A lot has been written about making Rocks SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound), but I have yet to see it applied to the added context of the Sales Department. This blog was written to add this context in order to help sales departments set better rocks and sell more stuff!
Before we dive in, for the purposes of this blog, it helps to understand these different types of rocks by differentiating a couple of types of rocks that I see in sales:
- Building Rocks – Rocks that require the building of processes that likely result in new activity metrics
- Performing Rocks – Leveraging current processes to drive existing metrics
Building Rocks are about implementing new structures or processes, and performance Rocks are part of the normal “day job” of the sales or revenue team. I am not a huge fan of performance rocks, but there is a place for them. More on that later!
Also, some use the “R” as “Realistic,” but from my perspective, “Realistic” and “Achievable” are the same, so I go with “Relevant!”
Specific
The “S” component of SMART rocks is for “Specific,” which is pretty simple. A “Specific” Rock is crystal clear. In short: What needs to be accomplished? Who owns the Rock? When will it be complete?
When it comes to sales, one thing to consider is that the Rock may be cross-functional, so it is important that the right person owns the Rock. For example, most B2B businesses get leads through both sales and marketing. If implementing processes to get more leads is a Rock, the marketing person may not be the best person to own the Rock as the Revenue Leader may have a more comprehensive perspective. At a minimum, sales and marketing might be involved in building the Rock.
Examples of Specific Sales Rocks:
- Example 1- “Implement a process to reduce the average deal close time from 45 days to 35 days by the end of Q4, owned by the head of sales operations.”
- Example 2- “Generate 50 new Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs) from the Northeast region by the end of Q4, owned by the CRO.”
Summary of Key Sales Considerations:
- Is it a cross-functional Rock that needs members of both sales and marketing?
- Are there key milestones to hit along the way?
Measurable
Rocks should always be measurable to ensure that the rock is focused on impact and that the success of the work done on the rock can be determined.
Sales is a very metric-heavy part of the business. While “measuring” Rocks in other departments might be binary (yes/no) from a completion perspective, try to avoid this when it comes to Sales Rocks so that there are measurable results from the Rock being complete.
Your Rock should target impacting the highest level (lagging or leading) metric on your scorecard to be impacted by the work on the Rock. Another way to think about this is to ensure that the metric the Rock targets is the lowest metric in the funnel that will be impacted. For context, here is an example of relatively standard metrics in the funnel for a generic sales process:
- # of MQL leads
- MQL>SQL conversion rates.
- SQL>Discover Conversion Rates
- Discover>Proposal Conversion rates
- Proposal win rates
These metrics are likely macro metrics to be tracked monthly or quarterly instead of activity metrics. Also, consider what outcome you are looking for. I have seen organizations have # of leads as a Rock when they really want more Sales-Qualified Leads (SQLs).
Here is a contrast of two different Rocks:
- Rock 1
- Owner: Marketing Leader
- Rock: Increase the # of leads
- Rock 2
- Owner: Revenue/Sales Leader
- Rock: Increase # of SQLs
These two Rocks would likely look different. Which one would work for you?
Summary of Key Sales Considerations:
- What is the highest-level leading/lagging metric (closest to the bottom of the funnel) you can use to measure the success of this Rock long-term by using trends in the monthly or quarterly scorecard?
- How can you ensure it’s more than a “yes/no” completion check?
Achievable
Your Rocks should stretch your team but remain realistic. Take stock of your resources and ask whether the goal is truly attainable.
For “Performance Rocks,” given the current processes in place now, consider if the Rock is realistic. For example, if your team is closing 50 deals per quarter, it’s unlikely they’ll jump to 100 overnight. An achievable Rock might be “Close 60 deals by the end of the quarter.”
Another consideration with that example is if you ask for better results than you usually expect from the team, what gives? Will it come at the expense of driving another metric? If so, that might be part of the plan for the Rock. If not, then why aren’t the better results expected each quarter?
For “Building Rocks,” does the Rock owner and their team have the capacity to build? Sales is different from other departments in the business because the sales team is directly connected to generating revenue. So, work on Sales Rocks should be reserved for roles in the sales organization that are non-quota bearing, as they take time away from sales reps revenue-generating activities.
Summary of Key Sales Considerations:
- Does this Rock elevate the expectations of your sales team? If so, why isn’t this always expected? What other metrics may be negatively impacted?
- Given sales quotas, is there bandwidth on the team to own and complete this Rock?
Relevant
Rocks need to be relevant to your company’s vision and longer-term goals. Each Rock should tie directly into a larger goal—ideally, one of the Measurables on the 3-Year Picture on your Vision/Traction Organizer (V/TO™). For example, if your company’s goal is to increase market share in a specific region, a sales Rock might focus on acquiring new customers in that region.
Depending on your business, another test of relevancy is to ensure that you keep in mind the perspective of your Target Market or Ideal Client. For example, if there is a desire for the sales team to generate leads, are all leads treated equally, or might it be a good idea to target the Rock around getting ideal client leads?
Examples of Relevant Sales Rocks:
- If your company’s lagging metric is revenue growth, a relevant Rock for a business that is shifting focus to healthcare might be “Generate $500K in new revenue from the healthcare sector by Q4.”
- If improving customer retention is a company-wide focus, a sales Rock might be “Increase customer renewal rates by 5% by the end of the quarter.”
Summary of Key Sales Considerations:
- Does this Rock support a Measurable on the 3-Year Picture on your Leadership V/TO™?
- Does it align with the overall business vision?
- Is your Ideal Client considered in the context of the Rock?
Time Bound
The Rock should have a clear deadline or timeframe. Per EOS™, this will typically be the end of the quarter when you get together to plan out your next quarter. Every Rock needs a deadline, but it’s also important to consider how long it will take to build and implement it.
Sales Rocks often require infrastructure or systems that take time to build and implement, while the results may come later. Keep this in mind when setting timelines and expectations by considering how long it will take to build and implement the Rock and how long it will take for results to be realized.
One approach to this is for the Rock to be built this quarter, which will have a goal to affect a metric in 3 or 6 months.
Examples of Time-Bound Sales Rocks:
- “Implement a process in Q2 that will result in $200,000 of additional recurring revenue by the end of Q4.”
- “Complete 100 sales calls by October 31st, with weekly targets to track progress.”
Summary of Key Sales Considerations:
- What is the deadline for completing this Rock?
- When should the goal for results realistically be set for?
- Have you accounted for the time it takes to build and implement the solution?
Conclusion
Setting the right sales Rocks can transform your business. By making them SMART – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound – you ensure your team focuses on the right goals, tracking progress, and aligned with the company’s long-term vision. As you plan your next quarter, apply the concepts in this blog to set and crush your Rocks!
