The Importance of Keeping Statistics:
How can you expect to grow your business or revenue if you don’t know your strengths and weaknesses? Many big companies will implement impressive strategies, but then scratch their heads when they don’t get the results they had wanted. The problem often isn’t the strategy itself, but the fact that these businesses aren’t putting in the time to track and assess their sales statistics. Sales statistics can be one of the most valuable tools for a business.
How often do you analyse your own statistics in order to ascertain where you’re weak and where you’re strong? As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a person who loves numbers. Without statistics, I wouldn’t be where I am today. The Oxford Dictionary defines “statistics” as “The practice or science of collecting and analysing numerical data in large quantities, especially for the purpose of inferring proportions in a whole from those in a representative sample.” Simply put, statistics are all the analytical answers that are right in front of you; all you have to do is look!
I keep statistics on every aspect of my life. I always have, and I always will. It’s almost impossible to build or accomplish anything without having the correct data. When you track your sales statistics, you’ll be able to:
- Understand your strengths and weaknesses;
- Know exactly what needs to be done in order for you to hit your targets;
- Know where you’re going wrong and how to fix these problem areas;
- Perform better and achieve your goals.
Understanding your statistics will help you make more informed decisions, and will ultimately lead to more sales and revenue. If you’re in the business or sales world, then you’re going to have to be more analytical. There is no need to play guessing games when it comes to your career. Data never lies, and tracking your sales statistics could be the difference between making tons of money and none at all.
Let’s take a look at some of the basic things that you can track as a sales professional:
- The number of door-knocks that you do;
- The number of people you speak to;
- The number of prospects you meet with;
- Your number of closes that result in clients.
Let’s use the following example: If your goal is to get ten new clients every month, then you’ll need to know exactly how many people you have to meet with in order to get ten of those prospects over the line.
If you knock on 100 doors every day, and get 50 phone numbers, and 20 of these prospects agree to meet with you, then you’ll have 20 new clients – but only if they all sign with you.
If your closing ratio isn’t 100%, and you only manage to close one out of every ten prospects that you meet with, then you would have to increase your door-knocking and meetings with prospects in order to hit your target. From the above example, you would have to meet with 100 prospects to get 10 new clients, and 200 prospects to get 20 clients.
If you keep on tracking your performance in this way, then you’ll soon realise what you’re doing wrong. In this case, you’re not good at closing. If you worked on your closing, then you’d be able to increase your numbers in no time. The benefits of keeping statistics are endless! Most sales professionals will agree that sales is a numbers game, so if you focus on your own numbers you’ll be well on your way!
What to track:
- Track your sales every month: By tracking the sales that you have made every month, you’ll be able to keep track of your progress. For example, if you made ten sales last month and have made 12 this month, then you know that you’re doing well. But if your sales have gone down compared to previous months, then it’s obvious that something isn’t working.
- New vs current customer sales: Where are most of your sales coming from? A lot of sales professionals are able to upsell their current clients, but others will make more money by closing new clients. Analysing this data will help you to understand where other opportunities for further revenue lie.
