Year-end sales: pressure or diagnosis?
If the target was missed, at least one of six metrics has a problem. Entering the new year without knowing which one means starting the same target with the same team, only more tired.
Most year-end reviews open the same table: target versus actual. When the gap is large, the reflex is pressure: close more in December, give a bit more discount, pull next year's business forward.
According to Salesforce's State of Sales report, two out of three salespeople expect to finish the year below quota. Pressure does not change these numbers; seeing where you are stuck does.
Before the year closes, look at six metrics once: average deal size, win rate, sales cycle length, stage conversion rates, customer acquisition cost and customer lifetime value.
This piece was originally written in Turkish. The full text is available on the Turkish version of this page.