Here's how you can effectively convey sales metrics and performance data to stakeholders.

In my experience for more than 3 decades I have learnt that conveying sales metrics and performance data to stakeholders starts with knowing your audience. Tailor your communication by focusing on what matters most to each group—whether it’s executives concerned with revenue growth, operations teams interested in efficiency metrics like conversion rates, or marketing teams analyzing customer acquisition costs. Present data clearly using visuals and plain language, provide context by relating metrics to strategic goals and industry trends, and offer actionable insights that stakeholders can use to make informed decisions. Encourage dialogue to address questions and ensure everyone understands the implications.

In my decade-long journey in tech sales, I've learned that knowing your audience is crucial when conveying sales metrics to stakeholders. Tailoring presentations based on their expertise and interests makes a significant difference. For instance, product managers might appreciate a detailed technical breakdown, while executives often prefer a high-level overview. By focusing on KPIs that align with their goals, I've been able to highlight the most relevant metrics and demonstrate their impact on overall business objectives. This approach not only keeps stakeholders engaged but also ensures the data presented is actionable and meaningful to them.

Perguntar é segredo! No momento certo, seja num briefing ou numa reunião de planejamento, ajuda em muito questionar e compreender quais são os objetivos esperados, de forma quantitativa e qualitativa, e como as partes (não nós ainda) gostariam de avaliar estes resultados. Este primeiro alinhamento de expectativas tem potencial de esclarecer se todos estão na mesma página, possuem o mesmo nível de entendimento sobre o tema e já direcionar quais serão os KPI's compatíveis para cada parte.

Effectively conveying sales metrics and performance data to stakeholders involves several key strategies. Start by understanding your audience's background and interests to tailor your message. Use clear visual aids such as charts and graphs to present key metrics and trends. Focus on essential points that align with stakeholders' goals, providing context by comparing data with targets or industry benchmarks. Tell a compelling story that highlights progress, challenges, and opportunities. Discuss actionable insights and encourage interaction by inviting questions and feedback. Finally, follow up to reinforce understanding, address concerns, and discuss next steps for implementation or improvement.

Simplify Data-Highlight Key Metrics: Focus on the most important data points relevant to stakeholders. Use Visual Aids-Charts and Graphs: Utilize visuals like bar charts, line graphs, & pie charts to illustrate trends and comparisons clearly. Contextualize Information-Provide Insights: Explain what the data means, why it matters, & how it impacts business objectives. Tailor Communication-Know Your Audience: Adjust the level of detail & complexity based on the stakeholders' familiarity with the data. Be Concise-Summarize Findings: Present a brief summary of key points before diving into detailed data.

In my ten-year journey of technical sales, I have learned that nothing is more important than understanding the needs of customers. Providing meticulous, professional, and thoughtful service to customers while understanding their needs is essential to ensure the ultimate success of your sales. Different people have different needs. Engineers and technicians should prioritize whether your equipment can help them solve problems. Purchasing pays more attention to details such as delivery time, price, and after-sales terms.

As an expert in sales, you can easily bore your stakeholders if you focus too much on KPIs that are key for you to manage your team, identify trends and problems before they are too evident, and take action. You might be proud of how much you can dig into these KPIs and make wise decisions. However, they don't necessarily share your expertise in sales, and will not necessarily understand. Focus on the KPIs that will show how the sales process you follow is aligned with the business objectives. For example, if the company's focus is quality business and gross margin, focus on the indicators that show how your process targets, selects, and focuses on the right opportunities that will provide higher margins.

1. Don't overwhelm with overall figures. Segment data by region, product line, or customer type. This allows stakeholders to understand performance nuances and identify areas for targeted improvement. 2. Move beyond static slides. Use interactive tools like dashboards or heatmaps. This allows stakeholders to explore the data themselves, fostering deeper engagement.

Stakeholders have differing priorities. Segment your data presentation based on their needs. For executives, focus on high-level trends and overall revenue impact. For marketing teams, delve deeper into customer acquisition metrics. Focus on clear messaging and prioritize the data points that matter most to your audience.

Simplicity- keep things simple to understand for anyone and give context to the numbers you are presenting and their importance. What do they mean for the business? Good or bad. What is the action plan now that the data is presented? Like any story/Movie etc, in order to keep your audience engaged, they need to understand the past, the present and the future of the business. There is never a guarantee of success and that is why you need to also to be open to discuss and get constructive criticism through other views and opinions in the room so that you can refine your business plan/ proposal.

Com a ampla diversidade de ferramentas que temos disponíveis hoje, é possível inclusive enriquecer esta experiência para as partes, disponibilizando um dashboard interativo (personalizado ou numa interface já pré-pronta de alguma plataforma). Esta solução, é de ajuda tanto para uma imersão mais dinâmica e gamificada nos dados, como possibilita que a apresentação seja mais sucinta, já que o próprio stakeholder pode se aprofundar em detalhes mais específicos de forma independente posteriormente.