The Great Debate: Sales KPI Balancing Act

Quality vs. Quantity—Can We Stop the Madness?

Ah, the age-old debate in sales: quality vs. quantity. It’s right up there with pineapple on pizza, whether dogs or cats are the superior pet, and if "Reply All" should be banned forever (it should - IMHO).

Sales teams everywhere are stuck in a numbers game that often feels like trying to hit 10,000 steps while running late for a meeting—you’re moving, but are you actually getting anywhere?

The Math of Madness

Let’s talk about the classic 100-dials-a-day mandate. On paper, it sounds reasonable (to someone who has never sold a day in their life). But in an 8-hour workday, that means:

• 12.5 dials per hour
• 4 dials every 5 minutes
• Just under 4 minutes per call

Which assumes that every call is:

1. Picked up instantly (ha! Anyone in sales wishes, 'amiright?)
2. A lightning-fast conversation (double haha!)
3. Not a legitimate sales conversation, because who builds rapport, uncovers pain points and secures next steps in under 4 minutes?

And if—by some miracle—you do land a great prospect and engage in a solid, 30-minute discovery call, congratulations! You’re now 8+ calls behind. So, while you just set up a golden opportunity, you’re also failing your KPI for the day. Make it make sense.

The Real KPI Problem

The issue isn’t that KPIs exist, they are often a wonderful tool—but, it’s that they often force quantity at the expense of quality. Requiring a set number of dials without considering their effectiveness turns sales reps into exhausted telemarketers rather than strategic business developers.

Think about it: if 75 of those 100 dials are dead ends—wrong numbers, unqualified leads or Mildred who quit 5 years ago and is still accidentally listed as the decision-maker—how does that build pipeline? (Also, IMHO, it doesn't)

The Solution: KPIs That Make Sense

Instead of treating dials like tally marks in a punishment system, let’s rethink KPIs with balance in mind:

1. Weighted Activity Metrics
2. Pipeline-Based Goals
3. Flexibility & Context Matter
4. Preventing Burnout & Trauma (Yes, Trauma)

The KPI Mindset Shift

As sales leaders, KPIs should be a roadmap to success, not a punishment system. A high-volume approach might make sense in some industries, but forcing speed over strategy is a recipe for:

? Low morale

? High turnover

? Reps focusing on checkboxes instead of closing deals

Let’s stop treating sales like a telethon and start valuing the conversations that actually drive revenue. Because at the end of the day, you don’t get a trophy for making the most dials—you get one for closing the most deals. And I want my teams getting the trophies because they were the expert in the space, the trusted advisor who closed the most deals and brought their A games to our customers!

So, dear fellow sales leaders: Can we start tracking what actually matters? Asking for (very exhausted) friends everywhere.

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