Sales Operations is a multi-faceted role that intersects many aspects of the business. It’s an incredibly broad position and you’ve probably had your hand in everything from developing pipeline metrics and sales forecasts, to implementing sales methodology and maintaining the weekly sales cadence, as well as working between Sales and Finance on budgets and planning. 

Then, there are the initiatives like delivering sales training and playbooks, rolling-out sales tools and technology, and configuring CRM. Finally, there’s the tactical day-to-day work like brokering peace treaties between Sales and Marketing, as well as providing analysis, analysis and more analysis.

So, the big question is, how do you quantify Sales Ops’ success? Keep reading for six factors to consider when measuring this.

I remember in school there was that period between President’s Day and Spring Break that seemed so long. You had just come off the holidays in December, then a long weekend, then what seemed like an eternity of full weeks of school. Not to mention, the days were short and the weather was unforgiving. Then magically, the days started getting longer, the air warmed up and Spring Break came along. Then it seemed like a downhill march to summer. I remember experiencing that cadence and see it now in my kids.

Just like school, sales has a natural cadence. There is the flurry of the year-end close — deals getting done at the very last minute, reps making club and accelerators being paid. That’s quickly followed by the excitement of Sales Kickoff (SKO) — bringing everyone together, awards being given, new product introductions and sales training. Then comes along the “long, dark winter” of Q1 — territories changing, pipelines flushed, the scoreboard set back to zero and reps deciding whether they’re ready for another year.

As a Sales leader and Sales Operations professional, it’s what you do in those critical weeks of Q1 that will determine whether the rest of the year is a “productive, downhill march to making the annual target” or a “long, uphill trudge to 80% achievement.”

Here are the four opportunities you need to seize post-SKO to ensure the former.

The Champagne has been poured, the celebrations cleaned up and now it’s back to the reality of a New Year. Whether you be on calendar quarters or on offset quarters you’re likely looking at a new sales year coming up.

For sales leaders it’s both an exciting time and a dreadful time. Of course, a beginning of a new year is always better if the end of the last one was great but that’s for another blog. Sales leaders and sales operations are feverishly tallying up the results from last year; figuring out who made club, who is #1 and unfortunately, who won’t be with them at the end of next year. They are also working on sales kickoff. What are the new initiatives for the year, new product training and a general theme for the year.

But that's not all...