If you're a sales rep, the pressure of hitting your sales quota month after month is probably a pretty familiar feeling. Prospecting, engaging, and converting leads is hard enough by itself, and when you then pile on all the other tasks you’ve got on your to-do list, an already tough time only gets more challenging. So, it’s perhaps not surprising to hear that the average quota attainment for B2B sales organizations is only 47%.
Fret not, however! In this article, we’ll explore whether not hitting quota is even a bad thing (spoiler: it’s not exactly ideal), why it can be challenging for sales reps to hit quota, and talk about a potential solution that can help you achieve quota by giving you more time in the day to focus on the important stuff.
Is Not Hitting Quota Even a Bad Thing?
Not hitting quota isn’t necessarily an unambiguous sign of failure, and there are many valid reasons why it might occur, such as unrealistically high quotas, longer sales cycles, and unfavorable market conditions.
However, most will probably agree that it is unlikely that not hitting quota would ever be a recommended strategy for long-term financial success, whether on an individual or organizational level.
For a company, quotas are generally aligned with a company’s broader financial objectives, so if a significant number of salespeople are missing quotas, that’s less than ideal.
For the sales rep, quotas are generally aligned with reps' sales commission, so if they’re consistently not hitting their quota, they’re not getting paid as much as they could be, which is, again, less than ideal.
In conclusion, it feels fair to say that not hitting quotas will likely be less than ideal for everyone involved.
So Why Aren't Sales Reps Hitting Their Quota?
The million-dollar question. There are likely many reasons that could explain why sales rep aren’t hitting their quota consistently, but we’ll limit ourselves to one: There aren’t enough hours in the day.
Sales work isn’t only selling. There are many other types of manual work that salespeople are doing daily that aren’t just challenging but also incredibly time-consuming. And there is no better evidence for this than the fact that sales reps only spend 28% of their week selling.
So, what are these other “not-selling” activities that sales reps are doing? They include but are not limited to record keeping, tool management, data entry, and lead management.
In the rest of the article, we’ll be exploring a potential solution to some of these “not-selling” activities that are taking up too much space on your plate and stopping you from spending more of your time closing deals: a company data platform.
What Is a Company Data Platform?
A company data platform is a specialized software tool designed to collect, analyze, and present data on companies. This platform aggregates data from multiple sources, including public records, social media, news articles, company websites, financial reports, and more, and makes them available under distinct company profiles.
Generally, a company data platform allows you to filter the companies displayed based on numerous parameters, such as where the company is located, how many employees it employs, and what industry it is in, and create target lists containing companies that meet that criteria.
If that was just a lot of jibber-jabber and you'd like another explanation, here's a short(ish) promotional video from us that might make it more obvious what a company data platform is and what they can do for you 👇
How Can a Company Data Platform Help Sales Reps Hit Quota?
A company data platform provides sales reps and organizations with actionable and up-to-date company information, but how does that help them hit quota?
It Frees Up Time
Time is a scarce and precious resource, so this is arguably the most meaningful way in which a company data platform can help you.
One of the “not-selling” activities that keeps salespeople busy is lead management, a big part of which is prospecting. So, by automating data collection and analysis, you save considerable time that can be better spent on engaging prospects and closing deals.
Not to blow our own trumpet, but Vainu has helped companies such as Toyota reduce the time they spent prospecting by 80%—and that’s just one of many such stories.
Another one of the activities that kept sales reps busy was record keeping and data entry, and the good news is that some company data platforms, such as Vainu, can integrate with your CRM, enrich your database with all of our company information, and then keep all the company-related data up-to-date!
Overall, a company data platform, especially one that integrates with your business systems, will free up a lot of time for your sales reps, which means they can spend more time on closing deals.
It Helps Sales Reps Target the Right Prospects
Not only does a company data platform make it faster for you to prospect, but it also lets you do so at scale!
By giving you access to a bunch of company information and ways in which to filter and create lists of companies based on organizational parameters, a company data platform enables you to focus your efforts on the types of companies that are the most likely to be interested in your products or services.
Of course, this requires that you know which types of companies are more likely to be interested in your products or services, i.e., it requires you to know what your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) is.
It Allows for Personalized Outreach
Knowledge is power. As such, by providing a lot of knowledge about a company, a company data platform also provides you with power! Not the cool type that lets you transform into He-Man, but nonetheless a pretty useful sort of power.
By knowing more about your prospects, you can tailor your outreach to their specific needs and pain points. And since personalization has been proven to increase response rates and engagement, this is likely a very good thing.
Want to Make It Easier to Hit Quota?
Hitting your sales quota doesn't have to be an (as much of an) uphill battle as it is now. By leveraging the power of a company data platform, you can automate manual tasks, target the right prospects, and personalize your outreach at scale. So, if you want to make hitting quota easier, sign up for a free trial.
