Inbox Full of SDR Metrics? How Underutilized Data Can Increase SDR Success

Strategy is a big word. But for Shabri Lakhani, founder of Salesworks, it’s more than a buzzword. It’s one of the four S’s that set Sales Development Reps up for success: Skills, Strategy, Structure and Systems. SDR strategy in particular is deeply tied to data and metrics. 

If you’re like many sales leaders you get reports full of data and metrics on a weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly basis. But as Shabri recently shared on the Disruptors & Innovators podcast, so many companies fall short when it comes to using the SDR data and metrics sitting in their inbox to reach their organization’s goals. And without metrics, you won’t know how far you have to go to fulfill your mission.

Shabri illustrated the point with a story: “In 2011, a well-known charity produced a video which earned a million views. The charity thought the video was a huge success. But, the goal of the video was actually to get people to donate sporting goods equipment. Once they reached 5 million views they were really excited by it. But then they looked at how many donations had actually happened. And the number was ZERO.” 

Of course, the charity was disappointed in the video. But what they should have been disappointed in was their own focus on the wrong metrics. They had defined video views as the measure of success, and the charity was so focused on getting video views, that they neglected to focus on generating contributions.

So what can sales organizations learn from this tale? According to Shabri, the big takeaway is to “remember that you can measure almost anything, but you have to focus on the metrics that actually replicate success for your business, not just the ones that make you look good.” 

It’s easy to focus on old data standbys like the number of calls your Sales Development reps are making each day – and forget to consider the metrics that really matter. After all, if your SDRs are making 100 calls a day that result in NO qualified appointments, they may be busy, but they aren’t being productive. 

So, which SDR metrics are the right SDR metrics?

Shabri recommends focusing on 4 SDR metrics that are strongly linked to lead quality and overall success for the business. If your struggling to identify the four that matter most, go back and review the mission of your SDR team. 

• If your mission statement is to grow your enterprise accounts…
  • Focus on metrics relating to new conversations SDRs are having with select accounts.
• If your a SAAS company trying to grow net new customer base…
  • Focus on the number of meetings booked and appointments held.

And sales management shouldn’t be the only ones tied to invested in these metrics. There’s a higher chance of completing your mission if your SDRs are aware of the new focus and incentivized to ensure that the meetings your company needs to happen, happen. Shabri shares that something as simple as focusing on the number of appointments held and putting the right reminders in place, “a 20% or 30% meeting dropout rate can fall to 8% or 12%.”

And Don’t Forget Personal Development Metrics!

When management selects metrics to focus on, reps get the message that the activities tied to those metrics matter. Which can improve performance. But not all metrics are the same. Sciolytix’s UPtick™ platform offers sales management insights through Deep Scoring™. What does your SDR program measure? Share with us on Twitter.

Click on the link above to hear more of our conversation with Shabri on the Disruptors & Innovators podcast hosted by Dario Priolo, CMO of Sciolytix.