The Value of Business Intelligence in 2020

Why Sales Teams Need Business Intelligence 

Is your sales organization utilizing business intelligence (BI) to drive performance and revenue goals? If not, here’s why a BI tool may be the missing piece to accelerating the performance of your team. 

Business intelligence technology refers to software and services that transform data into actionable intelligence — and the BI software market is projected to reach $26.78 billion this year (ResearchAndMarkets).

We all have access to data, but it is what we do with this data – how we capture it, analyze it, and act on it – that creates competitive advantage. Today, the most abundant resource in business is data. However, it is not just data, but the right data in the right context that enables sales leaders to make better decisions for their teams. 

Many companies are manually collecting data and using guesswork to come up with insights to establish action items. Although, there are two huge disadvantages to not utilizing a BI tool: 

1. Manually collected data is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate 
2. Data is not automatically turned into actionable intelligence  

The Value of Business Intelligence 

Without Business Intelligence, organizations face the risk of skewed data, missed opportunities, and worst of all, missed quota. For sales teams, BI is the key step between data and action, enabling them to improve daily operations and unleash their full potential. 

According to Forbes, improving reporting and dashboards were the top two business intelligence initiatives being adopted by companies in 2019.  

Reporting tools – These tools can save sales reps valuable time and give managers the accurate data they need to manage to a standard. When it comes to data, accuracy is everything. Manually reported CRM data only enables managers to lead their teams based on guesswork; with these circumstances, how well can they truly do their jobs?  

With reporting tools powered by BI, management can lead to a higher standard, and their reps can eliminate busy work and spend more time on revenue-generating activities — like picking up the phone and reaching out to prospects. 

“The BI software market is projected to reach $26.78 billion this year.”

Dashboards – Performance dashboards bring visibility to sales managers and allow them to hold their reps accountable to goals — something that is especially beneficial for distributed teams. The visualization of performance numbers allows reps to know where they stand against quota and their peers. Within the organization it fuels healthy competition, increasing team performance and better-enabling teams to hit quota.   

Further, dashboards give management the information they need to understand what is and isn’t working so managers can implement better coaching and training initiatives and on and off-board accordingly.  

Implementing BI at Your Organization 

In today’s data-driven sales climate, give your team the tools they need to excel. Business Intelligence is beneficial for both the individual and the organization. However, the tool itself will not transform your team’s performance – it requires human buy-in to the process, preparedness to take action, and willingness to change outdated practices.  

So, managers; it is up to you to take advantage of the insights available via BI and set higher standards for your sales team. 

Learn more on why you should adopt an intelligence tool at your sales organization.