Skip to main content
No items found.
logo dropboxsign
Why Dropbox Sign?
Expand or collapse accordion

What you can do

Sign documents online
Create electronic signatures
Choose or create templates
Fill and sign PDFs
Complete online contracts
Document management
Explore features
icon arrow right

Use Cases

Sales and business development
Human Resources
Start-ups
Financial technology
Property
On-demand services
Products
Expand or collapse accordion
icon dropbox
Sign
Make it easy to send and sign
icon dropbox
Sign API
Integrate eSign in your workflow
icon dropbox fax
Fax
Send faxes without a fax machine
icon dropbox integrations
Integrations
We meet you where you work
Resources
Expand or collapse accordion
Blog
Workflow expertise & product news
Customer stories
Real-world stories with real results
Help Centre
In-depth guidance for our products
Resource library
Reports, videos and info sheets
Developers
Pricing
Expand or collapse accordion
Dropbox Sign pricing
Find the right plan for you
Dropbox Sign API pricing
Real-world stories with real results
Contact sales
Sign up
Contact sales
Sign in
Expand or collapse accordion
Dropbox Sign
Dropbox Forms
Dropbox Fax
Free trial
Blog
/
Sales tips

Actionable Tips and Core Metrics that will Increase Sales Performance

by 
Janice Yau
December 16, 2020
7
minute read
"Actionable Tips and Core Metrics for Better Sales Performance" header image
icon tooltip

New look, same great product! HelloSign is now Dropbox Sign.

icon close

As a sales manager, you’re always interested in how to increase sales performance. 


Not only do you take great pride in your team’s accomplishments, but you also know the value of empowering them with the best available tools and processes. Plus, the better your team’s sales performance, the greater your revenue and growth potential.


However, before you can optimize sales performance, you need to recognize areas most in need of improvement. By acknowledging and addressing the problems your sales team is struggling with, you can pinpoint exactly which sales muscles need the most strength training.


Today, we’ll help you identify opportunities to streamline your sales process and increase sales performance.


Troubleshooting: Does Your Sales Process Need Improvement?

Chances are, your sales process is partly to blame for any dips or plateaus in your sales performance. Not sure how to tell if your current sales process is effective as-is or in need of an overhaul? Here are some questions to ask yourself and your team to assess your sales process.

‍

Can you track it?

Your sales workflow should be quantifiable. It should be easy to tell how far along your leads are in the sales process and predict when each deal is likely to close. By measuring metrics like sales velocity, close rate, and conversions at every step of the process, you can forecast revenue and track improvement over time. 


To track your sales performance accurately, start by setting individual and team-wide goals to be reviewed on a monthly or quarterly basis. The sooner you start tracking, the quicker you can find ways to improve. 

‍

Can you repeat it?

A good sales process doesn’t fall into place by accident—it needs to be intentional. By creating (and documenting) a repeatable, consistent sales process, you can empower your sales reps to perform their absolute best.

‍

Is it easy to explain?

Every step of your sales workflow should be clearly defined. The best sales processes are easy to follow and have clear actions and criteria that make it obvious when a prospect is moving from one stage to the next. Plus, having a well-defined sales workflow makes it easier to onboard new sales reps, because expectations and sales activities are laid out clearly for each step.


Does it minimize friction for your customers?

Every interaction during the sales process contributes to how leads perceive your brand and, ultimately, influences their buying decision. Assess your sales process to ensure that it prioritizes the customer experience by reducing friction and placing emphasis on benefits that matter most to each type of lead.


How to Drive Increased Sales Performance as a Sales Leader

Your greatest weaknesses are also your best opportunities for improvement. So, let’s take a look at some of the most common challenges sales managers face and how to improve sales performance in each one.


1. Your team’s sales performance is inconsistent (and you don’t know why!)

Image of a very inconsistent/"spiky" line graph, with question marks and exclamation points above it

‍

One of the most common sales performance issues is a lack of consistent results. If you want to improve your team’s sales performance, you need to build some level of predictability into your sales process.


To get consistent results, you must create a defined sale process that enables your team to repeat past success. Make sure your team is following the same sales steps, documenting their activities in the same way, using the same criteria to determine when a prospect has progressed between each stage


2. There’s a noticeable gap between top performances and the rest of your team.

In some cases, there’s a major disconnect between top performers and the rest of the team. When your best sales reps account for the majority of your wins, it’s not necessarily a sign that you need to hire better people—it’s a sign that your team could benefit from some serious mentorship.


Talk to your reps individually and as a team to find out what’s working best for each person and where certain team members are struggling. Make an effort to codify best practices and use data to track improvements over time. And, if your team members are willing, coordinate one-on-one coaching sessions between vets and newer team members to help everyone perform their best.


3. There aren’t enough new leads entering your pipeline.

Without enough leads entering your pipeline, your team won’t be able to hit their sales quotas—and sales performance will suffer. It’s basic math.


If you’re not sure why leads are drying up, the first step is to identify the cause. An empty pipeline can result from a number of issues, including not doing enough outreach, losing track of contacts, or a poor response rate to cold email outreach.


Once you know where the problem is stemming from, you can make changes to fix it. In most cases, sales automation can go a long way in remedying these problems. For instance, if you’re sales team is failing to connect with potential leads due to poor organization or lack of time, you can set up automated outreach campaigns that sync with your CRM and send follow-up emails at appropriate intervals.


4. Your win rate is not where you need it to be.

If you do have plenty of leads coming through your pipeline but you’re still not getting results, there’s a good chance you’re not targeting the right type of leads. The solution? Tighten up your lead scoring system to improve pipeline quality. Of course, this isn’t always simple. 


The issue could be that you’re casting too wide of a net because you aren’t sure who your ideal customer is yet—in which case, you need to narrow the field and create an ideal customer profile. If you can pinpoint where your top-converting leads are coming from, you may want to refocus more of your energy and resources on your most profitable channels and lead sources.


5. Even qualified leads are disappearing before they close.

A person sitting at a desk, talking to an empty chair


Now, if your team is generating plenty of qualified leads but deals are still lingering in the pipeline, you need to focus on building and maintaining momentum in your sales process.


To diagnose the problem, talk to individual team members, review your pipeline, and try to pinpoint whether there’s a specific step or action at which leads tend to disappear. From there, you can focus on increasing velocity and smoothing out any kinks that impact momentum. 


It could be that your contract workflows need to be streamlined to get more deals across the finish line. If so, look for ways to reduce customer friction at this crucial step. For instance, consider the value of digital contracts and eSignatures that minimize back-and-forth and make it as easy as possible for prospects to say yes to your offer.

‍

6. Your sales forecasting isn’t reliable.

Remember, the best sales processes are easy to measure, replicate, and understand. If you don’t have an effective sales process down pat, you won’t be able to forecast revenue with any real confidence.


Left unchecked, an inaccurate forecasting model can have a severe impact on your sales performance. One of the most common causes of unreliable forecasts is a lack of consistency in data capture and reporting. You can improve these by choosing a few key metrics for your entire sales team to prioritize. This will enable you to collect detailed data without diluting your focus.  


For example, if everyone is committed to accurately measuring conversion rates and time spent at each deal stage, for instance, you can forecast your close dates and incoming revenue more accurately.


7. Your sales team isn’t using their time effectively.

At its core, sales performance is the measurement of how effectively your team is hitting their sales goals—which correlates with how efficiently they’re using their most valuable resource: time. Unfortunately, the average sales rep spends more time on administrative tasks (27.2%) than actually selling to customers (36.5%)!

Donut chart showing how the average sales rep spends their time.


Does your team spend too much time on administrative work? This is a huge problem with a relatively easy fix. Start by deciding which sales activities your team should prioritize and identifying which tasks are taking the longest—and then, look for ways to leverage sales automation to streamline both.


8. Your CLV is too low or dropping.

As one of your most important sales metrics, customer lifetime value (CLV) can tell you a lot about how well your team is performing. The higher your CLV, the better—but increasing this number requires patience and commitment to long-term improvement.


To maximize customer lifetime value, you must either reduce customer acquisition cost (by speeding up sales velocity and automating contract workflows) or increase deal value (perhaps through upselling, cross-selling, retention, or focusing on landing bigger clients). 


Empower Your Team and Increase Sales Performance

Improving your sales team’s performance isn’t just about closing more deals (though that is a happy by-product of doing so). By improving your team’s overall performance, you can boost your potential for growth in terms of deal value and optimize profit by streamlining the sales process.

Stay in the loop

Done! Please check your inbox.

Thank you!
Thank you for subscribing!

Lorem ipsum

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

Lorem ipsum
icon arrow right
icon close

Up next:

Individual using a smartphone, sitting at a desk with a computer screen in front.
Sales tips
6
minute read

From templates to automation: The complete guide to HubSpot document signing

illustration of two people talking while one is sweating from discomfort
Sales tips
5
minute read

5 Sales process mistakes that are killing your close rate

Analyst report

Aragon DTM 2021

Products
Dropbox SignDropbox Sign APIDropbox FaxIntegrations
Why Dropbox Sign
Electronic signaturesSign documentsSign and Fill PDFsOnline contractsCreate electronic signaturesSignature editorSign word documents
Support
Help CentreContact salesContact supportManage cookiesGetting started: Dropbox SignGetting started: Dropbox Sign API
Resources
BlogCustomer storiesResource CentreLegality guideTrust centre
Partners
Strategic PartnersPartners locator
Company
CareersTermsPrivacy
icon facebookicon youtube

Accepted payment methods

Mastercard logoVisa logoAmerican Express LogoDiscover logo
CPA Compliance BadgeHIPAA compliance badgeSky High Enterprise Ready badgeISO 9001 Certified badge

Dropbox Sign electronic signatures are legally binding in the United States, European Union, United Kingdom and in many countries around the world.
For more information, please view our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy