Convert the Skeptics: Start Small to See Big Gains from Using Analytics

Start small to see big gains from sales intelligenceIt seems today everyone is talking about big data and analytics. The discussion is essentially about using data to manage information and performance. Analytics can help businesses use their data to solve specific problems, improve competitive opportunity and better predict and plan for the future. That only works, however, when their analytics tools of choice are implemented effectively and used correctly.

Based on the experiences of the large and small businesses using analytics today, we know it can yield incredible results, specifically higher sales and improved productivity. Reliable qualitative data can have a profound impact on a business’ ability to make better decisions if it is captured and acted upon in a timely manner.

In a survey of executives responsible for data analysis at a variety of companies, Deloitte’s Analytics Advantage Survey found:

49% of respondents assert the greatest benefit of using analytics is improved decision making capabilities
Nearly two-thirds of respondents said analytics plays a key role in their business’s decision-making process and in driving business strategy
55% said marketing and sales departments invested the most in analytics; finance operations invest the second most

The process of implementing analytics – and the logistics associated with doing so – can seem impossible for both small businesses with limited resources and large corporations with many moving parts.

That’s why Gryphon helps businesses implement pilot programs of its Core Phone technology, which automatically collects sales intelligence data and generates actionable reporting and analysis. In our experience of doing so, we’ve learned some tips to effectively roll out analytics slowly to start.

Here are three tips to get make effective implementation easier:

1) Start small.

Implement a pilot program or roll out reporting and analytics to a handful of teams first. Doing so eliminates both the logistical barrier of a company-wide rollout across multiple divisions or independent agents and the financial barrier of investing in an internally unproven tool.

2) Establish clear goals.

You want to know when your new tool has worked, so start with basic, clear guidelines for the improvements you expect to see during your pilot run.

3) Schedule periodic reviews to gauge your progress.

Tangible improvements – financially or operationally – will make the case for you that your company should be using analytics enterprise wide. Gaps between the goals you’ve set and your results can illustrate what is impeding the effective use of the data.Show incremental improvements.

4) Set a clear end to your pilot program.

At that point, the experience of watching progress through regularly schedule review meetings and the data gathered during the whole of the pilot will show clearly whether or not analytics has improved whatever metric you’re business needed it to improve. Together, your team can dissect why or why not and how an enterprise-wide roll out would or would not be different.

The capabilities of automatic reporting and analytics tools are impressive, but making them work for your business doesn’t need to be intimidating. Gryphon’s Core Phone automatically collects data from every sales agent on every call with a prospect, no matter what device the agent is using to place a call and no matter where that agent is making the call from – company headquarters, a satellite office, or on the road. Highly detailed reports provide management with enterprise visibility to help them make better decisions and benchmark performance and success.