To assess the performance of its sales force and plan for the future, a company needs effective analysis tools. This is the whole point of sales reporting, which provides a detailed snapshot of activities and results achieved over a given period.
Commercial reporting: definition
Sales reporting is the practice of collecting and analysing data relating to a sales force. This exhaustive report makes it possible to accurately assess performance and the achievement of sales objectives, as well as to monitor the development of activities in general. It records not only the individual results of each salesperson, but also those of the team as a whole.
Please note: sales reporting should not be confused with the sales dashboard, which contains data updated in real time, to monitor the day-to-day performance of the sales function and support decision-making.
What are the challenges of sales reporting?
While historical statistics are useful for measuring trends or making comparisons, sales teams also need analyses of future results.
Sales reporting can help them anticipate changes in the market, prepare for a drop or peak in business, adapt to the emergence of new customer demand, etc.
In addition, the sales force needs reliable data to define precise, targeted customer profiles, in order to improve sales management and prospecting. Sales reporting should also help sales staff to define sales scenarios and break them down into key stages, enabling them to track the progress of each account.
Finally, access to data at any time and from any device is an important issue, especially in a context of sales force mobility. Hence the importance of accessing reports easily, using a smartphone or tablet, and being able to interpret the data quickly.
The objectives of commercial reporting
Reporting is an invaluable tool for the sales function, which can derive many benefits from it.
Identify areas for improvement
Measuring performance is an essential part of any sales team’s development.
In this way, reporting makes it possible to measure the attractiveness of an offer in its market in relation to the competition, to deploy the efforts of the sales force in the best possible way, and also to better distribute sales staff geographically.
At the end of the day, the company can identify areas for improvement in order to overhaul its offering, whether in terms of the products or services themselves, or the pricing policy. The sales strategy can also be optimised by adapting the prospecting tools or sales techniques used by sales staff.
Identifying good sales practices
Setting up a reporting system also helps to identify the levers that can be used to improve the sales process. For example, the sales pitch used to convince a prospect or retain an existing customer.
In concrete terms, the best practices of the most successful salespeople are highlighted and shared with the whole team, as are the most effective sales support tools.
Aligning marketing and sales
Sales reporting simplifies collaborative working and federates the marketing and sales functions around common objectives. This helps to break down the barriers between these two departments, whose complementary roles are crucial to the company.
Good alignment between marketing and sales means that relevant communication tools can be designed to generate leads in line with buyer personas. It also contributes to the efficiency of sales staff, who spend less time following up leads and convert them into customers more quickly.
Improving sales performance management
Using key performance indicators, sales reporting enables you to assess the effectiveness of a sales strategy by comparing the targets set with the results achieved.
Analysis of these indicators is therefore very useful for improving or reinforcing sales management in a number of areas, for example :
- Allocation of the sales force budget.
- The choice of sales techniques used in the field.
- Deploying sales forces according to the geographical areas prospected.
5 best practices for successful sales reporting
Despite its undeniable advantages, commercial reporting is still under-exploited in many companies.
And with good reason: some managers see it as a time-consuming process, requiring a lot of work for benefits that are difficult to perceive. More generally, sales managers struggle to grasp the concrete benefits of this practice, not knowing “for whom” or “why” they are reporting.
However, these obstacles to the development of sales reporting are not insurmountable. In reality, they can often be explained by a lack of methodology, but also by the choice of unsuitable reporting tools.
Here are a few keys to exploiting the full potential of commercial relationships.
Choosing the right commercial KPIs
The first pitfall to avoid is that good reporting should not be overloaded with information. To make it easier to read and understand, it is preferable to focus on a limited number of KPIs.
However, there are a multitude of sales KPIs. To select the most relevant ones, you need to analyse the real needs of the sales force, as well as its objectives (at both team and individual level).
There are many possibilities, but there are a few KPIs that are frequently found in commercial reporting, in particular :
- The conversion rate, i.e. the ratio between sales made and the number of leads.
- The win rate, i.e. the ratio between appointments with prospects and the total number of appointments.
- The retention rate and the loyalty rate, which reflect the attachment and trust of existing customers.
- The prospecting efficiency rate, which measures the number of appointments made in relation to the number of prospecting calls.
- Sales volume.
- The number of sales and customers lost.
- Overall sales, by geographical sector or by vendor.
- The amount of the average basket.
Adapting the reporting message
A good business report should help the reader to interpret the information and make the right decisions. This is why the data presented in a report must be meaningful and convey a real message.
The message must be adapted to suit the recipient. You don’t address a sales person, a marketing manager or a sales director in the same way, because each has their own needs and priorities.
In addition, a performance indicator can be highlighted with other information, depending on what you want to demonstrate through the reporting. For example, it is interesting to compare the cost of customer acquisition with other KPIs such as Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) or Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR).
The figures can also be contextualised using benchmarks. In this way, the reader can see how the company’s sales or conversion rate compares with those of its competitors. Finally, it is useful to compare current results with previous periods or with the targets set.
Select appropriate graphics
Graphical representations are essential for making information readable and understandable. Each graph must be carefully chosen according to the nature of the data to be presented and the message to be conveyed.
A graph can fulfil four main functions:
- Compare data.
- Segmenting information.
- Show relationships between several variables.
- Break down data by dimension.
For example, curve graphs are typically used to describe changes over time, while histograms are suitable for comparing items in the same category or for presenting segmented data.
Whatever the case, a good understanding of the data is essential if you are to select the most relevant graphics for each situation.
Careful design of reporting
Good design starts with a clear hierarchy of information. Key data should be displayed first, at the top of the report. Ideally, you should start with an overview that shows the main indicators at a glance. More specific KPIs and detailed graphs can be presented later in the report, taking care to group them by theme.
In addition, a sales report must respect certain basic graphic principles. For example, limit the number of colours used (two or three maximum), space out the content to avoid information overload, add labels to make the data easier to understand…
Finally, it is worthwhile designing ‘mobile-friendly’ reports, which can be consulted from any device (such as a smartphone) without compromising their design.
Choosing the right reporting frequency
Daily, monthly, weekly… The frequency of commercial reporting is likely to vary according to a number of factors, for example :
- The commercial strategy adopted by the company.
- The level of stability of the market in which it operates.
- The size of the organisation.
- The number of sales staff.
- The geographical area in which the company is prospecting.
In all cases, it is vital to strike the right balance: too much reporting can kill reporting by overwhelming sales teams with information. Conversely, a lack of reporting can hamper sales force performance and decision-making.
What is the best sales reporting tool?
Once these best practices have been integrated, the next step is to choose an effective reporting tool. Here, there are two opposing views:
- On the one hand, you can create reports the old-fashioned way, using a spreadsheet.
- On the other, the use of a modern Business Intelligence tool.
The limitations of Excel for creating reports
Spreadsheets such as Excel or Google Sheets are still often the main reporting tools used by businesses. However, they quickly show their limitations and prevent organisations from exploiting the full potential of their data.
They cause a number of problems when it comes to data processing, starting with the creation of numerous duplicate files that encourage the loss of information and errors. In addition, it is necessary to create a specific file for each requirement, which complicates the search for information.
In addition, the limitations of the interface make it impossible to visualise the data in a fun and striking way. As for monitoring activity over the long term, this is made difficult by the fact that data is scattered across a multitude of files.
Business Intelligence tools: a modern, high-performance alternative
To overcome the problems of Excel, there are now much more powerful reporting solutions, based on Business Intelligence.
What sets these tools apart is their ability to manage large volumes of data and instantly analyse data from multiple sources to extract reliable and relevant information.
They also excel in their data visualisation capabilities, enabling figures to be presented in attractive, easy-to-read graphs. KPIs and important information are visible at a glance, thanks to a pleasant, intuitive interface. The aim is to tell a story with the data and make commercial reporting accessible to everyone, even novices.
Another advantage is that these modern BI solutions are often available in the cloud in SaaS mode, which makes collaboration much simpler. Data can be consulted at any time, even when on the move, and reports can be shared with just a few clicks.
Finally, some of this software, like DigDash, includes predictive analysis functions based on artificial intelligence and machine learning. This can help sales teams to build a relevant strategy and seize future opportunities.
Sales reporting is an essential tool for improving sales strategy and identifying the best sales levers. However, to exploit its full potential, it is essential to follow certain good practices and use a reporting tool that is perfectly suited to this purpose.