Meetings Are Not A KPI
Measuring meetings is not the visibility you need into pipeline performance.
In this Executive Brief:
Meeting shows don't predict Closed Won Deals and sales of new territories. Deals advancing through your sales pipeline does. Your executive reporting needs to surface KPIs that reflect actual performance and Meetings are not that.
What you need to know:
Meeting metrics belong at the operational level, not the executive dashboard.
Showed meetings (Discovery Meetings particularly) used to be the best visibility franchises had into their pipeline. That isn’t true anymore.
Your executive reporting should include KPIs that reflect and predict prospects advancing to a Closed Won Deal for a new territory.
Meeting data like books, shows, and show rate is valuable for managing day to day, coaching, reps and analysis but not for executive reporting.
What to do:
Replace meeting data in executive reporting with:
Counts (count of qualified leads for example)
Conversion/advancement rates by Pipeline Stage (% of Deals that advance from Discovery to FDD for example).
Use meeting data for operational analysis.
Let’s Drill Down
HubSpot Improves The Power of Your Data and Reporting
Your HubSpot implementation should track prospect progression through your entire sales process. Measuring meetings is not the visibility you need into pipeline performance. The data you have access to is VAST so don’t limit your success.
Show Rates Don't Predict Closed Won Deals
Consider this scenario:
Last week your booked Discovery Meetings were twice your previous best week. Great!
All of them show. Amazing!
All them are Closed Lost. None advance to your next step.
Your Shows and Show Rate look amazing.
Your pipeline is a disaster.
If you report on Meetings your executive dashboard tells you things are great. If you see zero advancements, you can act immediately. Why did this happen? Why did we lose them? Where did these leads come from? All questions a good HubSpot setup for FranDev can answer.
Meeting Data Has Operational Value
Meeting metrics are valuable for day-to-day management. You should collet books, shows, etc. and you should use that data:
Evaluating lead source quality.
Why are No Shows happening?
Automating No Show recapture.
Identifying coaching opportunties.
Diagnosing pipeline bottlenecks.
Understanding prospect exit points.
Managers need this data for coaching and process improvements. Marketing wants this data to better understand good leads.
Instead, Report on What Predicts Territory Sales
Your executive KPIs should reflect progression toward Closed Won Deals:
Count of Leads reaching critical milestones, whether you call that MQL, SQL, Qualified Candidate, Applicant, whatever.
Conversion of advancement rates by Pipeline Stage
These metrics directly correlate to your territory development targets and reveal systemic issues affecting growth.
So…now what?
Check executive reporting. Is reporting on Meetings, not metrics that predict success blinding you to the true state of your pipeline?
See you in the next Lab Report.
These Executive Briefs are available to Paid Subscribers to The FranDev Lab Report. Thanks for being one.