About 10 years ago, analytics were a complicated, mysterious thing. Data was pulled from outdated computer systems. Reports were calculated and produced by statisticians, researchers, and IT people, and then given to leadership to make business decisions. These reports might eventually make their way to other parts of the business, depending on if leaders wanted to share it, but those insights could already be out of date. If a sales rep wanted information or access data, they needed to submit a request to the people compiling information; it was always a slow and secondhand process.

Fast forward to 2016 and this way of doing business is extremely inefficient. The lower cost and easy access to powerful analytics tools has made it possible for us to analyze data and get better insights from it. More people have access to analytics tools and don’t need to wait around for secondhand information. According to a Salesforce Research report, between 2015 and 2020, the number of data sources business analyze jump 83%. Furthermore, 90% of top-performing companies say that analytics is “critical or very important to driving their company’s overall business strategy.” If analytics is key to driving successful outcomes, it makes sense to arm your entire sales team with analytics to help them make smarter decisions.

Even better, having analytics integrated directly with your CRM enables sales teams to make data-driven decisions a part of their everyday routine. From deciding which lead to follow to uncovering new upsell opportunities, putting analytics in the hands of your sales team,, helps them perform more efficiently. In our newest e-book, we show you a few ways to get started using analytics to sell more intelligently every day. You’ll find out how sales analytics helps you:

1. Learn from the past. How does your current sales performance stack up against your previous results or against your colleagues? Looking back at historic data helps you make future decisions.

2. Set up benchmarks. Many salespeople have a competitive streak. Analytics helps establish benchmarks, quickly identifying best practices and strengthening the entire team.

3. Prioritize targets. When you work in sales, you need to move quickly and efficiently, otherwise you risk deals getting lost. Instead of chasing all the leads, analytics can show you which deals to focus your attention.

4. Create deeper relationships. When analytics is paired with CRM, you immediately have a wealth of customer insight at your fingertips. You can learn so much from a customer’s buying history, sales cycles, and even begin to anticipate their needs.

Learn more about how every sales rep can accelerate success with analytics. Download our latest e-book here.