We understand that leading indicators are better than lagging results, but we keep falling back on tracking lagging numbers like invoiced revenue. How do we identify the true leading indicators for our sales pipeline?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Tracking invoiced revenue is like driving a car by looking in the rearview mirror. To find the true leading indicators for your sales pipeline, you must map the physical activities that occur before a sale is closed. Every lagging result is the consequence of a chain of upstream behaviors.

Start by looking at your sales process. Before a contract is signed, a proposal must be sent. Before a proposal is sent, a discovery call must occur. Before a discovery call is booked, a specific number of outbound reaches or marketing leads must be generated.

To build your scorecard, select the weekly activities that your team has direct control over. You cannot force a prospect to sign a contract this week, but your sales team can absolutely control how many discovery calls they schedule. Measurables like outgoing cold calls, completed demos, or qualified leads generated are highly predictive leading indicators.

Ensure that the owner of the sales seat on your Accountability Chart GWC™ (Gets, Wants, Capacity) this metric. They must be accountable for hitting these activity targets every single week. When you track these upstream numbers consistently, your thirteen-week trend line will show you exactly when your future revenue is going to dip, allowing you to IDS® the problem and course-correct weeks before your bank account suffers.