Katie Harkins

Here is my favorite hit list of OKRs for Sales: *ASP *Average Sales Cycle *# of net new logos *Total discos scheduled *Percentage to quota I've been at different organizations that also liked to measure the following: Total Appointments//Discos Total Pitches Completed Total Number of Net New Logos Total Transactions from Cross Sells Total Selling Days in Month//Quarter Total Calls//Emails (Calls2Set +Emails2Set Ratio) Total Talk Time % to Quota Selling Days Show Ratio Average Deal Size I live by ...Read More

I recommend socializing KPIs in team meetings, emails and in your slack channels. I have a weekly schedule I've followed over the years: MONDAY: Make it personal, pre-call prep for the week, praise from last week, etc TUESDAY: Who needs to get excited about the next 4 selling days? Who needs a gut check? WEDNESDAY: KOOLAID! Press hits on your company, new case studies, competitive wins, etc. THURSDAY: Low/High/KPIs. It's not too late to turn it around. It's time to praise those that have worked ...Read More

Compared to a sales-assisted org, your KPIs change with a self-serve product. You want product lead growth that funnels your NRR to feed your MRR that feeds your ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue).  Some of my favorite self-serve product metrics are the following: *CAC *Unique traffic visits  *fulfillment speed *active trials at any given time *AHA moments  *virality & recommendations received post AHA moment (flywheel effect) *LTV  *at what point does a human step in? (support or sales) *What p ...Read More

My process for figuring out what metrics to hold sales accountable for is related their percentage to quota each month//quarter & their W2. You can never take your eyes off the target. We are responsible for first and foremost revenue and making the company money. My favorite engineer use to call me "Paycheck" because he knew any deal I sold helped him get paid every 2 weeks. You'll want to make sure that AEs and sales managers are hitting the goals they set at the beginning of the year to h ...Read More

If you have a quota, you should take ownership over all your KPIs. Make sure you make them easy to find in one dashboard. I usually call this my "Birds Eye View." I usually see sales leaders not asking enough demand generation questions. What keywords are you bidding on? Why? Why haven't we tried these keywords? I take my top 10 objections in my sales cycles and turn them into collateral. Whether it be a blog post, webinar or ebook. It's easy to user in sales cycles to farm prospects when you al ...Read More

Everyone has seen the "SMART" goals sheet. Are you specific with your goals when selling into new markets? Maybe it's by geo or by vertical or by title or by named accounts? Can you measure these goals on a weekly basis? Are the goals you set achievable? It's ok to shoot for the stars. Then here comes the tweaking part. You have to be realistic in a given time frame. It's always ok to ask for help. Usually, your network or higher-ups in your organization have seen mistakes or successes opening u ...Read More

For recent graduates that want to go straight into sales, I will immediately high five them and say, "Hell yes!" Everyone is in sales whether you have a quota or not. You're selling your significant other that you want Mexican for dinner vs. sushi. You're selling your kiddos on why attending school is an advantage in the long run. Ultimately, it matters what you W2. Why work harder than your co-workers only to get paid the same as them? A career in sales pays you more for your hard work and grow ...Read More