What Gets Measured Gets Done – Or Not.

Tom Hopkins coined the phrase, “What gets measured gets done”- the assumption being that you use the information you’ve measured to make better decisions or course-correct.

In sales organizations there can be an overwhelming amount of measuring being done, but little of it informing the “right next step”.

Put your spreadsheets aside for a moment and let’s apply the KISS principle to measuring the effectiveness of your sales organization.

1. Are you measuring against anything?
   I know my BMI, but unless I’m comparing it to what it should be, the number is useless. To understand the potential of your sales organization in its current state, you must be measuring against best-in-class sales organizations.


2. What are you measuring?
   We evaluate people (sellers/managers), process, pipeline and forecasting as a general starting point to determine how wide the gap is between your organization and high-performers. We go deeper after that. For KPI’s we look for leading indicators – Are your sellers and managers doing the right things in the right ways to be successful?


3. Do the gaps create insights that lead to course-correction?
   Do they tell you:
   
   • Strategy – What it will take to grow?
   • Process – What changes must be made?
   • Timeline – How long it will take?
   • Outcome – What revenue you can expect to gain?

If your metrics don’t tell a story that helps you adjust strategy – revisit your metrics. What gets measured gets done, but only if what gets measured is meaningful.