Abstract
This IDC study discusses the current state of the art and best practices in the
use of sales metrics and lays out a sales metrics framework that any
forward-thinking organization can adopt. Most organizations run on dangerously
flawed or inaccurate sales metrics.
Traditional corporate culture dictates that salespeople withhold valuable
information until deals are at a point of closure; after all, if they provide
comprehensive information about every deal on their plate, they' ll just get
beat up about the losers. A few organizations view this differently,
considering good sales metrics as a key component of business planning and
investment consideration. HP, for instance, considers "pipeline data as a
corporate asset," with all the protections and responsibilities for any similar
tangible corporate asset. Other firms similarly focus on good information to
make informed decisions.
"As the technology industry continues to mature, the organizations that run
their sales operations in a formal organized manner, counting on good data
rather than gut feel, will be the winners in the marketplace. Those that
continue to make investments by the seat of their pants will fall by the
wayside." - Lee Levitt, director, Sales Advisory Practice
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