Data. It’s a buzzword we are all familiar with. Companies want it, analysts obsess over it, and there seems to be more ways than ever to “use” it.
When it comes to B2B sales, data is your organization’s best friend. Not only is data useful when it comes to the current sales performance of your business, it can also lead you down the path of new opportunities.
This is where effective sales reporting comes in – the process of measuring sales performance, drawing insights, and using data to optimize your sales strategies. But sales reporting is not merely a matter of crunching numbers and churning out reports. No, sales reporting is all about thoughtful analysis, discussion, and informed decision making.
In this guide, we’re covering the what, why, and how of Sales Reporting. Plus, bonus tips for how to improve your sales reporting methodology and improve sales performance. It’s time to dig into the data.
What is sales reporting?
Sales reporting refers to the process of collecting, analyzing, and presenting data pertaining to all the sales activities within your business, over a given timeframe. The purpose of sales reporting is to monitor the performance of your sales efforts, identify trends, and track progress toward your goals.
Businesses use the data from sales reporting to improve the effectiveness of their sales techniques. Sales reports offer invaluable insights into whether your sales strategies are paying off, which strategies are performing best, and where to find the best sales opportunities.
What’s included in a sales report?
The structure of sales reports can vary depending on the needs and goals of the business. They can cover a range of data points, incorporate a variety of tools, and vary in their length and complexity.
In general, sales reports typically include the following sections:
Overview
The Overview section of a sales report includes a summary of the sales project/initiative and any background information that provides helpful context for the data. It might also include a statement of the report’s primary objective, and provide a recap of past milestones and accomplishments. If the sales report is to be an externally-facing document, it might also include an overview of the business and its primary offerings.
Data Breakdown
All sales reports include a breakdown of what was measured, how data was collected, and the time frame across which the data was collected.
A sales reports typically covers a range of key performance indicators (KPIs) that matter to the business, such as:
- Revenue: Total sales revenue generated over a specific period.
- Units Sold: The quantity of products or services sold.
- Sales Volume: The total value of products or services sold.
- Conversion Rate: The percentage of leads or prospects that convert into paying customers.
- Average Deal Size: The average value of each sale.
- Sales by Region or Territory: Breakdown of sales performance by geographical area.
- Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): The cost associated with acquiring a new customer.
- Customer Lifetime Value (CLV): The total revenue expected from a customer over their lifetime.
Summary & Analysis
A sales report usually ends with a Summary of the results, plus conclusions regarding what these mean for the business. It might include a Sales Forecast, with predictions of future sales performance based on the historical data. It might also identify the top-performing sales representatives of the organization, and which sales strategies were most successful.
It can be helpful to include charts, graphs, and other visual representations of sales data to help stakeholders quickly understand trends, patterns, and performance metrics. This data can inspire a discussion regarding key opportunities and/or the challenges impacting sales performance. It’s best to come away with recommendations and strategies for improvement to relay to the sales team.
Why Sales Reporting is Important
While sales reporting might not be the most exciting part of the sales process, it can be the most helpful. It’s where the “proof is in the pudding”, so to speak. The numbers don’t lie!
Sales reporting provides tangible, measurable data that allows you to evaluate your business’s current sales performance and assess your wider sales strategy. There are many reasons why having this information available to you is important:
- Accurate measurement: Sales reporting provides an accurate measurement of the performance of sales teams versus you making assumptions about what is/is not working well.
- Identify opportunities and challenges: Sales reports highlight opportunities for growth, as well as challenges that may hinder your sales efforts. The data can help you identify the best opportunities, as well as direct you toward solutions for overcoming setbacks.
- Data-driven decision making: With accurate data at your fingertips, you can make informed decisions regarding your pricing strategies, product offerings, sales tactics, resource allocation, and more. This leads to more effective and efficient operations.
- Better forecasting and planning: Sales reports help your forecast future sales trends – and plan accordingly. You’re better able to anticipate demand, manage inventory levels, allocate resources, and set realistic sales targets.
- Improved accountability and team management: Sales reporting promotes accountability among sales teams by providing visibility into individual and team performance. Sales managers can more easily identify top performers, provide targeted coaching and support, and address performance issues as they arise.
Types of B2B Sales Reports
Sales reports can take on various formats, including spreadsheets, presentations, visualizations using sales analytics software, or customer relationship management (CRM) software reports. They may also vary in frequency, with some businesses opting for weekly, biweekly, monthly, or quarterly reports.
There are several types of B2B sales reports, each serving a specific purpose and providing insights into different aspects of the sales process. Here are some common types.
Revenue Reports
Revenue reports provide an overview of sales revenue generated within a specific period. They typically cover total revenue, revenue by product or service, revenue by customer segment, and comparisons to previous periods.
Pipeline Reports
Pipeline reports track the progress of sales opportunities through the sales pipeline. They provide insights into the number of leads at each stage of the sales process, conversion rates, average deal size, and projected revenue.
Win/Loss Analysis Reports
Win/loss analysis reports analyze the outcomes of sales opportunities that have been won or lost. They identify common factors contributing to successful sales, as well as lost opportunities.
Sales Performance Reports
Sales performance reports evaluate the performance of individual sales representatives or teams. They may include metrics such as sales quotas, conversion rates, average deal size, and activities such as calls made, meetings held, and emails sent.
Customer Segmentation Reports
Customer segmentation reports analyze sales performance across different customer segments or buyer personas. They identify which customer segments are driving the most revenue, which segments are underperforming, and opportunities for targeting specific segments more effectively.
Sales Forecasting Reports
Sales forecasting reports predict future sales performance based on historical data, market trends, and other relevant factors. They help businesses anticipate demand, allocate resources, and set realistic sales targets.
Keep in mind, these are just a few examples of the types of B2B sales reports that businesses may use to track performance. The exact report (or combination of reports) that you use will depend on the needs of your business. There might be additional data points you want to include, as well as other tools to be incorporated into your reporting system.
How to Improve Your Sales Reporting Process
In case it wasn’t obvious, we are big fans of sales reporting. It really is the best source of information for how your sales strategies are performing and whether there are areas for improvement.
Most B2B companies discover that there are channels, strategies, customer segments, etc. that can be better optimized to improve performance. We encourage you to continually improve your sales reporting process, as well as use the data to fine-tune your sales strategies over time.
1. Get clear about your goals and KPIs
Before you start stressing about how to create detailed sales reports, you first need to get clear about your goals. Not only should this include your qualitative goals (like “improve sales” and “streamline sales processes”), but quantitative KPIs like target revenue, desired conversion rate, or a reduction in CAC.
Determine what specific metrics are most relevant to your business goals – and why they matter. Have an open discussion with your team and/or stakeholders to pinpoint what KPIs you want to measure, and how your plan to align your objectives to the right metrics.
Once you start generating sales reports, save them for your records. This will make it easier to refer back to past performance and measure your current performance against the targets you set at the beginning.
2. Streamline (i.e. automate) data collection and analysis
Manual data collection and sales reporting can be quite a chore – but it doesn’t have to be. There are many fast, accurate, and automated tools you can use to streamline data collection, analysis, and reporting, saving tons of time in your business.
Invest in sales analytics tools and/or a CRM system that automates the collection and analysis of your sales data. These tools also help you avoid manual errors, reduce team overhead costs, and can provide real-time insights into sales performance. By automating routine tasks, your sales team can focus more on strategic analysis and decision-making.
At Superhuman Prospecting, not only do we help B2B companies save time and money on the lead generation process, but we also provide detailed sales reports to summarize the results of your lead gen activities. Our campaign methodology and data-driven system ensures that your lead gen engine is as streamlined and optimized as possible. Learn more about our B2B lead generation and sales automation services.
3. Standardize your sales reporting documents and presentations
Save time creating sales reports by standardizing your documents and presentations. Trust us, the front-loaded work of creating sales report templates will be a life-saver when it comes to generating recurring reports.
Standardized reports ensure consistency and clarity across your organization. Your team will know exactly what to expect (in terms of the format) and how to interpret the results. Define clear guidelines for data collection, formatting, and presentation to ensure that reports are easily understandable by stakeholders. Consistency in reporting makes it easier to track trends over time and compare performance across different time periods.
4. Schedule regular sales report meetings and discussions
Let’s be honest – how many people are going to read a long sales report on their own time? It’s essential to schedule regular review meetings so everyone is on the same page, gets a download of the sales report findings, and can move forward with new action items.
During these discussions, you should analyze performance trends, identify areas for improvement, and talk about how the data applies to your team’s sales strategies. Encourage open discussions to brainstorm ways to optimize sales performance and identify opportunities.
Don’t let your sales reports get buried in an inbox. Set regular meetings to continuously discuss performance and how the insights can be used to adapt to market changes and stay ahead of the competition.
5. Translate findings into actionable insights and team trainings
After your sales report meetings, your team should come away with ideas for how to improve sales performance. But as a manager, it’s also important to provide training to help your team level-up their skills and acquire new techniques.
Review the sales data to identify where sales reps may be falling short, as well as what strategies that are working well. You might decide to refine your sales scripts, pivot to a more efficient CRM, delegate certain segments or territories to different team members, or refine your marketing channels.
Provide ongoing support and coaching to help sales representatives improve their performance and leverage sales reporting tools effectively. Consider investing in development programs or consultants to better streamline your processes and improve close rates.
Improve B2B Sales Performance with Reporting
Sales reporting allows you to effectively measure the performance of your sales strategies and improve your techniques over time. Data really is your best friend when it comes to optimizing sales performance, and is much preferred over making assumptions as to what works and what doesn’t. Use the numbers to your advantage, and equip your sales team with the information they need to win more clients!
By empowering your sales team with the necessary knowledge and resources, you can drive continuous improvement in sales performance and achieve greater success for your B2B business!
