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So many people in charge of marketing will look at lagging metrics . They think , “ I ’ m in marketing so I want to measure how many qualified leads that I generate .” Well , that ’ s great , but that ’ s a lagging metric . Once you ’ ve measured how many qualified leads you generated in the past , you can ’ t change it . You can ’ t influence it because it ’ s done . The same applies with salespeople who set their goals purely on their sales targets . They ’ ll say , “ I want to achieve X dollar amount of sales in the next quarter or year .” That ’ s a lagging metric , and by the time you can measure that , you can no longer influence the outcome , because it ’ s done .
However , lagging metrics are important since they are what you can take to the bank . When we talk about the right things to measure , you want to talk about what it is that you want to accomplish at the end of your time frame . Start there but recognize that although those are numbers you can quote and take to the bank , they are lagging metrics , and by the time you can measure them , you can ’ t influence them anymore . To hit those lagging metrics , you need to have leading metrics .
I ’ ll give you an example . Take a salesperson whose lagging metrics might be a quarterly sales target . That ’ s what must be accomplished , and you want to be clear on that . That ’ s the only lagging metric that matters — the sales brought in that quarter . That ’ s it . The definition of success is meeting that sales quota . To achieve those quarterly sales , some leading metrics that will influence behavior throughout the quarter may be the number of phone calls the salesperson is making daily or how many meetings the salesperson is booking with potential clients each week .
By the way , if you ’ re a salesperson , the only time that you ’ re truly selling is when you are interacting with a prospect . All the paperwork and the other work that surrounds a salesperson ’ s daily life is not selling . Selling is when you ’ re talking with someone . How many phone calls , Zoom calls , or in-person meetings have you set up with your prospects ? If you are expecting to do 20 client meetings a month and you ’ re halfway through the month and you only have six in the books , you can do something about that . You can increase the phone calls to get more meetings so that you hit 20 sales calls . You can increase Zoom sales calls per month so that you ’ re much more likely to hit your sales quota , which is the lagging metric measured at the end of the period and the definition of success .
One of the leading metrics for marketing programs that we set up for Client-Partners could be the amount of traffic to their website from online pay-per-click advertising ( PPC ). It could be the organic traffic that ’ s coming to their website from content that we ’ ve created . Those are great examples of leading metrics . Those are somewhat inside your control . If you ’ re not getting enough PPC advertising clicks , maybe you need to look at your PPC advertising spend or strategy , or your keyword strategy may need some tweaking . The lagging metric is the number of qualified marketing leads . This could be measuring your inbound calls , or the number of contact forms filled out or meetings booked in your sales team ’ s calendar . These are examples of lagging metrics that we would track and measure success against . You want to be very specific about the metrics that you ’ re following .
The other thing I will leave you with is that once you define what those metrics are , you need to align everybody that ’ s involved . Management needs to be aligned with employees , who need to be aligned with outsourcers , whether that ’ s Tulip Media or whoever you use . Everyone needs to be aligned with 100 % clarity behind what the definition of success is — your lagging metrics — and what are the leading metrics that we are going use to influence those lagging metrics . If you do not have alignment with everybody involved , you will have different definitions of success and therefore misalignments and missed opportunities for success .
I challenge you to get clear on your numbers , get clear on the metrics that you want to follow , and be clear about the leading activities that will influence your lagging metrics and the results that you can then take to the bank .
Andy Buyting ' s thought leadership journey started when he published his first business book in 2007 and first magazines in 2009 . Since that time , he has leveraged custom magazines and online digital content strategies to establish himself as a leading authority in content marketing and brand positioning . Through his company , Tulip Media , Andy and his team make these content marketing strategies and tools accessible to their Client-Partners .
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