How a Revenue Intelligence System Eliminates CRM Data Challenges
How a Revenue Intelligence System Eliminates CRM Data Challenges RevOps 10 min In this blog
How a Revenue Intelligence System Eliminates CRM Data Challenges RevOps 10 min In this blog
Everything You Need to Know About Sales Commission Structures RevOps 10 min Compensation (of which sales commission structure is a critical part) plays a highly influential role in driving rep behavior. And it becomes particularly important when reps don’t want to stay around in one company for too long. It takes an average of 3 months for a new seller to interact with buyers, 9 for them to perform competently, and 15 for them to become top performers. However, the average tenure that reps remain with an organization for is only 1.4 years in 2022. This shows that once reps have learned all they can with you, they’ll move on to a new organization (most likely one that pays better). Just hiring the best reps isn’t enough to increase sales. They should be motivated enough to stick around through the ups and down and simultaneously improve their performance. To achieve this, you need to tailor a sales commission structure template that gives them the incentive to always come out on top. Let’s find out how. What Is a Sales Commission Structure? “Sales commission” is the amount sales reps earn on each sale. “Sales commission structure” outlines how you will compensate the rep with a commission and how much this amount should be, based on the sale. It also includes the timelines for commission payment, i.e., when you’ll pay reps their commission—weekly, monthly, quarterly, or something else. Remember, the plan you choose directly impacts your reps’ earnings. Therefore, it’s vital that you set up a fair and sufficiently rewarding sales commission structure template. How Does a Sales Commission Structure Compare to a Sales Compensation Plan? Sometimes, commission may be confused with compensation. Here’s a simple tip to differentiate between them. A compensation plan includes the rep’s total earnings—salary (or fixed pay), commission, incentives, bonus, and on-target earnings (OTE). As you can see, the commission is just one part of the overall compensation plan. It doesn’t denote compensation in its entirety. Types of Sales Commission Structure Templates There are several sales commission structures you can choose from. It could also be that your team or organization needs a unique sales commission structure template. So, sometimes you may need to combine a couple of these plans. Below are 10 popular structures you can try.  1. Straight Commission This sales commission structure doesn’t include a base pay or fixed salary. Instead, reps earn 100% commission based entirely on deals they close. For instance, if a rep closes a deal for $100,000 and the straight commission rate is 10%, the rep will earn $10,000 as commission (without any base pay). Straight commission is gradually moving out of favor among sales organizations because retaining talent is challenging without the security of fixed pay. It only increases reps’ stress levels and may push them to partake in bad sales practices. Also, each rep has their own set of skills and practices that make them unique. A straight sales commission structure template doesn’t account for these skills. When to use this structure: Shortcomings of the straight commission structure don’t completely nullify its usefulness. You can turn to this plan if you’re a startup or a small organization with limited capital. 2. Base Salary Plus Commission This structure is the most widely adopted across industries and organizations. Typically, a rep’s compensation is split between salary and variable pay (which includes commission). The split may be 50/50 or 60/40, depending on what you can offer as a salary while still incentivizing reps. A “base salary plus commission” structure works well because commission motivates reps to continue improving their performance, whereas salary acts as a safety net to retain them in tough situations. When to use this structure: You can deploy this sales commission structure template if you’re striving to maintain a good balance between your sales budget and commission. 3. Revenue Commission In a “revenue commission” structure, reps earn a flat commission percentage on each deal won. So, if your rep closes a deal for $100,000 and the commission is set at 7%, they earn a commission of $7,000.  However, this structure again doesn’t consider each rep’s distinctive selling capabilities. When to use this structure: Revenue commission works well when your team is small, your product offerings aren’t too complex, or you’re selling only one product with fixed pricing. 4. Gross Margin Commission The gross margin commission structure follows a similar approach to the revenue commission structure. However, instead of revenue (ARR or contract value), reps earn commission on the gross revenue (or profit on sales). Say your rep sold a contract for $150,000 but incurred a cost of $25,000 for the company. These costs may include travel to meet the client or a discount for the buyer. Under the gross margin commission structure, the rep will earn a commission on $125,000 ($150,000 less $25,000). Gross margin commission motivates reps to close deals at higher margins, ultimately benefiting the organization. When to use this structure: If you aim to ensure bottom line profitability, this sales commission structure template can help reps win deals without incurring too much expense. This may also speed up the sales cycle. 5. Tiered Commission In tiered commission, reps earn incremental commission on each deal closed, depending on the tier in which it falls. The bigger the deal closed, the higher the tier and the higher the commission earned. For example, for deals under $50,000, reps earn a commission of 5%, but for deals under $100,000, the commission moves up to 7%, and so on. Tier Deal Size Commission A Up to $50,000 5% B $50,000 to $100,000 7% C $100,000 to $150,000 10$ Tiered commission encourages reps to continually achieve and exceed targets for higher rewards. But, to maintain your business’s profitability, you may want to cap the maximum commission a rep can take home. When to use this structure: A tiered commission structure works best when scaling your team, as it promotes over-performance and separates top performers from low. Not just that, it also motivates average and low performers to push
Everything You Need to Know About Gross Revenue Retention RevOps 10 min In a world where every organization is looking to acquire new customers, an often overlooked source of revenue is – Revenue Retention. Revenue made by retaining customers is the lifeblood of a successful organization. Retained customers often have higher lifetime value, reflecting their satisfaction and loyalty. Satisfied customers also contribute to a positive brand image and word-of-mouth referrals, giving companies a competitive edge.  Moreover, long-term customer relationships offer opportunities for cross-selling and upselling, while their feedback helps businesses refine and enhance their products and services, ultimately driving sustained growth and success. Revenue retention is pivotal for companies because it signifies the ability to sustain existing customer relationships and, consequently, maintain a stable revenue flow. Retaining customers not only lowers customer acquisition costs but also bolsters long-term profitability and growth. To measure the revenue for retained customers, companies often use a metric called Gross Revenue Retention (GRR).  What is GRR? Gross Revenue Retention refers to a business’s capacity to keep its current customers. When a business successfully holds onto its customers, it maintains its revenue. In more straightforward terms, Gross Revenue Retention is the percentage of customers a business manages to keep at their current pricing or contract value. It stands as a pivotal customer retention metric for subscription-based companies and those operating in the SaaS industry. The comprehension and monitoring of GRR enable them to assess the overall efficiency of their customer retention tactics. The significance of Gross Revenue Retention goes beyond customer retention; it also functions as a gauge for prospective investors who consider this ratio when assessing a company’s investment suitability. How to Calculate GRR The Gross Revenue Retention rate formula measures the percentage of current customers retained over a specific timeframe. You can determine it using the following GRR formula: In this equation, MRR start represents the Monthly Recurring Revenue at the beginning of the month. This figure represents the recurring revenue at the outset of any period for which we want to compute the Gross Revenue Retention. Churn signifies the decline in revenue resulting from customers canceling their subscription or terminating their contract with the company. It represents a total revenue loss. Contraction, on the other hand, denotes the reduction in revenue caused by customers switching to a less expensive subscription plan. It entails a partial revenue loss since the customer’s revenue has decreased, but the revenue stream is not completely terminated. Let’s consider a quick example to calculate GRR for company XYZ, using the following financial figures: – Monthly Recurring Revenue: $15,000 – New Sales: $2,000 – Upselling to existing customers: $2,000 – Customer Attrition (Churn): $1,000 – Customer Downgrades: $1,000 By using Gross Revenue Retention rate formula: GRR = (15,000 – (1,000 + 1,000)) / 15,000 GRR = (15,000 – 2,000) / 15,000 GRR = 13,000 / 15,000 GRR = 0.8667 (rounded to 2 decimal places) GRR = 86.67% As mentioned earlier, the calculations do not include new sales and upselling. After this calculation, we find that XYZ SaaS company has a GRR of 86.67%, indicating that it successfully retained 86.67% of its revenue from existing customers. Apart from GRR, another popular metric used by organizations to measure revenue retention is NRR. What is NRR? Net Revenue Retention (NRR) is a customer retention metric that assesses a company’s ability to grow its revenue from existing customers. It considers the revenue generated from current customers while considering any losses due to churn, contraction, or downgrades. NRR provides insight into the overall health of a company’s customer base and its effectiveness in retaining customers and expanding revenue from those customers through upselling or cross-selling. The formula for calculating NRR is as follows: A positive NRR value indicates that a company is retaining its existing customers and increasing revenue from them. Conversely, a negative NRR suggests that losses from customer churn, contraction, and downgrades are outpacing revenue growth from the existing customer base. Gross Revenue Retention vs Net Revenue Retention Gross Revenue Retention (GRR) and Net Revenue Retention (NRR) are two important financial indicators that underscore a company’s capacity to hold onto customers and sustain its revenue. The key difference between GRR vs. NRR centers around whether expansion revenue is considered. GRR concentrates solely on revenue derived from current customers without factoring in any supplementary income stemming from upsells, cross-sells, or upgrades. This metric offers insights into your company’s ability to maintain its fundamental revenue streams over time. The greater the proximity of GRR to 100%, the more favorable the situation. However, this is contingent on the size of the customer base. Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) tend to experience higher churn rates and lower retention figures. Conversely, NRR considers retained customer revenue while also incorporating growth-related activities, like opportunities for upselling and cross-selling to existing clients. NRR presents a more holistic view of your company’s overall retention performance. NRR serves as a useful tool for business owners and stakeholders to assess the business’s expansion. It functions as a growth indicator, offering insights into the effectiveness of cross-selling and upselling strategies. An NRR value greater than 100% signifies growth, while NRR at 100% denotes a static business. When NRR is below 100%, it indicates a decline. According to advisor Dave Kellogg, a solid median NRR for private companies stands at 104%. It’s important to emphasize that NRR exclusively considers existing customers. To gain a comprehensive understanding of the business’s performance, it’s advisable to combine NRR with other metrics. Now that we have understood the difference between Gross Revenue Retention vs Net Revenue Retention, let’s understand the importance of tracking GRR for companies. Importance of GRR As mentioned before, Gross Revenue Retention serves as a stability gauge for SaaS companies, revealing the initial revenue at the start of a period and how much has been eroded by the end. SaaS firms monitor GRR to gauge how strongly customers have either severed ties with or weakened their connections to the company. A higher customer loss may signal potential problems with
Top 4 CRM AI Use Cases RevOps 10 min 91% of companies with more than 11 employees use Customer Relationship Management (CRM). However, only 12% of them actually use an AI-powered CRM tool! A lot of users believe that AI in CRM is still in the future and the current processes don’t require automation. But is this the case? What is an AI-powered CRM, and what are its use cases? Can businesses realize real benefit by using AI in their CRM? If so, what are the processes they can automate? We discuss all this, and a lot more in this detailed blog post. Read on. What is AI in CRM? CRM manages and maintains relationships with customers, prospects, and other business contacts. AI in CRM refers to integrating AI technologies into CRM software and processes to enhance customer interactions and improve business outcomes. AI in CRM enables businesses to analyze vast amounts of customer data, predict customer behavior, automate tasks, and personalize customer experiences. It empowers companies to deliver more targeted marketing, provide proactive customer support, and make data-driven decisions, ultimately leading to better customer satisfaction and increased sales. Why is AI required in CRM in 2025? In the modern business world, organizations require AI due to the following reasons: 1. Increasing unstructured data As the number of transactions grows, so does the volume of customer data. While this presents an opportunity for businesses to gain deeper insights into their customers, it also poses the challenge of managing and extracting relevant information from the predominantly unstructured data. However, AI tools offer a solution by converting unstructured data, which accounts for approximately 90% of the total data, into structured data, enabling businesses to leverage valuable information effectively. 2. Complex processes and relationships In addition to the expanding data volume, the rise in transactions leads to more intricate business processes and relationships. This complexity hinders a clear understanding of company relationships and accurate analysis of customer patterns. According to Xant, sales representatives spend over half of their time within CRM attempting to manage tasks more efficiently. AI technology presents a solution to this challenge by automating many of these tasks and providing valuable insights. By understanding customer sentiments, businesses can promptly address issues, improve their offerings, and enhance overall customer satisfaction. Benefits of AI-powered CRM Let’s have a detailed look at the benefits of AI-powered CRM. 1. Clean CRM data AI can help you achieve comprehensive contact lists for each account in your CRM by extracting them from your representatives’ email inboxes, calendars, and Zoom meetings. You can precisely categorize Account contacts and Opportunity Contact Roles (OCR) based on their engagement and relevance to ongoing Opportunities. AI can also automatically enhance each contact with updated job titles and phone numbers that remain up-to-date whenever changes occur. 2. Qualified pipeline Detect the absence of pre-engaged contacts or leads within the CRM. Conduct campaigns targeting GDPR-compliant contacts to expand the pipeline and expedite sales cycles, and identify contact roles to enhance targeted outreach efforts. 3. Tech Stack Audit Deep dive into the existing tools that your company is using. Identify all redundancies, and find opportunities to streamline the entire tech stack. i. Map Out Tools Compile a list of all tools used by teams, noting their purpose and how they work with the CRM. ii. Evaluate Use and Cost Determine if tools are actively used or if there are duplicates. Look for cost-saving opportunities by consolidating tools when possible.  3. Supercharged ABM You can recover inactive and lost deals and impact ongoing opportunities by employing Account-based Marketing (ABM) campaigns with current first-party buyer contacts directly sourced from sellers’ email inboxes and calendars. Increase funnel conversions by precisely targeting buyers through deep insights into buyer engagement within high-priority accounts, their buying roles, and the current sales stage of each account. 4. Data analysis and insights AI can allow you to process and analyze vast amounts of customer data to identify patterns, trends, and customer preferences, allowing businesses to make data-driven decisions. 5. Predictive analytics AI algorithms can predict customer behavior, such as identifying potential churn or predicting purchase intent, helping businesses proactively address customer needs. 6. Sentiment analysis AI can analyze customer sentiments from various sources, such as social media and surveys, helping companies understand customer satisfaction levels and identify potential issues. 7. Lead scoring and nurturing Assess and prioritize leads based on their likelihood to convert, optimizing sales efforts and increasing conversion rates. 8. Personalization AI Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems have the capacity to customize customer engagements through the examination of valuable customer information like previous buying patterns, online activities, and demographic details. Subsequently, this data can be utilized to personalize marketing communications, suggest products, and facilitate customer support interactions, catering to the distinctive requirements and preferences of each individual customer. 9. Chatbots Chatbots can deliver immediate customer support, thereby enhancing response times. These chatbots are capable of addressing common inquiries, offering product suggestions, and handling uncomplicated transactions. Consequently, this expedites the overall process and allows human agents to concentrate on more intricate and demanding matters. 10. Omnichannel presence AI-driven CRMs have the capability to deliver smooth and uninterrupted customer support through various communication channels, including email, social media, chat, and phone. This enables customers to interact with businesses through their preferred means, leading to enhanced engagement and satisfaction. 11. Sales forecasting and performance analysis CRM can analyze historical sales data, market trends, and external factors to predict future sales performance accurately. This enables businesses to make informed decisions, allocate resources efficiently, and set realistic sales targets for their teams. 12. Churn Prediction and Customer Retention AI can analyze customer behavior and historical data to predict the likelihood of customer churn. By identifying potential churn risks, businesses can implement targeted retention strategies to reduce customer attrition and improve loyalty. With so many benefits, it is no wonder that businesses use AI-powered CRM for various business use cases. Let’s have a look at some of them:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8-8i1LNk3k&t=624s Top AI CRM Use Cases By analyzing
How to Stop Your Reps From Dreading CRM Data Entry RevOps 10 min CRM adoption. Two words which are enough to run a chill down a revenue leader’s spine. Less than 40% of companies have full-scale adoption of a CRM. Why? The #1 challenge while adopting or working with a CRM is data entry leading to an even bigger problem of CRM failures. No wonder, 23% of people say that manual data entry is one of the major barriers of beginning to use a CRM or the challenges of using one regularly. This is where the revenue leaders must jump in to ensure that CRM usage is not seen as a punishment, but rather as a valuable tool that eases their sales reps’ day-to-day lives. Don’t know where to start? Fret not! In this article, we will address the pain points of your reps while dealing with CRM data entry and how you can stop them from dreading it. In the end, we will also be sharing a tool that can take away all the data entry fatigue.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zM0jwDaP88&t=3671s Reps Dread CRM Data Entry No prizes for guessing that reps HATE CRM data entry. Yet they are inundated time and again to spend time on this manual task. Rather than helping them sell more. RevOps tech stack expert Don Otvos outlines his approach to getting rid of the data entry fear. But before we solve it for you, let’s discuss why the CRM dashboard instills dread in the minds of reps using it. 1. Disconnect from selling When reps spend a major chunk of time punching data into the CRM system, they may feel disconnected from the core purpose of their job, which is – to sell and build relationships with customers. Engaging in data entry tasks can pull them away from actively interacting with potential clients, leading to frustration and a sense of detachment from their primary sales goals. 2. Perceived lack of value Some reps may struggle to see the direct benefits of data entry in their day-to-day selling activities. They might question whether the time and effort invested in feeding information into the CRM actually contribute to closing deals. This perception can make data entry feel like a mundane and non-rewarding task, resulting in reluctance and disinterest. 3. Time-consuming & tedious nature Manual data entry is quite frustrating as its repetitive and time-consuming which further requires careful attention to detail. Reps end up spending a significant time of their workday typing in information, updating records, and managing records which can be mentally draining and lead to reduced job satisfaction. Instead, reps prefer to invest their time & energy in more impactful sales-related activities. CRM data entry bogs down your sales as 35% of salespeople are spending over an hour a day on data entry work eating up the time they should be spending on selling. 4. Increased workload Sales reps have the most demanding schedules and on top of their schedules comes the dreadful CRM data entry. It can feel like an additional burden creating a sense of overwhelm, as reps need to balance their selling responsibilities with the admin task of maintaining accurate and updated CRM records. 5. Data privacy concerns Dealing with customer data requires a high level of responsibility and discretion. Reps may worry about the potential consequences of mishandling sensitive customer information or accidentally sharing confidential data with unauthorized individuals. These concerns add to the stress and anxiety of the data entry process, as reps are always trying to maintain data privacy and adhere to relevant regulations.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nhp3R9b-a5s&t=1s 5 Ways to Stop your Reps from Dreading CRM Data Entry RevOps can make things easier for the reps by deploying tools and streamlining processes. We will discuss these in detail now. 1. Simplify the data entry process & use automation The first and foremost thing to do for getting rid of the reps’ fear is to make things easy for them. How? One word – automation. By automating data entry processes, you can relieve the burden on your sales reps. The automation tools work quietly in the background, eliminating the need for reps to manually input data saving them 8+ hours of time every week. As Don Otvos aptly puts it, Additionally, you may use tools that are compatible with mobile devices allowing reps to update information on the go, further easing the data entry burden. 2. Incorporate voice-to-text and AI assistants Typing lengthy notes and updates can be a time-consuming task for sales reps. You may deploy voice-to-text functionality, to enable reps to dictate their interactions, follow-ups, and insights directly into the CRM. AI-powered assistants can transcribe voice inputs accurately and categorize them appropriately, ensuring data integrity while saving valuable time for your sales team. 3. Integration with sales tools Make sure you integrate the CRM with other sales tools to improve the data entry completeness by eliminating duplicate efforts and ensuring a holistic view of customer interactions. For instance, when a sales rep schedules a meeting in their calendar, the CRM should automatically update the relevant contact’s record with the appointment details. Similarly, integrate email clients so that reps can easily log email interactions and track correspondence history within the CRM. 4. Real-time alerts To prevent data entry tasks from piling up and becoming overwhelming, implement real-time alerts and notifications. Notify reps about essential tasks, follow-ups, or deadlines through the CRM. With timely reminders, sales reps can promptly act on essential tasks preventing any lapses in customer communication. For instance, Nektar Buzz pushes the right insights to the right people at the right time. The sights are directly sent to Slack or Teams so that sales teams can be alerted about deals in real-time without adopting yet another dashboard. 5. Showcase the value of CRM data Communicate the importance of accurate and timely CRM data to your sales team. Regularly share success stories and use case scenarios that illustrate how leveraging CRM data has directly contributed to closing deals, understanding customer needs, and creating tailored sales strategies. By demonstrating the tangible benefits of data entry,
10 Ways to Improve Sales Efficiency in 2025 RevOps 10 min In every business, strategies are crafted, deals are made, and profits are pursued, But there exists a hidden force that can make or break a business’ journey toward success. Efficiency. That’s right! Efficiency in business is like the wind beneath the wings of a soaring eagle, pushing it to new heights with minimal effort. To be precise, efficiency is the ability to achieve maximum output with minimal wasted resources, time, or effort. And within sales, efficiency is a pretty important aspect of a healthy sales pipeline. It is the guiding star that illuminates the way to increased revenue, more conversions, and sustainable growth. In this blog, we will delve into the impact of sales efficiency, actionable insights to boost it, calculation methods, and the metrics you need to track. Let’s get started with the basics. What is Sales Efficiency? Sales efficiency refers to the ability of a sales team/rep to generate better results with the least amount of resources, time, and effort. It is about finding ways to simplify and optimize every stage of the sales cycle, from lead generation and prospecting to qualification, presentation, negotiation, and closing. That doesn’t mean your reps have to constantly make more calls or send more emails. Instead, they must focus on high-quality leads, prioritize activities that have better ROI, and eliminate unnecessary steps without hampering sales success. In a nutshell, sales efficiency is about focusing on the right activities, with the right people, at the right time. But, isn’t this sales effectiveness? Definitely not! Read on. Sales Efficiency vs. Sales Effectiveness Businesses often use sales efficiency and sales effectiveness interchangeably. While they are closely related, they focus on different aspects of the sales process. Sales efficiency is working optimally towards achieving the sales goals while sales effectiveness is more about setting the right goals and making sure progress is made in that direction. Think of the concept of sales efficiency as a car’s speed, while sales effectiveness is the destination the car is trying to reach. Sales efficiency involves optimizing the car’s speed, fuel, and minimizing stops, allowing it to reach its destination faster and with less cost. In contrast, sales effectiveness is all about choosing the right route, navigating through traffic, and making necessary adjustments to ensure the car reaches its desired destination. Sales effectiveness is the quality of the actions, while efficiency is the speed of the actions. Julie Thomas, President and CEO at Value Selling Associates To achieve success in sales, it’s essential to prioritize both efficiency and effectiveness. Neglecting efficiency could result in a sales team struggling to achieve its goals within the required timeframe. Meanwhile, ignoring effectiveness could lead to a lot of effort being put in without making any progress toward the right goals. Enough of pessimism! Let’s shift our perspective to how sales efficiency can positively impact your business outcomes. How Does Sales Efficiency Boost Revenue? Sales efficiency can indeed make a significant difference in the success and growth of a business. Here are some ways in which sales efficiency can have a positive impact: 1. Resource optimization Sales efficiency plays an integral role in optimizing resources within the sales function. By identifying areas of inefficiency and eliminating low-impact activities, businesses can allocate their resources effectively. This includes streamlining sales processes, automating routine tasks, and leveraging tech to introduce productivity in processes. It also helps to identify the most effective sales channels and optimize human resources by aligning suitable responsibilities with the reps’ skill sets. Optimal resource allocation helps businesses create a lean and effective sales operation. 2. Identify improvement areas & refine sales performance As a company strives for sales efficiency, it carries out a thorough evaluation of its sales processes and team performance, exposing multiple areas for improvement and growth opportunities. By analyzing data and metrics, companies are able to pinpoint bottlenecks, inefficiencies, and areas of underperformance. This then allows them to correct measures for increasing productivity, optimizing workflows, and eliminating blockers. 3. Improved customer experience Sales efficiency goes beyond just closing deals; it also focuses on delivering an exceptional customer experience throughout the sales journey. Efficient sales processes ensure that every interaction with customers is meaningful, valuable, and tailored to their specific requirements, leading to higher customer satisfaction, retention, and ultimately, efficient growth. Eric Welsh, Director of RevOps at Demostack defines efficient growth as “every team in a go-to-market function working towards the same objective.” Check out his full conversation with us below.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQL_wSyj9mE&t=716s 4. Improved sales forecasting Sales efficiency empowers businesses to improve their sales forecasting capabilities as well. With streamlined processes, data analysis, historical trends, and market insights, businesses can collect relevant data points consistently and promptly, facilitating more accurate sales forecasting. This enables them to allocate resources effectively, set realistic targets, and make informed business decisions. 5. Adaptability to market changes Sales efficiency equips businesses with the agility and flexibility to adapt to dynamic market conditions. By continuously monitoring market trends, customer behavior, and competitor activities, companies can proactively adjust their sales strategies and approaches. This allows them to seize emerging opportunities and overcome challenges. Efficient sales processes also help them to quickly respond to changing customer needs, competitive landscape, and tech advancements, ensuring sustained growth. Measuring Sales Efficiency Measuring sales efficiency is a must for businesses to assess their performance and identify areas where improvement is needed. One commonly used formula to measure sales efficiency is: Sales Efficiency = (Revenue / Sales & Marketing Costs) x 100 This formula calculates the ratio of revenue generated to the costs incurred in sales and marketing activities. It provides a quantitative measure of how effectively a company is utilizing its resources to generate revenue. A higher sales efficiency ratio indicates that the business is generating more revenue relative to its sales and marketing costs, suggesting a more efficient and effective sales operations. Now, you may want to ask – what is a good sales efficiency ratio? A high sales efficiency ratio generally indicates a strong sales performance,
10 Revenue Operations KPIs You Must Measure RevOps 10 min If you have set up a revenue operations function in your organization and wondering what KPIs to track, this guide is for you. Tracking the right revenue operations KPIs can have a massive impact on your revenue. Setting up KPIs plays a crucial role in improving workflows. Not just that, but they also provide you with the means to create an unforgettable customer experience. So, how can you maximize RevOps KPIs for profitability? And more importantly, which ones should you measure? In this blog, we’ll dive into revenue operations KPIs with insights from our conversation with Cliff Simon, CRO at Carabiner Group. You can listen to the full conversation here: Revenue Operations KPIs and Their Role in Cross-Functional Alignment Before we move on to KPIs, let’s get the basics right. That starts with understanding what RevOps is precisely. Cliff says it’s about following the dollar’s value through the revenue funnel. Notice how he doesn’t mention sales explicitly? That’s because RevOps is a much larger process than sales operations. It doesn’t just cover the sales touchpoint but tracks the entire customer journey. What’s important to note is that alignment between teams is the key driving force behind RevOps. Sadly, cross-functional misalignment is also a big pain point for SaaS businesses. This misalignment leads to a lack of communication between teams, manifesting siloed data. Companies have tons of data, but it sits in separate data lakes. These lakes don’t have any connecting bridges and don’t come together into a unified source. Because the lakes are separated, organizations have no idea about meaningfully using insights from siloed data. That’s the reason why achieving alignment is the first step. And from there, it’s about maintaining this alignment between teams as you scale. But how do you track alignment and revenue growth as a result of it? Using revenue operations KPIs. Why Should You Measure Revenue Operations KPIs? Companies can only improve or innovate if they know where they’re going wrong. RevOps KPIs help you track your customers’ progress and team performance throughout the buyer journey. This includes all revenue-generating teams—marketing, sales, customer success, product, finance, and more. These KPIs are particularly important today when aligning workflows between multiple teams is a complex process. Revenue operations KPIs measure the progress of shared workflows to determine if they’re catering to customer needs. They also measure performance at each customer touchpoint. You can go granular with KPIs to improve efficiency, eliminate friction and maximize revenue for growth. From an overarching perspective, revenue operations KPIs are your strategic guide to achieving business goals through revenue operations. Let’s move to the next most important question—what RevOps KPIs should you be tracking? 10 Essential Revenue Operations KPIs You Must Measure If you’re new to the RevOps journey and are just beginning to pay attention to KPIs, this list will help you pinpoint the correct revenue operations KPIs to measure. The remaining KPIs can be added as you scale your business. So, let’s dive in. 1. Revenue This is a no-brainer KPI, to begin with, but it’s also obviously critical. Revenue is the amount generated by your business. Measuring this KPI helps you figure out: If you have a consistent revenue stream over a given period What are the ups and downs How to adapt your pricing What’s your progress against business goals Typically, you must look at recurring revenue—subscriptions, membership fees, and license fees— in terms of Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) and Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR). As the name suggests, MRR gives you a monthly overview. The formula for MRR is: ARR, an annual KPI, can be used for more important business goals, measuring growth, and sales forecasting. There are two ways to calculate ARR, which you can see below: 2. Sales Pipeline Velocity Sales pipeline velocity measures the time a customer takes to move through the pipeline from lead to conversion. However, it’s stated in terms of revenue, not time. While sales pipeline velocity can differ widely from company to company, a usual B2B sales cycle could take as much as a year. It can be used to determine how much time your reps take to convert a lead. And if you should introduce any changes in the sales workflow. A higher velocity signifies that your sales process is organized and structured. This solid process pushes leads through the revenue funnel via frictionless handoffs. MQLs quickly become SQLs which, in turn, become closed or won opportunities. However, if your velocity is low, your revenue process may have bottlenecks that must be removed. You must identify these bumps and eliminate them to sustain growth. 3. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) You have to spend a certain amount of money to get new customers over a given period. For instance, money spent on running digital ad campaigns is a cost to acquire new customers. That’s CAC for you. Other costs associated with converting leads to revenue could fall under: Advertising Sales hiring Commission Sales rep coaching Overheads, and more. CAC is calculated as below. CAC measures your ROI on the investment made to acquire customers. It determines if you’re getting your money’s worth through new customers to improve profitability. This revenue operations KPI also reflects your marketing and sales success. It shows if you’re on the right track with your campaigns, messaging, and communication. If your ROI is low, you can strategize on reducing your CAC without affecting the quality of buyer-seller interactions for your company. 4. Conversion Rate Conversion rate (sometimes known as “win rate” or “opportunities to close ratio” in SaaS) is the number of opportunities that you turn into closed deals. It shows the percentage of leads that moved through your revenue funnel and became customers. If your conversion rate is low, you’re not doing something right in the revenue process. This revenue operations KPI provides a big-picture overview of why you couldn’t close more deals. Then, you can dive into questions such as: Does marketing need to provide the sales team with high-intent MQLs? Are you more focused on the volume of MQLs and SQLs, rather
Salesforce Lead vs. Opportunity: Explore the Difference RevOps 10 min Salesforce leads and Salesforce opportunities. These terms might be the first to welcome you as you enter the Salesforce world. However, comprehending these terms is nothing short of vital. This article takes a deep dive into these two crucial terms within Salesforce to help you understand their roles, distinctions, and tips to make the most of them. We will also explore the conversion process and understand when to convert a lead into an opportunity and why it matters. Let’s begin. What is a Salesforce Lead? A lead is the initial stage in the customer acquisition process in Salesforce. It represents a potential customer or business entity interested in your product or service. However, their interest has yet to evolve into a concrete sales opportunity. Leads are often individuals or organizations that have interacted with your company somehow. Some common examples include filling out a contact form on your website or attending a webinar. Let’s consider a software company, XYZ Tech, offering a project management tool. They launched a marketing campaign, and as a result, several professionals expressed interest in the product by signing up for a free demo on the website. At this stage, these individuals are considered leads within Salesforce. The company has their basic information, like name, email address, and the source of their interest (the marketing campaign), recorded in the CRM system. However, being leads, these individuals have yet to reach the point where they are ready to purchase. They may need further nurturing, information, or engagement to evaluate whether XYZ Tech’s project management tool aligns with their needs. As XYZ Tech’s sales and marketing teams interact with these leads, providing insights and addressing queries, some may gradually progress to the next stage: becoming opportunities. What is an Opportunity in Salesforce? An opportunity reflects a distinct stage in the sales pipeline of the Salesforce CRM ecosystem. At this stage, a lead or potential customer has advanced beyond initial interest and is now a qualified prospect with a real chance of making a purchase. Opportunities are critical in tracking and managing the sales process, as they provide a structured framework for sales teams to pursue and close deals. Each option includes the potential revenue, probability of closing the deal, sales stage, and expected closing date. All these aspects provide a comprehensive overview of the sales potential associated with a prospect. To illustrate the concept of better, let’s return to our example with XYZ Tech. After some time nurturing the leads generated from their marketing campaign, the sales team at XYZ Tech identified a lead named John Smith, who has shown interest in their product. John has held multiple discussions with the sales representatives and attended a product demonstration. He has also expressed his intent to implement the software for his organization. At this point, John transitions from being a lead to becoming an opportunity within Salesforce. The CRM system may now contain the following information about the potential sale: Estimated deal value, The stage of the sales process (e.g., “Proposal Sent”) The probability of closing the deal based on historical data and the current circumstances (e.g., 70% chance of closing) The expected closing date (e.g., within the next 30 days). Salesforce Leads vs. Opportunities Understanding the distinctions between leads and opportunities is critical to managing and nurturing potential customers through the sales cycle. While both play pivotal roles in customer relationship management, they serve different purposes within the sales process. Here are some critical differences between Salesforce leads vs. opportunities. Difference 1: Stage of the sales cycle Leads Leads represent the earliest stage in the sales cycle. They are potential customers who have shown initial interest but have yet to be fully qualified or ready for direct sales engagement. Opportunities Opportunities reflect a more advanced stage in the sales process. They indicate that a lead has progressed to the point where there is a genuine potential for a sale. Difference 2: Information depth Leads Leads contain basic contact information, like name and email address. It also includes the source of their interest. They may also have limited data on their specific needs. Opportunities Opportunities include more comprehensive information. They include details on the potential deal size, probability of closing, current sales stage, and expected closing date. The depth of data helps track and forecast revenue. Difference 3: Purpose Leads Leads serve as a starting point for identifying potential customers. They require further nurturing and qualification to determine if they are genuinely interested and their needs align with the offered product or service. Opportunities Opportunities are actionable prospects that have passed the initial qualification phase. Sales teams focus on opportunities to pursue a sale and close deals actively. Difference 4: Conversion process Leads You can convert leads into contacts, accounts, or opportunities when they meet specified criteria and exhibit higher interest or readiness. Opportunities Opportunities come from leads that have undergone a qualification process and are now considered promising prospects. They don’t convert into other Salesforce entities but are worked upon to reach a successful sale. Difference 5: Sales tracking Leads Leads help track the effectiveness of marketing campaigns and lead-generation efforts. This is because they represent the starting point of customer interaction. Opportunities Opportunities provide critical insights into the progress of potential sales. They help sales teams prioritize deals and forecast revenue more accurately. When Does a Lead Convert into an Opportunity? The decision to convert a lead into an opportunity in Salesforce is critical in the sales process. It requires careful consideration and strategic judgment. While the specific criteria for conversion may vary, here are some best practices that should guide this decision-making process. 1. Qualification and engagement Before converting a lead, assess its level of qualification and engagement. Has the lead demonstrated a genuine interest in your product or service? Have they engaged in meaningful interactions with your sales or marketing teams? Qualification may involve the lead’s budget, authority, need, and timeline (BANT). 2. Information
7 Salesforce Data Quality Tools for 2025 RevOps 10 min Salesforce data quality tools are like trusty detectives for your business data. They carefully inspect and analyze your data to make sure it’s accurate, consistent, and reliable. With these tools, you can confidently make important business decisions based on high-quality data that you can trust. When it comes to handling data from different sources like social media, logs, email, and databases, you need a reliable solution that can effectively scrub, manage, and analyze all that information. With the right tools in place, you’ll be equipped to tackle any data challenge that comes your way and make the most out of your diverse data sources. What is Data Quality? Data quality is all about having good, reliable data that you can trust. It’s like having a sturdy foundation for your business decisions. That means no more errors, duplicates, or messy data that can lead you astray. When your data is accurate, complete, and consistent, you can make confident choices and take actions that will drive your business forward. Related Blog: Do You Trust Your Salesforce Data? To ensure data quality, essential processes include data ingestion, profiling, parsing, cleansing, standardization, matching, execution, deduplication, merging, and exporting. Each step contributes to refining and improving the data for effective analysis and utilization. Why Do you Need Salesforce Data Quality Tools? Having high-quality data is a game-changer for organizations. When you can rely on accurate and reliable insights, it becomes a catalyst for smarter business processes and decision-making. Not only does it save valuable resources, but it also boosts your organization’s efficiency and profitability. But what are the consequences of bad data? When you’re working with data that’s inaccurate, incomplete, or unreliable, it’s like walking on thin ice. You run the risk of making poor business decisions, flawed strategies, and unreliable analytics. Related Blog: 5 Salesforce Products to Boost ROI in 2023 Inaccurate data can wreak havoc on your business, leading to a multitude of issues like incorrect customer addresses, incomplete records, missed sales opportunities, unreliable financial reporting, and more. These missteps can have a significant impact on your bottom line, reputation, and overall success. By leveraging good data quality software, you can ensure that your business maintains high-quality data, meeting both international and local regulatory requirements. This, in turn, enhances your business agility and efficiency, enabling you to make informed decisions and drive better outcomes. Check the gaps in your salesforce reports, with an no-obligation free CRM scan report. Scan my CRMDownload Sample Report Top 7 Salesforce Data Quality Tools 1. Nektar Nektar is an AI for RevOps that automates all customer information and contact and brings them together, revealing insights that are normally not visible in CRMs. With AI-powered CRM automation, Nektar revolutionizes the Salesforce experience and delivers unmatched return on investment (ROI). Sellers simply forget to update the CRM. This lack of adoption leads to poor data quality, which means revenue leaders don’t get the insights they need. It’s a waste of money. That’s where Nektar comes in. Pricing: Nektar’s pricing is flexible depending on the business and solutions required. Nektar also offers a free CRM checkup to identify key gaps on where revenue is being lost in the sales process. 2. ZoomInfo ZoomInfo is a tool that provides comprehensive sales and marketing intelligence. It offers accurate contact information, deep insights into companies, and the ability to identify buying intent. With ZoomInfo, you can personalize your outreach, stay updated on target accounts, and integrate seamlessly with other systems. It empowers sales and marketing teams to find, engage, and close deals with their ideal customers. Pricing: ZoomInfo offers various pricing packages tailored to different business needs, and they can provide customized pricing based on your specific requirements. 3. Ambition Ambition is a performance management and gamification tool designed to help organizations drive employee productivity and achieve their goals. It provides a range of features and functionalities to motivate and engage employees, track performance metrics, and provide real-time visibility into key performance indicators (KPIs). Pricing: The pricing details for Ambition can be obtained from the software provider or through publicly accessible pricing materials. To make a purchase of Ambition, it is recommended to engage in final cost negotiations with the seller. 4. CirrusInsights CirrusInsights is a tool that integrates Salesforce with your email and calendar, providing a seamless experience for sales professionals. It offers a range of features to enhance productivity and streamline workflows. Pricing: Cirrus Insight offers four pricing editions ranging from $4 to $29, with a free trial available. Explore the editions to find the one that fits your needs and budget. Salesforce Sync $10/year/user Pro $21/year/user Expert $29/year/user Sync+ $4/month/user 5. HelloSign (Dropbox Sign) Hellosign is an electronic signature platform that allows businesses to securely sign and send documents online. It simplifies the signature process, eliminates the need for paper-based workflows, and enables businesses to streamline their document management. Pricing: Free $0 Essential $15/month Dropbox +eSign $24.99/month Standard Starting at $25/month 6. Ringlead Ringlead is a comprehensive data management platform that helps businesses improve the quality and accuracy of their customer data. It offers a wide range of features and functionalities to enhance data management processes and ensure data integrity. Pricing: Pricing information for Ringlead may vary depending on the specific needs and requirements of your business. It’s recommended to reach out to the Ringlead team for detailed pricing information and to discuss the best plan for your organization. 7. Clearbit Clearbit is a data enrichment and intelligence platform that helps businesses gain valuable insights about their customers. It provides a wide range of features and functionalities to enhance data quality and drive personalized experiences. Pricing: Clearbit’s pricing may vary depending on the specific needs and requirements of your business. It’s recommended to reach out to the Clearbit team for detailed pricing information and to discuss the best plan for your organization. Make your Salesforce a self-healing data-packed CRM with Nektar! Get a demo! Conclusion Salesforce is one of the steepest investments in your tech stack. But low adoption rates and poor
Unlocking Efficient Growth With a RevOps Function In this blog, we discuss with Eric Welsh how you can give up the hunt and turn to RevOps to drive efficient growth. RevOps 10 min The hype for “growth at all costs” has died down in the last year. Budget freezes across organizations have pushed leaders to drive efficiency with the resources at hand. Now, it’s all about doing more with less. And the concept is quickly gaining ground among leaders because they can drive efficient growth by keeping costs low. But how exactly are they doing it? And is it efficient enough with limited funds? Those are the questions we sought answers to in our conversation with Eric Welsh. Eric is the Director of RevOps at Demostack and has been in RevOps and its adjacent spaces for nearly a decade. This blog digs into his wealth of experience to bring you insightful nuggets for driving efficient growth. You can also view the full conversation below. Ep #7: Driving Efficient Growth With RevOps ft. Eric Welsh Defining Efficient Growth for Businesses Today We’ve witnessed, in the last few years, that market conditions can change instantly. At the same time, aggressive growth encouraged companies to raise funds, invest, hire, and innovate quickly. But when following an efficient growth mindset, the primary question you need to ask yourself is—are you growing in a way that constantly needs funds to survive and thrive? And if the answer’s “yes,” your growth isn’t efficient. Instead of solely focusing on raising funds, your goals must adapt to the evolving business environment. That means you should be able to drive efficient growth even when the funds dry up with the resources you have so far in your journey. It begins with paying attention to early cost warnings, allocating and reallocating resources as needed, and facilitating transformational growth (as opposed to just rapid growth). You need to push for cleaner, more transparent, and standardized process flows that avoid a lag in scaling. It also means you may have to turn to digitization and automation to maximize your resources. What Makes Revops the Perfect Choice to Drive Efficient Growth? Revenue operations or RevOps is an end-to-end operating model that helps organizations run their business in an interconnected way across GTM functions like sales, marketing and customer success. The function’s primary responsibility is driving visibility and accountability among leaders, stakeholders, and teams to: Identify new opportunities Improve win rate and conversions Plug data and revenue leaks Optimize workflows and processes Boost profitability Refine the customer experience As Eric points out, RevOps is based on 4 key pillars—Process, Data, Platforms, and People. Given that it advocates and strives for efficiency in every single action, it’s no wonder the function is becoming increasingly popular for businesses: B2B companies investing in RevOps have experienced 10-20% increases in sales productivity. If your reps are productive, your revenue process is more efficient and has a better chance of succeeding. Leadership positions in RevOps topped the list of fastest-growing job titles in the US this year. And Gartner predicts that 75% of the highest-growth businesses globally will deploy a RevOps model by 2025. RevOps moves beyond a conventional approach that segments individual teams. Instead, it strives to create balance, better communication, and collaboration among functions—bringing them together. The result? It maximizes your revenue while simultaneously minimizing costs. Problems That Revops Solves for Today’s Efficiency-Focused Businesses Businesses face prevailing challenges that snowball into revenue leaks and inefficiency. Here are 3 key challenges that could affect efficient growth. 1. Buyers Want More, but Are You Ready for It? 85% of sales reps met or exceeded their sales goals in 2021. That number dropped a little in 2022 to 82%. While that may seem like a small figure, it’s a big jump in 12 months. The underlying cause is that buyers want more, but not all sellers can live up to these expectations. Buyers want more solution-based pitches showing how the product aligns with their use cases. But your reps may focus on the old-fashioned product approach (which comes across as more sales-y). Customers also want sellers to personalize their pitches and have more interactions to discuss the solution. In comparison, reps may be caught up with finishing non-selling tasks and filling up the pipeline. A lack of effort and understanding at the rep’s end could cost you a long-term customer. 2. Pipeline Visibility Is Poor As much as 71% of revenue professionals report that their marketing, sales, and customer success functions are not fully aligned. That translates into a lack of visibility into the customer journey through the sales pipeline. Poor quality data is to blame here, primarily data that remains stuck in silos between revenue teams. If they don’t have access to complete and accurate data across the funnel, they can’t talk to each other and exchange information. Subsequently, you miss profitable opportunities. 3. Inaccurate Predictions Slide Into Forecasts 16% of salespeople attribute unrealistic quotas as one of the top reasons for sales job turnover. But where do these unrealistic quotas come from? Inaccurate forecasts. As much as 80% of organizations don’t have a forecast accuracy greater than 75%. To sum it up, inaccurate forecasts cost you earnings and employees. In the larger scheme of things, this may also ruin your reputation among customers and job seekers alike. Faced with the above 3 challenges and limited funds, businesses are now looking to invest in solutions that are hard-wired for efficiency. Subsequently, this efficiency evolves into effective revenue growth. We’ll see, in more detail, how RevOps has massive potential to drive efficient growth and business profitability.  How Revops Drives Efficient Growth for Businesses Eric sums up RevOps’s purpose so clearly. It’s the problem-solver, troubleshooter, and growth-focused sibling of all operations functions. This ability to solve problems and do it with resources at hand is what makes RevOps a frontrunner for navigating efficient growth. Here are 8 ways RevOps can help: Data hygiene & orchestration Refined alignment Streamlined tech stack Better forecasting Leadership buy-in Consistent performance tracking Improved rep productivity Happy customers Let’s dive into each one of them below. 1. Data Hygiene & Orchestration You can make the