This IDC study discusses the current state of the art and best practices in the use of sales metrics and lays out a sales metrics framework that any forward-thinking organization can adopt. Most organizations run on dangerously flawed or inaccurate sales metrics.
Traditional corporate culture dictates that salespeople withhold valuable information until deals are at a point of closure; after all, if they provide comprehensive information about every deal on their plate, they'll just get beat up about the losers. A few organizations view this differently, considering good sales metrics as a key component of business planning and investment consideration. HP, for instance, considers "pipeline data as a corporate asset," with all the protections and responsibilities for any similar tangible corporate asset. Other firms similarly focus on good information to make informed decisions.
"As the technology industry continues to mature, the organizations that run their sales operations in a formal organized manner, counting on good data rather than gut feel, will be the winners in the marketplace. Those that continue to make investments by the seat of their pants will fall by the wayside." - Lee Levitt, director, Sales Advisory Practice