Metrics for High Velocity Sales
A framework for day-to-day metrics when selling to Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs)
In this blog post, I delve into the world of high-velocity sales and unveil the "Rules of Engagement" that propelled me to become Yelp's top SMB sales rep in just 8 months. Get ready to uncover the disciplined strategies and daily metrics that lead to faster, more rewarding sales results.
If you have a product that can get a deal done in 1 to 2 calls, then this framework is for you.
All sales require an understanding of daily metrics and goals. The rewarding part of high velocity sales is that results are seen and felt much faster than in Mid-Market and Enterprise sales.
I started my career selling Yelp’s products to small local businesses like restaurants, auto shops, lawyers, doctors, etc. This was a high velocity sale where there were generally 1-2 decision makers that could make a purchase within a few calls.
Yelp has an incredible 60-day training program that was a major reason I joined the company in the first place. In this training program, daily metrics and goals were provided. The very first day we were all shown a mural of the top reps in the company for everyone to see. The photos were funny and light hearted, but everyone wanted to get on the wall. In my mind the goal post was set.
I quickly realized a big part of sales was discipline and structure, so I took the metric requirements in training and amped it up to expedite my success.
Looking back on the daily metrics I set for myself, it seems a tad insane. In fact, I printed these rules and put them in the soles of my shoes, so I’m confident I had a screw loose in my early 20’s. It’s possible I still do. However, after implementing the rules below, I became Yelp’s top SMB sales rep in 8 months. I called these metrics the “rules of engagement.”
Rules of Engagement - SMB Sales (Handout here):
Law 1: Turn your mobile phone off from 7:30am-12:00pm and 12:30pm-5:00pm.
Law 2: Make 15 calls before you eat breakfast.
Law 3: Make 85 calls or 3 hours on the phone every day.
Law 4: Ping when you have a question. Don’t have useless conversations.
Law 5: Listen to those who have more experience than you.
Law 6: Leave your desk only for meetings, lunch, bathroom.
Law 7: Spend a maximum of 10 minutes preparing for a pitch.
Law 8: Don’t waste the last hour; end strong.
Law 9: Vet all new accounts for the future week on Sunday. Clean pipeline.
Law 10: Reread Rules of Engagement every day before you begin work.
Goals
Goal 1: 4 meetings set each day
Goal 2: Conversion rate from meeting to close of 25% (must increase by your 4th month)
Daily Pipeline Guide
Tasks in a CRM are great, but I also recommend providing a guideline for the stage of account you expect reps to work each day. The framework below will limit the pipeline swings that are common to see, even with the best reps.
Monday: 50 new, 35 attempted to contact, 10 connected, 5 pitch no show.
Tuesday: 50 attempted contact, 35 new, 10 connected, 5 pitch no show.
Wednesday: 35 new, 30 attempted to contact, 15 pitched farming, 15 connected, 5 pitch no show
Thursday: 60 attempted to contact, 25 new, 10 pitched farming, 5 pitch no show
Friday: 35 new, 30 attempted to contact, 25 connected, 5 pitched farming, 5 pitch no show
Company Lead Status Definitions
New: Accounts that have not been touched
Attempted to Contact: At least one outreach attempt has been made
Connected: Someone you reached out to has responded and continued the conversation
Pitch Scheduled: A meeting has been set with a contact
Pitch No Show: After scheduling a meeting the contact did not show up
Pitch Farming: After conducting a pitch the contact isn’t ready to move forward but has interest enough for you to not put the account in closed lost
Closed Lost: After failing to reach contacts or pitching contacts that aren’t interested in buying your product, you remove them from your pipeline
Closed won: After pitching contacts that are interested in buying and getting the deal signed
Final Thoughts
There are some leaders that index heavily on one sales channel over another. Some leaders love product-led growth, while others preach email and LinkedIn and others index on cold calling. My view is that these are all possible channels to success and should be viewed as equals, until data proves otherwise. I like to index on whatever works.
Some leaders say that certain channels, like cold calling, are dead. Cold calling is not dead. Besides generating business for my own company through cold calling, I have parachuted in as a fractional sales leader for many early stage companies and have cold called prospects to get a feel for their sales cycles myself. From fintech to software to robotics, it doesn’t matter what the industry is, I have seen success by picking up the phone.
If you’re looking to build or improve your outbound sales motion, start by providing metrics for your sales team with the intention of clearly understanding what it takes to get to a meeting. The rest will follow naturally.
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