Any strategy must take into account the current state of the sales team and its current tools.  For the purposes of this discussion, I’ll focus on a sales team that has Dynamics in place and is using a combination of Excel and out of the box reports to manage key information like their sales forecast, lead volumes, and CRM adoption.

Given these assumptions, I think it’s critical that the strategy recognize that analytics is a continual process and the best outcomes occur when an organization takes a systematic approach to go from basic tools like those mentioned above to being a fully functioning leader in using data to deliver competitive advantage. 

I believe that process involves a set of 3 steps that move from basic to advanced analytics.  I’ve outlined these steps below –

Basic -  The first step beyond working with Excel sheets and out of the box CRM reports.  This stage is characterized by providing core information in a way that is readily consumable so that executives and managers better understand the current state of the business.  This implies both presenting data in a way that is clear as well as the integration of data so that individuals can see a complete picture of the information that’s critical for them in their role.  The goal of getting to this stage should be that individuals feel like they have analytics that helps them better understand their business, that’s based on data they trust, and that is timely and available on demand.

The primary outcomes at this stage are two-fold:

1.     Managers and executives have access to compelling role based dashboards for Sales Forecasting and CRM adoption.

2.    Through usage of dashboards business managers and executives develop a greater appreciation for and desire to drive the cleanliness and accuracy of data that is funneled into CRM.

Intermediate -  The second step on the analytics ladder is to deepen the extent to which the data facilitates decision making by being more relevant within the context that it is used, and providing increased capabilities for ad hoc data analysis.  This implies that when a sales manager is looking at the pipeline for their reps they are seeing probabilities not only based on the reps perspective but also based on past performance in deals that are similar.  It also implies that analysts can really dig in and begin with a problem and ask questions of the data without needing to know how to write code or needing to request that IT write reports.

 

The primary outcomes are two-fold:

1.     Managers and executives have access to context sensitive information when looking at data that allows them to improve the accuracy of their decision making (i.e. when looking at a pipeline it displays probabilities based on historical close rates for the relevant sales rep/industry/account).

2.    Analysts have access to robust Ad Hoc tools that allow them to answer questions as quickly as they can think of them without having to stop and write code or request that IT create a new report.

 

Advanced - Advanced organizations leverage what they’ve learned in the first two stages to establish key performance indicators and targets that they can use to manage their most critical metrics, and they actively mine historical data to predict future outcomes.

Some key areas where data mining and predictive analytics come into play for sales organizations include:  forecasting based on historical win rates, mining data to project customer lifetime value and using that analysis to prioritize accounts, mining the results of campaigns to continually focus investments where they will generate the greatest return.

The primary outcomes include:

1.   Having intuitive analytics displayed inside Dynamics applications so that sales managers can make data driven decisions without having to leave their primary environment.

2.  Improved confidence in sales forecasting models and reduced volatility in the organization as forecast accuracy improves.

3. Improved ability to target customers with the right offerings and an increased ability to accurately project when those deals will close.

Next week, I’ll drill into the basic stage and work through a process that delivers on the outcomes expected at this level.