Data Tracking and Interpretation in Sales: So You Don’t Drown in It, but Catch the Big Fish

Success in sales largely depends on the salesperson’s personality and their ability to uncover the client’s potential and needs. Thanks to technological advances and the ability to measure and collect data on virtually anything, we can now base our decisions on evidence instead of relying solely on intuition. If you want to succeed in sales, there’s really no other option.

Data can make work easier and open up new possibilities. At the same time, they can easily overwhelm and paralyze us. In fact, up to 73% of all data companies collect is never used. That’s why it’s crucial for salespeople to navigate data effectively and identify what really matters.

Why Data Matters for Salespeople

Data can help you in the following areas:

• More accurate targeting – You focus on the right customers—the ones who will bring the most value.
• Ideal customer approach and guidance – You understand what matters to each client and what you can offer them.
• Sales process optimization – You identify which parts of the sales process work well and which need improvement to avoid losing customers.
• Performance forecasting – You can better predict future performance, which deals are likely to close, and how much revenue they may generate.
• Stronger client relationships – With a detailed overview of each client, you always have context for meetings. You anticipate their needs and offer what they truly want—and clients appreciate that.

How to Get the Most Out of Your Data

It’s not just about collecting the right data—you also need to know how to interpret it correctly. For that, you need to understand the key metrics. Describing them all would fill a book, so today we’ll focus on which data, tools, and metrics can help you uncover new opportunities.

Martin Mlčoch, a freelance B2B sales consultant with experience at companies like Imper, shared his insights with us. He specializes in sales tools on the Czech market and improving salesperson efficiency.

To find new opportunities through data, Martin suggests the following approach:

1. Know Your Ideal Customer

If a salesperson wants to spend as much time as possible with relevant clients, they first need to know who those clients are. Start by analyzing your current customers. Who are your ideal clients? Assess this based on who brings the most profit, is the most loyal, or purchases most frequently—it depends on what matters to your business.

We’ve also covered how to identify key customers in a separate article.

Once you’ve identified your ideal customers from your existing base, look for common traits. Is it company size, industry, or the nature of your relationship? You can track and analyze two types of data:

• Publicly available customer data – Focus on company size, industry, geographic location, or revenue. You can find all this data in your CRM or from external sources. Martin recommends a tool like Merk, which provides information on all companies and can be integrated with Raynet.
• Customer behavior – Identify the customers who buy the most, bring the highest margins, or purchase regularly—depending on what’s important to you. Apply the 80/20 rule: select the top 20% of your clients and use data to determine what sets them apart (what they have in common and how they differ from the rest).
  
  

Your existing customers are a valuable source of data that can reveal where your new business opportunities lie.

2. Look for New Opportunities

Once you know who your ideal customer is, you can:

• Look for similar profiles among potential clients,
• Consider which of your current customers are worth nurturing further to reach the level of an ideal customer,
• Give your top customers maximum attention to ensure they stay that way.
  
  

Creating customer profiles based on data from your previous analysis will help you identify new ideal clients. Compare new leads with these profiles and focus primarily on those that match your ideal customer criteria.

You can also use data to segment potential customers and create tailored offers for them.

3. Track Your Performance

Once you’ve identified and approached a potential client who could become your ideal customer, don’t expect it to happen overnight. But you can work toward getting them there as quickly as possible—data analysis will help with that too.

Monitor how they move through your sales funnel and where they get stuck. Track conversion rates, lead sources, lead quality, and the length of the sales cycle. Also evaluate whether you’re giving clients enough attention. In addition to CRM data, use direct client feedback to assess and improve your approach.

Use Data—But Don’t Drown in It

Today we have endless options—everything can be measured. But that often means we lose sight of what really matters. It’s important to choose a few top metrics to focus on. For the acquisition process, 3 or 4 key metrics are enough, advises Martin Mlčoch.

Then you can evaluate what the data is telling you. If you have plenty of leads but they’re not turning into opportunities, you might be handling your meetings poorly—or you may be misclassifying contacts as leads. If everything looks good there but you’re still not meeting your quotas, it’s possible you simply don’t have enough leads and need to step up your lead generation efforts.

Read more about what your data can reveal about failure.

CRM Helps You Process and Analyze Data

Tracking all your key metrics is much easier when you use a CRM. It keeps all your sales data in one place, some of which is logged automatically, and it allows you to analyze it with ease. The data is also displayed in clear graphs—making interpretation much simpler.

If you don’t have a CRM yet, try Raynet CRM free for 30 days with no commitment.