Datto #10 KPI: Sales Conversions
Well, here we are at the end of the KPI parade. Sales Conversions is the last of Datto’s 10 KPIs that every MSP must know, benchmark, track and improve upon. It has been a great list and now like any movie, we hit the crescendo, #10.
In retrospect, maybe we should have commented on the Top 10 list in reverse order, but that’s beside the point. Without further ado, here is what Datto has to say about Sales Conversions along with our comments on the subject…
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Datto's 10thKPI: Sales Conversions
Closed Deals versus Lost Deals is your sales conversion rate.
Every opportunity - win or lose – provides valuable insights, strengths, and weaknesses in your sales efforts.
Autotask PSA records opportunity win and loss reasons and then displays this through dashboard widgets and reports.
This will help you to answer questions such as, “Are we targeting the right types of leads?”.
With those answers, you can refine the sales approach and build a repeatable process.
SDB-Consulting’s Take on Sales Conversions
Only one or two MSPs that we have done a Free No-Obligation PSA Configuration Evaluation for over the last few years has had the Required Win or Loss reasons checked in the System Settings. We concur with Datto that this is important information which will help you improve your sales process.
However, our experience is that the information is not about “Are we targeting the right types of leads?”. The wrong types of leads should be vetted out way back in the beginning, either by research before the first meeting, or by qualifying the lead in the first face-to-face meeting with the prospect.
Think about it: Without targeting the right types of leads, we are unaware that they even exist, let alone lose them at the end of the pipeline.
The win/loss ratio is more about:
What objections did we not overcome?
What information did we not dig for in the due diligence process?
How clearly did we communicate our value proposition?
What the subsection also failed to mention is that if your conversion rate is 75-80%, there may be nothing to improve upon. As mentioned in a recent article, here is what we know about conversion rates:
For an MSP that is growing their business off referrals only, the rate is most likely 80% with a much shorter forecast of a 30-day cycle, with no pipeline (according to the definition for Forecast and Pipeline in the Datto #9 KPI subsection).
For an MSP that is growing their business by offering free Network Assessments, the conversion rate is around 30%. The sales pipeline for an MSP using Social Media is years (3 years for us) and a conversion rate that is so low that it is referred to as a funnel, not a pipeline.
For networking (which presents a challenge, given the current social distancing requirements), it is 90-120 days (or years for us) and a conversion rate that is closer to 50%, given some time and effort.
To get the eBook from Datto, download it here.
If you need help with any Autotask System Administration questions, solutions, or work, feel free to reach out to us. If you do not know where to begin, we recommend our Free, No-Obligation PSA Configuration Evaluation.
Thank you for taking the time to read our articles - and here is to both of us improving our Sales Conversion rates.