Introduction

Over the past decade, I've encountered various growth-minded leaders within organizations who struggle with how they measure performance:

• Some measure everything: Drowning in data and losing sight of what's important.
• Others measure too little: Or even nothing at all, lacking the metrics needed to guide their teams.
• Some change their metrics frequently: Creating confusion and instability.
• Others set key performance indicators but fail to follow through on measuring them.

For a salesperson: these inconsistent practices can lead to a lack of clarity, focus, and ultimately, poor performance.

For a sales leader: they can derail strategic decision-making, waste resources, erode accountability, and damage trust and credibility.

The path to success lies in measuring what truly matters, focusing on key inputs rather than just outcomes, and fostering a culture of discipline and consistency. As Stephen Covey famously said, “keep the main thing the main thing.”

Identifying Your “Main Thing”

The best framework I’ve found comes from The 4 Disciplines of Execution. The key? Selecting one Wildly Important Goal (WIG) to narrow your focus and drive significant improvement. Whether it's increasing the number of new clients, boosting average order size, or growing revenue in a specific vertical, clarity is paramount. The #1 goal must be specific, measurable, and achievable within a defined timeframe.

For a salesperson: Knowing where to aim helps you focus and prioritize your time.

For a sales leader: A clear WIG allows you to align your team’s efforts, streamline processes, and ensure everyone is working towards the same objective.

Focusing on the Key Inputs

Establishing the “main thing” is just the beginning. You must also identify and focus on the lead measures. These are the high-leverage sales activities that will propel you toward your WIG. These measures are predictive and influenceable, giving you visibility into whether you're on track to achieve your goals.

For a salesperson: You know the key activities that drive performance.

For a sales leader: You can teach and train the key activities that drive performance, ensuring consistency and effectiveness across your team.

Designing Your Sales Scoreboard

With your Wildly Important Goal and lead measures in place, it’s time to establish your sales scoreboard. Simple is better. It’s critical to establish a scoreboard that allows you to gauge the health of your business at a glance.

For a salesperson: Knowing that your activity is tracked and impacts your team’s performance keeps you focused and engaged.

For a sales leader: It provides visibility into your bright spots and bottlenecks, promotes healthy competition, and ensures accountability.

In addition, many organizations struggle with CRM documentation from their salespeople. My recommendation is to pull your Scoreboard data directly from the CRM. The rule: “if it’s not in the CRM, it doesn’t count” is a helpful way to drive the right behaviors.

Creating a Culture of Performance & Accountability

Your weekly sales meeting is the right place to review your scoreboard. It’s important to understand where you stand Year-to-Date, Quarter-to-Date, and even Month-to-Date. Too often, organizations “realize” their sales team is off track on their goals way too late in the year. By starting with the lead measures, you can identify and address bottlenecks early. For example, if you aren’t getting enough qualified opportunities into your funnel, it’s going to be hard to hit any goals beyond it. Focus on that issue as a team (and individually) until it’s resolved.

Another common mistake is when organizations are “on track” with the WIG but falling short on their lead measures. They might feel comfortable, not realizing their pipeline is thin and their performance is about to drop significantly in the coming months or quarters.

Conclusion

Sales is a marathon, not a sprint. It’s important to do the little things right every day and keep the main thing the main thing. Start by identifying your Wildly Important Goal, focusing on the lead measures, and building a culture of performance through a disciplined and consistent approach.

This is how you can unlock your full potential and achieve sustainable growth.

Go Deeper

• Beyond the Founder Rainmaker: Building an Effective Outbound Sales Strategy
• Center your Blue Chip Aim: Time, Talent & Treasure
• Why don’t GREAT players make GREAT coaches? Insights for Sales Leaders
• What REALLY Should You Expect From Your Salesperson in Their First 6 Months?
• Choosing the Right Sales Leader: Prioritizing “Slope” Over “Height”
• Turning Lemons into Lemonade: Leveraging Sales Leadership Turnover for Business Improvement

Carver Peterson helps growth-minded leaders and organizations achieve predictable and sustainable revenue growth through a refined strategy, defined process and aligned structure.