Sales Performance Review Templates & Management Software
This article is part of a larger series on Sales Management.
Sales performance reviews are excellent opportunities to evaluate a sales rep’s production, effort, and other areas for improvement. By using a premade sales performance review template, you can conduct fair, equitable comparisons of each sales member on your team and objectively measure their performance. In this article, we explore how to create a sales performance review template and provide examples you can use for reference.
General Use Sales Performance Review Template
While sales performance reviews will vary by role, you can use a general format to get started and input specific sales activities and competencies. Get started by downloading our general use performance review template.
Thank you for downloading!
Your sales performance review template is on the way! If you don’t see it, check your “Spam” or “Promotions” folders.
đź’ˇ Quick Tip:
Use customer relationship management (CRM) software like HubSpot to generate reports of individual and team sales activity, then use that data in your sales performance reviews to evaluate performance.
How to Create a Sales Performance Review Template
As part of sales performance management and getting the most out of your team, conducting a thorough individual performance review is necessary for feedback and behavior reinforcement. Having a standardized template for your business helps ensure evaluation equity and process consistency during the sales performance review time.
Here’s how to create a sales performance review template in five easy steps:
1. Identify Employee & Review Purpose Information
First, create a document with a section identifying the employee being evaluated, the manager conducting the evaluation, and any other party involved, such as the sales rep’s team leader. Before each performance evaluation, add the name of the employee going through the review as well as their job title. Repeat this process on a new template for each employee who undergoes their performance review.
You might also consider specifying the scope of the review. For instance, if you do quarterly reviews, you can indicate at the top of the template:
The purpose of this meeting is to provide performance feedback for [employee name] on Q2 performance in their sales role as a [sales title]. We will review sales production, activity, and other tasks related to their job to assess performance, provide feedback, incentives, rewards, and a professional development plan.
2. Organize Sales Goals & Achievements
Next, lay out the sales goals, achievements, production, or activity you will be evaluating. While some sections will be universal for most of the sales positions, such as revenue generated or deals closed, certain industries may have their own unique evaluation requirements. For instance, in the software industry, you might review the number of product demos completed by a rep during the quarter.
Furthermore, consider the job title and responsibilities for each individual review. Inside sales positions, for example, focus more on prospecting activities like cold calling or researching leads and should be evaluated for that type of work. On the flip side, outside sales reps such as account executives conduct more client-facing and deal-closing work. With that in mind, create a different performance review template for each role, since the responsibilities differ.
Most of these sections should be quantified and whenever possible, consider both effort and skills demonstrated. Let’s say you are measuring someone on their performance on converting cold leads to interested prospects. Their effort can be evaluated by the number of attempts they made through cold calling or email introductions, while their skills are evaluated by the total conversion rate.
3. Include Miscellaneous Attributes
In addition to sales-related performance metrics, include some of the non-measurables related to each team member’s job on your template. Overall professionalism by showing up on time and working well with others are good examples of these attributes. Additionally, eagerness to learn and improve while carrying a positive attitude can be included.
If a sales manager asks a sales rep to complete projects or other non-sales tasks, make sure you give them relevant feedback. In this section, use a qualitative rating factor scale that’s converted to a numeric system since it’s difficult to measure these quantitatively.
For instance, you could have four categories:
- Exceeds Expectations
- Meets Expectations
- Doesn’t Meet Expectations
- Needs Significant Improvement
You then assign points for each one. For example, you can give four points for “Exceeds Expectations,” three for “Meets Expectations,” two for “Doesn’t Meet Expectations,” and one for “Needs Significant Improvement.”
4. Format Tables in Your Review Template
As you insert sales activities and non-sales tasks for review, turn it into a table format and organize the sections appropriately. Each activity, production metric, and performance attribute should be listed vertically down the list, with performance rating/categories sections next to it like the example below:
Sales Activity Performance
Scale:
1 = Far Below Quota or Goal Expectation
2 = Slightly Below Quota or Goal Expectation
3 = Hit Quota or Goal Expectation
4 = Exceeded Quota or Goal Expectation
5 = Far Exceeded Quota or Goal Expectation
Factor | Metric | Rating | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
Lead Generation | 16 leads generated | 3 | Hit lead generation goal for the quarter |
Sales Presentation Effectiveness | 25% rate of presentations to proposals sent | 4 | Exceeds company average for this conversion rate |
Closing Deals | 4 | 4 | Exceeded goal for deals closed |
TOTAL | — | 11 | Strong sales performance, particularly during the later stages of the sales process |
Miscellaneous Job Performance
Scale:
1 = Below Expectations
2 = Meets Expectations
3 = Exceeded Expectations
Factor | Rating | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Workplace Professionalism | 3 | Consistently shows up on time and acts professionally in the workplace |
Coachable | 2 | Meets expectations for eagerness to learn |
Project Management | 3 | Did a great job handling non-sales projects such as the CRM migration and new sales rep onboarding |
TOTAL | 8 | Employee exhibits solid workplace performance relating to non-sales activities and attributes |
5. Provide Feedback, Ratings & Explanations
Once the template is created, you can start conducting your evaluations. For any sales-related metrics, we recommend using customer relationship management (CRM) software to track individual activity and production. For instance, HubSpot is sales software that lets managers generate reports and view dashboards for individual activities like calls placed as well as production such as deals closed.
HubSpot individual activity report (Source: SmartBugMedia)
For the miscellaneous performance review, use your best judgment to provide adequate feedback. Consider their attitude in the workplace and if they’ve had any issues getting along with their peers, prospects, or customers. Also, gauge their professionalism to see if they’re showing up on time and consistently taking initiative. Just as a culture fit should not be underestimated in the hiring process, it should be continually evaluated in performance appraisals.
Complement the performance review template by having a one-on-one meeting with each rep to go over their performance and address any questions or concerns. For negative feedback, provide a plan of action to get them on track to meet or exceed the performance expectations for the next time period. Many performance issues can be solved with sales enablement solutions.
Sales Performance Review Example Templates
Want a free performance review template but don’t know where to start? Here are some sales performance review examples you can use as templates for three common sales job functions: inside sales, outside sales, and customer service and account management.
Inside Sales Performance Review
This template is for sales development reps (SDRs) or equivalent positions tasked with responsibilities early in the sales pipeline, such as prospect research, lead generation, and making initial introductions. Depending on how your sales operation is structured, you might have these individuals handle lead qualification and nurturing as well.
Thank you for downloading!
Your sales performance review template is on the way! If you don’t see it, check your “Spam” or “Promotions” folders.
đź’ˇ Quick Tip:
Use customer relationship management (CRM) software like HubSpot to generate reports of individual and team sales activity, then use that data in your sales performance reviews to evaluate performance.
Outside Sales Performance Review
This review template is for account executives, outside sales reps, or any similar position responsible for the stages later in the sales pipeline, such as lead qualification, nurturing, sales presentations, product demonstrations, sending proposals and quotes, and closing the deal. Because this position is responsible for more client and lead-facing activities, they are measured on direct production of revenue and deals.
Thank you for downloading!
Your sales performance review template is on the way! If you don’t see it, check your “Spam” or “Promotions” folders.
đź’ˇ Quick Tip:
Use customer relationship management (CRM) software like HubSpot to generate reports of individual and team sales activity, then use that data in your sales performance reviews to evaluate performance.
Customer Service & Account Management Performance Review
This sales performance review example is for customer service reps and account managers who handle clients and customers after the sales process is completed. Their priority is customer satisfaction, which in turn, results in customer retention. They also often attempt to generate additional revenue through upselling or cross-selling activities.
Thank you for downloading!
Your sales performance review template is on the way! If you don’t see it, check your “Spam” or “Promotions” folders.
đź’ˇ Quick Tip:
Use customer relationship management (CRM) software like HubSpot to generate reports of individual and team sales activity, then use that data in your sales performance reviews to evaluate performance.
Software Tools for Sales Performance Reviews
In addition to our sales performance review examples, there are several software tools those in sales management positions can use to help with sales performance reviews. From gamification to data tracking to coaching features, these tools give you and your employees an extra performance bump.
1. LevelEleven
LevelEleven is a motivation tool used to help drive behaviors using scorecards, broadcasted leaderboards, and real-time data to track and coach on new business sales and customer retention. In addition to the performance management and coaching features, there are also gamification tools where you can set up friendly sales competitions between your reps, track the results, and then declare a winner.
LevelEleven gamification feature (Source: Comparecamp.com)
2. Ambition
Ambition is a performance management tool that has four main products and focuses. Accountability tracks customizable metrics for each user, encouragement develops gamification modes and friendly competitions, coaching keeps one-on-one reviews and teaching sessions data-driven and consistent, and amplification automates recognition for great performance.
Ambition activity scoring for coaching (Source: Ambition)
3. Xactly Incent
Xactly Incent is a full sales management platform with features for performance management, strategic planning, compensation management, and revenue analytics. The performance management software is designed to help automate and collaborate on performance review activities while using real-time data to find insights.
Xactly Incent performance dashboard (Source: G2)
Sales Performance Review Statistics
Want additional insights on sales performance reviews and how others feel about job evaluations? Check out these statistics to get the full story:
- 9 out of 10 managers are dissatisfied with how organizations conduct performance reviews.
- 96% of employees want to hear feedback about their performance regularly.
- 24% of workers would consider leaving their jobs if they have managers who do not provide adequate performance feedback.
- A traditional performance review can cost a company between $2.4 and $35 million per 10,000 employees on average.
- 63% of employees don’t feel they receive enough praise in their work.
- 83% of employees appreciate feedback, whether it’s negative or positive.
Bottom Line
Sales performance review templates streamline the job evaluation process and keep them fair and consistent. With our example templates and software tools, you can create review templates that track all aspects of your sales teams’ job performance, pinpoint areas that need improvement, praise and reward high performance, and construct a plan of action to get each team member on track for success.
