Guide to Sales Reports in a CRM: What They Are and Why They Matter

“Knowledge is power.” This timeless phrase holds especially true in the sales sector. Access to reliable and meaningful data is critical for making educated decisions and driving revenue growth as a sales professional or business owner. The Sales Reports function in a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system is a strong tool that provides firms with useful insights. Let’s discover more about sales reports in this blog.

What is a sales report?

A sales report is a document that contains information and analysis regarding a company’s sales operations during a certain time period. Businesses can use it to monitor their sales performance, track progress towards sales goals, discover patterns, and make informed decisions to improve sales strategy.

What are the different types of sales reports in Apptivo?

Apptivo is a cloud-based business management software that includes a number of modules and capabilities for managing sales operations. While the specific reports available in Apptivo may vary depending on the modules and configurations used, the following are some common sales reports that businesses can generate in Apptivo that have been classified according to hierarchy:

Team level Report

As a sales professional, they have access to the following reports, which provide vital insights to support and optimize tier sales efforts:

Individual sales performance

This report offers a comprehensive overview of the performance of individual sales employees, encompassing key metrics such as sales targets, actual sales accomplished, leads generated, opportunities closed, and other pertinent performance indicators.

Sales activities

The report tracks a sales employee’s activities, such as the number of calls made, emails sent, meetings attended, and assignments accomplished. It helps to assess their productivity and level of engagement.

Sales by Product or Service Report

Sales by product or service report dissects each individual product or service’s sales performance, shedding light on the quantity sold, income earned, and identifying any real-time trends or patterns in their sales. Consider a retail store that sells numerous technological goods as an example. The report would include detailed information on each product’s sales, such as the number of smartphones, laptops, and tablets sold, as well as the money earned by each category. By analyzing this real-time data, the store can determine which products are in great demand and allocate resources accordingly, modify pricing tactics, or design marketing campaigns to maximize sales and profit.

Common Reports between Team & Manager level

In the area of sales management, using the insights and data given by sales reports is critical for increasing sales team effectiveness. The sales manager and the sales rep combinedly play a critical role in maximizing the team’s potential by taking on crucial responsibilities. A sales manager will benefit from the following reports:

Sales Win/Loss Analysis Report

For any sales manager, evaluation takes up a significant amount of time. However, with a Sales win/loss analysis report, it is simple to review sales team performance, discover areas for development, refine sales strategy, effectively allocate resources, produce accurate sales projections, understand market trends, and motivate and recognize top performers.

Sales Forecast Report

Sales forecast report utilizes real-time data, market trends, and other pertinent factors to anticipate future sales for businesses. Just as a trained weather forecaster uses live radar and atmospheric conditions to determine the route of a storm, this report enables businesses to make informed decisions regarding inventory management, resource allocation, and sales tactics. Businesses can manage the ever-changing market landscape with confidence and precision by employing up-to-the-minute knowledge.

Sales Pipeline Report

Every sales manager is responsible for evaluating the present condition of the sales pipeline. To acquire a comprehensive knowledge, the sales pipeline report provides a detailed overview of all active deals and their related stages. This report not only shows the number of deals at each stage, but also their monetary value and total pipeline advancement. The sales manager may efficiently monitor possible opportunities, identify areas for improvement, and provide accurate forecasts for future sales performance by carefully analyzing this report.

Sales Team Performance Report

The overall sales performance is examined in this report, which includes indicators such as total sales revenue, number of deals won, average deal value, and salesperson performance. It assists in assessing the effectiveness of the sales force and identifying areas for development.

Sales by Customer Report

This report provides up-to-date information on sales data categorized by individual customers or customer segments. This means that the report is continuously updated with the latest sales figures and customer information as new transactions occur.

Whenever a customer makes a purchase, their data is immediately logged and shown in the report, allowing businesses to follow customer purchasing patterns in real-time, such as which products they buy, how frequently they buy, and their preferred payment methods.

Churn Report

Churn Report provides significant insights on customer churn, which is the rate at which customers stop doing business with a company. It acts as a valuable tool for evaluating customer churn, developing successful retention strategies, assessing client lifetime value, increasing customer happiness, adjusting sales and marketing techniques, and forecasting future churn. It empowers them to make informed decisions, retain clients, and drive business success.

Sales Activity Report

Sales managers rely on the Sales Activity Report to actively track and analyze their team’s tasks, including calls made, emails sent, meetings scheduled, and deals closed, during a specific period. They can capture this information manually or utilize sales management software, which automates data collection and reporting. The report is generated regularly, such as on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis, depending on the business needs.

Sales Commission Report

This report calculates and presents the commission earned by each salesperson within a specific period based on the sales performance. It is mainly used to provide transparency and accountability in determining the amount of commission earned by each salesperson. By accurately calculating and presenting the commissions, the report helps motivate sales team members, align their efforts with organizational goals, and ensure fair compensation for their contributions.

Every report has a particular frequency at which they are generated and here it is based on the commission payment cycle, which can be monthly, quarterly or customized to the business’s requirements.

Common reports for Sales Manager & Executive management

Reports become the trusted compass for senior executives, guiding strategic decision-making and ensuring the success of any organization’s sales endeavors. Here’s some of the reports that can be beneficial for them:

Sales performance dashboard

By integrating diverse sales metrics and KPIs from individual employees and teams, this comprehensive dashboard presents an overview of the entire sales organization’s performance. It successfully identifies major trends and areas that require attention or development.

Sales Territory Report

Businesses are rarely bound to a single location or territory, making it difficult to manage sales figures. However, with this Apptivo CRM function, businesses can analyze sales success in each area, as well as discover high-performing territories and areas that may need attention.

Sales funnel analysis

The executive manager actively uses this report to analyze conversion rates at each stage of the sales funnel. It identifies potential gaps or areas for improvement, allowing for a comprehensive understanding of the sales process’s overall efficiency. The report serves as a valuable tool in optimizing the sales process to achieve better results.

Employee access level is established in addition to the numerous reports accessible for each hierarchy. Not every report is available to the first sales team designation.

Aging report

The Apptivo Ageing Report is a significant resource for managers and executive CEOs because it enables them to manage cash flow efficiently, prioritize collections, discover payment trends, cultivate client relationships, and make sound financial decisions.

Why is a CRM sales report essential for business?

Finishing is just as crucial as starting in a relay race. When it comes to sales, a rep’s enthusiasm for starting the race of conversion is great, yet they fail to cross the finish line. The key reason for this failure is missing out on possibilities that are currently available.

A sales report assists in measuring the sales parameters that are necessary for increasing conversions. These reports aid in identifying opportunities and identifying potential risks, as well as the trigger points that cause a prospect to purchase a product or service. As a result, rather than relying on gut instinct, sales reports serve as a rational response tool.

How to Create Sales Reports in a CRM like Apptivo?

When the foundation is not strong enough to hold a building, collapsing of the building can happen anytime. Similarly, when the reports aren’t correct then holding the building called business becomes a nightmare. However, with Apptivo CRM fetching sales reports is a cakewalk for every sales manager.

Creating a sales report entails organizing and presenting information about the sales activity. Here’s a step-by-step strategy to creating a thorough sales report:

Defining the Purpose

Identify the goal of the sales report. Whether the business is analyzing overall sales performance, tracking individual sales team members, or assessing sales by product/service?

Defining the metrics

Determine whatever key performance indicators (KPIs) the company wants to include in the report. Total revenue, number of products sold, average order value, conversion rate, customer acquisition cost, and sales growth rate are all common sales indicators. Choose measures that are in line with the goals.

Gathering data

Collect pertinent data from sales records, CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software, or other data sources. Ascertain that the data is accurate, up to date, and includes the necessary time range for the report.

Organizing report structure

Determine the report’s parts and subsections. An executive summary, sales overview, thorough performance analysis, and future recommendations are all common elements. Create a logical flow of information that is clear and simple.

Creating visual representation

Visual components like charts, graphs, and tables are frequently used in sales reports. Use these tools to show facts in a visually beautiful and easily accessible style. Choose appropriate visualizations for each parameter, such as line graphs for sales trends or pie charts for product distribution.

Presenting comparative analysis

Provide year-over-year or month-over-month comparisons to demonstrate trends and variations in sales performance using filters. This gives for a better knowledge of growth or decrease and improves decision-making.

Summarizing the process

Summarize the main aspects of the report and provide a brief summary. Highlight the important findings and any ideas for enhancing sales success.

Reviewing and revising

Check the report for accuracy, clarity, and consistency. Check for grammatical faults and formatting flaws in the report. Seek comments from peers or superiors to help improve the report.

Distributing the report

Share the sales report with the appropriate stakeholders, such as sales managers, executives, or team members. Select the proper distribution format, such as email, printed copies, or an online reports & analytics dashboard.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, sales reporting is not just the responsibility of the sales department. It’s a great tool for connecting many departments, including marketing, operations, management, production, and, to some extent, human resources. These reports are essential for training, motivating, and improving the performance of sales teams. As a result, it is critical to prioritize sales reporting and ensure accuracy and precision. After all, it is the unseen factor that propels any sales team and the company itself to success.