lead Response Time | Time taken to respond to new leads | Quick response can significantly increase conversion chances | Implement automated initial responses, prioritize lead follow-up |
| Sales Activity Metrics | Number of calls, emails, meetings per rep | Measures individual productivity and effort | Set activity goals, provide sales enablement tools, optimize time management |
| Pipeline Velocity | Speed at which leads move through sales pipeline | Indicates overall health and efficiency of sales process | Identify and remove pipeline bottlenecks, improve lead nurturing |
| Win Rate | Percentage of opportunities that result in closed deals | Measures effectiveness of sales strategy and execution | Improve sales skills, refine targeting, enhance value proposition |
| Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) | Total cost of acquiring a new customer | Helps assess profitability and ROI of sales efforts | Optimize marketing spend, improve sales efficiency, focus on high-value prospects |
| Sales Quota Attainment | Percentage of reps meeting or exceeding quota | Indicates overall team performance and goal-setting accuracy | Provide targeted coaching, ensure realistic quota setting, improve sales enablement |
| Time Spent Selling | Percentage of time reps spend on direct selling activities | Maximizing this can significantly boost productivity | Automate non-selling tasks, streamline administrative processes, provide sales support |
RELATED POST
Written by Lidia Vijga
Focusing on Sales and Marketing Team Collaboration to Increase Sales Productivity
Sales doesn’t happen in a vacuum. The most productive sales teams I’ve seen are those that work seamlessly with other departments. Breaking down those silos and creating a collaborative environment is the key to increasing sales team productivity.
If you haven’t already, set up regular cross-functional meetings. Monthly meetings with marketing, product, and customer success teams can help get everyone on the same page. I’ve seen these meetings spark ideas that led to new product features, marketing campaigns, and sales strategies.
Implement a feedback loop. Create a system where sales can easily provide feedback to other departments. I highly recommend using AirTable for that. It’s very flexible and easy to use. For example, if customers are consistently asking for a certain feature, this feedback will get back to the product team. Remember, a superstar sales rep can sell even a mediocre product, but an average sales rep can only sell a great product. Since building a team of all superstars isn’t practical, it’s essential that your product is top-notch.
When setting sales targets, involve other departments. This creates a sense of shared ownership and can lead to more realistic and achievable goals. Plus, it helps other teams understand the pressures and challenges the sales team faces.
According to Forrester’s research, doing a yearly sales activity study is a great way for organizations to stay in touch with the productivity challenges their reps face and tackle them before they become bigger issues.
And don’t forget to celebrate wins together. When a big deal closes, don’t just celebrate with the sales team. Recognize the contributions of other departments too. Foster a sense of unity across the organization.
Showcase your brand.
Create company profiles with custom banners and info-packages tailored to different industries.
Show your contact info easily accessible by your prospects and clients.
Add custom CTAs to drive prospects or clients to your calendar, sign up form, etc.
Collect feedback from prospects and clients. Feedback and reactions are not publicly visible.
Share any existing PDF presentations and documents.
4x Sales Content Engagement
Record and share Video PDF presentations and proposals and WOW your prospects and clients with the most personal customer experience. Access engagement analytics. Learn more.
Work-Life Balance is the Key to Long-Term Sales Team Success
I know, I know. In the high-pressure world of B2B sales, talking about work-life balance might seem laughable. But hear me out – burnout is real, and it’s a sales productivity killer. Even the best sales reps and sales leaders go through the burnout stage. Taking care of yourself and your sales team isn’t just good for morale. It’s good for the bottom line.
I strongly encourage you to make sure your sales team actually uses their vacation days. A well-rested salesperson is a productive salesperson. A while back, one of my friends at StackAdapt was struggling to hit sales quota. Our VP of Sales literally forced him to take a week off, and he came back recharged and closed his biggest deal of the year within a month.
Consider offering resources for stress management, like meditation apps or yoga classes. It might sound fluffy, but I’ve seen it make a real difference in sales productivity.
Set realistic expectations. Yes, we all want to crush our targets. But setting unrealistic goals can lead to unnecessary stress, burnout, and decreased sales productivity in the long run. You want to find that sweet spot where goals are challenging but achievable.
And perhaps most importantly, lead by example. As a sales leader, show that it’s OKAY to have a life outside of work. If you’re sending emails at 11 PM every night, your sales reps will feel pressured to do the same. As a result, you’ll eventually end up with a sales team that’s completely burned out. Adios, sales productivity!
RELATED POST
Written by Lidia Vijga
Conclusion
We’ve covered a lot of ground here, haven’t we? Implementing all of these sales productivity tools and strategies at once will be overwhelming. So here’s my advice: start small. Pick one or two areas to focus on first, implement them well, and then move on to the next.
Remember, boosting sales productivity requires constant attention, adjustment, and a willingness to try new things. But payoff is so worth it. I’ve seen sales teams double and even triple their sales productivity metrics by implementing these strategies. And hey, if you’ve got any questions or want to share your own sales productivity strategies, message me on LinkedIn. I’m always happy to connect with likeminded people!
FAQs
What's the single most effective way to increase sales productivity quickly?
While there’s no one-size-fits-all solution, the most impactful strategy often involves optimizing your sales process. Start by mapping out your current process, identifying bottlenecks, and streamlining where possible. This can lead to immediate efficiency gains and sales productivity boosts.
How can we leverage technology to improve our sales team's productivity?
Start with a robust CRM to manage leads and customer interactions. Then, look into sales automation tools for tasks like email follow-ups and data entry. AI-powered analytics can also help prioritize leads and provide insights. Remember, though, that technology should enhance your process, not replace human touch.
Our sales team is struggling with time management. Any tips?
Time management is crucial for sales productivity. Encourage your team to use time-blocking techniques, dedicating specific hours to different tasks like prospecting, follow-ups, and administrative work. The Eisenhower Matrix can also help prioritize tasks based on urgency and importance.
How can we motivate our sales team to be more productive without causing burnout?
Balance is key. Set challenging but achievable goals, and celebrate both effort and results. Implement a robust recognition program. Encourage work-life balance and provide resources for stress management. Regular one-on-ones can help identify individual motivators and potential burnout signs early.
What metrics should we be tracking to measure and improve sales productivity?
Beyond revenue, key metrics include conversion rates at each stage of the sales funnel, average deal size, sales cycle length, and time spent on selling activities versus administrative tasks. Customer acquisition cost (CAC) and customer lifetime value (CLTV) are also important for understanding overall efficiency.
How can we improve collaboration between departments to boost sales productivity?
Regular cross-functional meetings, shared goals, and open communication channels are crucial. Implement a system for sales to provide feedback to product and marketing teams. Consider using collaboration tools that allow for easy information sharing. Celebrate wins as a company, not just within the sales team.
About the Author
Lidia Vijga is a seasoned professional with 10 years of first-hand experience in B2B sales and B2B marketing. She has a proven track record of driving growth for companies across various industries. Throughout her career, Lidia has led numerous successful sales campaigns and implemented innovative marketing strategies that have significantly increased revenue and reduced customer acquisition cost for her clients. Lidia regularly shares her insights and experiences on LinkedIn, webinars, and public speaking engagements. Lidia believes in the power of personal qualities such as kindness, empathy, and the willingness to understand others. She is committed to empowering client-facing teams with tools that enhance their talent instead of automating it, and she firmly believes that teams that show their human side grow companies much faster.
Book More Meetings in 2024 with these 10 Video Prospecting Tips
Integrating video prospecting into your cold outreach process can greatly improve your odds of success and help book more meetings.
How Financial Advisors Can Connect with Blue-Collar Clients
Financial industry veterans Reh Bhanji and John Saikaley draw on 25+ years working with blue-collar clients to reveal best practices.
Shorten Sales Cycle Using Asynchronous Video Presentations
Build trust fast and accelerate deals with on-demand asynchronous video presentations. Educate buyers remotely and maintain sales momentum.
