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September 30, 2011
Test Your Sales Process for Opportunity Blindness
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We recently calculated the value of lost opportunities for one of our B2B clients and found that it was staggeringly high. More than 20% of the annual quota for each sales rep was completely missing from the pipeline.
The client discovered that their Win-Loss Ratio was 73% – an absurdly high ratio, and a sure sign that reps were not entering deals into the CRM pipeline until they were nearly certain to close. When compared with the median win ratio in the industry of 52%, it became clear that millions of dollars of potential orders were simply not on the radar screen.
For most sales leaders, a 20% increase in opportunities can mean the difference between cashing a large annual bonus check and updating a resume. What would it mean to you if you could cure opportunity-blindness in your organization? The first step is a quick assessment. In addition to your Win-Loss Ratio, you should look at 3 key metrics:
In our experience with world-class sales teams, pipelines are generally more than 3.6 times quota. These reps don’t win every deal, but they compete more frequently and their skills are sharper. They even learn from losing! Their Win-Loss percentages are not as dazzling as their opportunity-blind peers, but they deliver significantly more top line revenue. Fixing this problem for one of our clients has already increased the top line by more than 12% in less than a year.
Key Take-Aways: Simply requiring your reps to add more junk to the funnel is not the same as increasing the number of genuine opportunities. That’s where coaching, qualifying and job aids come in. But visibility is essential. We don’t recommend filling the funnel without the foundation of a strong sales methodology.
Let me know your ideas on how to diagnose this condition in your organization. If you are not sure if your team suffers from opportunity-blindness, let me hear from you. We can help gather and interpret the benchmark metrics to find out. Now is the time to set priorities for 2012 and advance your sales process to the next level.
© 2017 Sales Benchmark Index (SBI)
A Business Strategy Consulting Company
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© 2018 Sales Benchmark Index (SBI), B.V.
A Business Strategy Consulting Company
Cornelis Troostsraat 29
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
1072JA