KPIs

The industrial supply landscape is often a battle of having the right solution available when your customer needs it. Do this well and your customer will boost your service score. The result is you get closer to being a true partner and not just a commodity supplier.

Last week, I got this question from a webinar attendee while tying up my ROI from CRM webinar series with MDM: Are back-end or front-end KPIs more important? During my presentations, webinars and consulting jobs, I focus a lot on the front end of the sales cycle.

Read the previous article in this series on developing competitive advantage: 1 + 1 = 4 – Team Selling is the Answer

What is your competitive advantage? No, really! What is your competitive edge? Sounds like a simple question, and when asked, most distributors, reps and manufacturers answer pretty quickly and predictably. If your goal is to excel in a competitive market, continuous attention to systems, methods, and processes that offer a competitive edge is essential. This series of articles focuses on areas proven to give companies a real competitive edge, yielding measurable results. These methods and processes must be things you and your team can focus on – and control – internally. Excuses related to external factors such as the economy and industry softness need not apply.

The topic for this article is KPIs for ROIs: Sales-Focused KPIs.

First off, what are KPIs? Key Performance Indicators. Everyone is trying to get their arms around the KPIs in their businesses. Sales-focused KPIs are those that I find most companies are not focused on.