The popular imagination paints sales as a place where charisma and personal magnetism are the sole drivers of success. While interpersonal skills do matter in sales, many companies have found that it takes more science than art to truly improve sales performance.
Big Data continues to saturate modern business. Valuable insights from analytics are steadily changing the way we approach the sales process. Companies now use carefully selected metrics to maximize growth opportunities, sharpen efficiency, and put sales reps in a position to succeed. And it works!
The proof, of course, is in the data. Research from McKinsey found that fast-growing companies (over 6% growth year-over-year) are 15% more likely than slow growers (less than 5% growth) to rate themselves as effective users of sales analytics:
The migration of information, business, and social interaction to the internet has made data widely accessible. Digital activity and online behaviors are simple to track and compile into real-time metrics with relevant software. But access to analytics alone cannot ensure that they are effective—or actionable.