Ventana Research Finds Sales Organizations Need Analytics Retrofit

PLEASANTON, CA, February 18, 2011 (Press-News.org) Sales organizations see improving analytics as a way to drive increased revenue, new benchmark research from Ventana Research indicates. They also value improvement in sales-related analytics as a way to manage the sales pipeline and forecast process and to measure sales representative performance. But while more than half of organizations (60%) want to simplify sales analytics, the research finds that only 24 percent are planning to change the way they generate and apply analytics in the next 12 to 18 months. Looking at the big picture, the research makes clear that most organizations have room to mature in their use of sales analytics, with only 17 percent ranking at the highest of the four maturity levels in the Ventana Research Maturity Index.

This in-depth benchmark research on Sales Analytics, the latest from the leading business technology research firm, analyzed sales organizations around the world to assess the maturity and direction of their efforts. Ventana Research undertook this research to acquire real-world information about maturity, trends and best practices in how organizations use analytics and key indicators to optimize their sales processes and organizations. It explores how they do this now, how their sales teams view the current processes and tools, plans they have to change or improve them, and benefits they hope to gain by doing so.

The findings offer fresh research-based information on companies' attitudes toward sales analytics. They confirm that organizations use a variety of sales analytics, but the data indicates that Sales has not yet automated many of the underlying data integration and analytics operations needed to generate metrics. The research also suggests that sales organizations need to improve because he data shows it now takes almost a third of them two weeks or longer to generate analytics. Almost one third of organizations (31%) wants to be able to rent analytics tools as software as a service and 40 percent want them more easily accessible via mobile devices.

The research indicates that the ability to search for relevant analytics and metrics that answer business questions is a high priority, and confirms that predictive analytics have come onto the radar screens of sales organizations. These are capabilities not readily available to organizations that currently rely on spreadsheets, which are the technology most commonly used for analytics by a third of organizations. Not surprisingly, the research finds that today almost half (46%) of those user organizations are not happy with their existing technology.

"The sales organization is essential for generating revenue and addressing customer demands, which is why sales analytics and metrics are essentials for everyone who is directly or indirectly responsible for sales," noted Mark Smith, CEO and EVP of Research at Ventana Research. "In most cases the sales organization has not invested into sales analytics, which has impacted their efficiency and outcomes. Just generating charts from spreadsheets and sending presentations around no longer works, since it does not deliver immediate access to the sales metrics needed to determine opportunity and resolve issues. The research changes the dialogue about sales metrics and what organizations need to do to deliver on the goal of managing sales performance."

Ventana Research will release and detail the findings of this benchmark research in a live interactive webinar on March 1st, 2011 at 10:00am Pacific time that will discuss the research findings and offer recommendations for improvement. Key research findings to be discussed will include:

- top five recommendations for sales organizations.
- the current state of sales use of analytics and metrics.
- top patterns in the adoption of new methods of sales analytics.
- the types of sales metrics and indicators that are most important.
- the current state, future direction of and potential investments in sales analytics.
- the competencies required for sales analytics.

Register for the Webinar - http://www.ventanaresearch.com/sam/sam.aspx?id=4174

Those interested in learning more about the benchmark research can find additional information at http://www.ventanaresearch.com/sam/. As a part of your registration you will receive insights and education from Ventana Research on using technology effectively in business.

About Ventana Research
Ventana Research is the leading benchmark research and advisory services firm. We provide expert guidance to help organizations manage and optimize performance - to become not only more efficient but more effective. Our unparalleled insights and best practices guidance are based on our rigorous research-based benchmarking indexes of people, processes, information and technology across business and IT functions worldwide. The combination we offer of benchmark research, rigorous market coverage and in-depth knowledge of hundreds of technology providers means we can deliver business and technology education and expertise to our clients where and when needed. The Ventana Research Indexes - the Value Index and the Benchmark Index family - have redefined the research industry by providing accessible, easy-to-use research-based business and technology guidance to businesses.

Ventana Research provides the most comprehensive analyst and research coverage in the industry; the many business and IT professionals worldwide who are members of our community benefit from Ventana Research's insights, as do highly regarded media and association partners around the globe. Our views and analyses are distributed daily through blogs and social media channels including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Business Week's Business Exchange. Ventana Research was ranked the #1 analyst firm you can trust in enterprise software for 2009 for its relevance to the industry. We focus on business and technology trends and best practices that maximize organizations' potential to perform while reducing the time, cost and risk and still achieve optimal outcomes.

Media: Copies of benchmark research report and interviews are available upon request.

Media Contact: Marisela Reynoso (925) 474-0060 marketing@ventanaresearch.com