Learn how measurable key figures determine sales success in a data-driven business world. 42% of salespersons see customer acquisition as the most difficult phase of the sales process - a clear signal of the need for precise sales management.
Discover why 95% of B2B buyers research vendors online before they buy. This development makes measurable performance indicators essential for successful sales teams. Sales KPIs help plan sales goals, keep sales teams on track and help sales managers manage resources optimally - meaningful key figures make the decisive difference.
Companies achieve their business goals faster through regular KPI measurement. Identifying the right sales figures becomes a competitive advantage. Modern tools such as Bliro not only enable you to track important key figures, but also provide valuable insights to continuously optimize your sales strategy.
Why KPIs are decisive in sales 2025
Data-based decisions will determine success or failure in B2B sales in 2025. Measurable key figures beat gut feeling - the correct use of sales figures is becoming a key factor for sustainable growth.
Changing customer behavior in B2B
The B2B buying process is undergoing fundamental change. 89% of B2B decision makers use the Internet for their research. The target group is becoming significantly younger: Almost half of all B2B researchers are between 18 and 34 years old - an increase of 70% in just two years.
Purchasing decisions are no longer just made by managers. With 81%, normal employees have the strongest influence on purchasing decisions, 24% have direct signing authority. In addition, 71% start their search with a general query instead of a specific brand.
Preferences are changing in parallel: Two thirds of B2B buyers want to process all transactions online. They require smooth, transparent processes and maximum flexibility. Precise sales figures are becoming essential to optimally support potential customers along their changed customer journey.
Digitalization and flood of data
The digitization is massively changing sales - but many companies are struggling with implementation. 60% of German companies see themselves as laggards when it comes to digitization, only 19% rate their digital sales positioning as “very good.”
The amount of data is growing exponentially. In 2019, companies worldwide managed 13.5 petabytes of data - 40% more than in the previous year. This flood of data comes from CRM systems, website analytics, sales statistics, and social media interactions.
The challenge is not in the amount of data, but its meaningful use. Managers waste up to 50% of their time on administrative tasks such as collecting data and transferring it to spreadsheets. The right tools and processes are becoming crucial to get valuable out of this flood of data findings to filter.
Role of KPIs in modern sales management
KPIs in sales provide guidance in this complex environment. They help to analyse and evaluate sales processes in detail. A software and data-driven culture with a focus on the most important KPIs is proving to be best practice.
Sales figures not only measure sales, but also progress and time. The combination of different KPIs provides information about more complex relationships and enables effective work. The most relevant metrics include:
- Conversion rates at various stages of the sales pipeline
- Lead quality and new customer rate
- Customer lifetime value and customer retention rate
- Pipeline value and forecast accuracy
Continuous measurement of relevant KPIs identifies further levers for higher sales performance. Tools like Bliro support this process by analyzing and optimizing customer conversations - a crucial factor in improving conversion rates and deals.
Companies that correctly select and consistently use their KPIs make successes measurable and weaknesses visible. This enables targeted improvements and data-based decisions instead of gut feeling. Sales in the future will be characterized by intelligent use of key figures - only those who master the growing flood of data will be successful in the long term.
KPI 1: Sales and revenue growth
Turnover and sales growth form the basis of all KPIs in sales. This key figure directly reflects how successful your sales team is working and whether your products are being accepted on the market. In addition to corporate profit, sales development is one of the most important success indicators.
Definition and calculation
In this way, sales show whether your sales strategy is working and your pricing is right. If sales fall short of expectations, this indicates necessary adjustments in your sales processes.
Sales growth describes the percentage change over a specific period of time. Reference periods are usually one quarter, fiscal year, or the last four quarters. The computation is carried out according to this formula:
Sales Growth (%) = (Current Sales - Previous Sales)/Previous Sales × 100
Instance: With a turnover of 1,020,000€ in 2024 and 850,000€ in 2023, the growth in turnover is: (1,020,000 - 850,000)/850,000 × 100 = 20%.
Difference between absolute and percentage growth
Analyzing sales growth requires a clear distinction between absolute and percentage growth:
Absolute growth refers to actual growth - for example, the increase from €100,000 to €150,000, i.e. by €50,000.
Percentage growth indicates the increase in relation to the initial value - in this case 50%.
For long-term analyses, use the average annual growth rate (CAGR):
CAGR = (end value/start value) ^ (1/n) - 1
A turnover of 100,000€ at the beginning and 150,000€ after five years results in an annual growth rate of 8.45%.
Experts distinguish between different periods of review:
- YoY (year-over-year): comparison to the same period last year
- QoQ (quarter-over-quarter): comparison with the previous quarter
- TTM (Trailing Twelve Months): Cumulative review of the last 12 months
Visualization in Excel
The visual presentation of your sales data in excel helps to identify key trends and patterns. A line chart is particularly suitable for visualizing sales growth.
How to create an effective Turnover chart:
- Mark the relevant data (periods and sales)
- Navigate to the “Insert” tab and choose a line chart
- Add a trend line to illustrate long-term developments
Excel Power Query allows you to combine external sales data with internal data for a comprehensive picture. The presentation of a target corridor that visualizes the actual value and the target area is particularly informative.
Bliro collects and evaluates all this data in real time. The tool analyses customer conversations and identifies the factors that influence your sales growth - the first step towards sustainable sales optimization.
KPI 2: Average order value (AOV)
The average order value (AOV) is one of the most important sales figures for sustainable growth. This key figure immediately shows how much revenue you generate per sale and offers deeper insights than pure sales figures.
What does the AOV say?
The AOV (Average Order Value) shows how much a customer spends on average for each order. This key figure provides valuable insights into buying behavior and the effectiveness of your cross-selling and upselling strategies.
Low AOV compared to the industry signals unused upselling potential or a need for optimization in pricing. High AOV values, on the other hand, confirm successful product bundling and additional sales.
AOV directly influences your marketing profitability - higher values enable larger investments in customer acquisition, as each customer generates more revenue. While AOV measures individual orders, the Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) looks at the total turnover over the entire customer relationship.
AOV calculation with Excel
The AOV calculation follows a simple formula:
AOV = total turnover ÷ number of orders
Example: 10,000€ monthly turnover for 200 orders results in an AOV of 50€.
The needed steps for Excel analysis and visualization:
- Export order data from your sales system
- Import data into Excel
- Create columns for total sales and number of orders
- Calculate the AOV using the formula above
Excel enables additional trend analyses through monthly AOV presentation in line charts. Monthly percentage changes make developments quickly visible
8 strategies to increase AOV
AOV increases accelerate revenue growth without additional customer acquisition. Proven strategies:
- Upselling: convincing customers to buy more expensive product versions
- Cross-selling: offer complementary products
- Product bundling: multiple items at an overall price advantage
- Shipping cost threshold: free shipping from a certain order value
- Volume discounts: Discounts for larger order quantities
- Personalized recommendations: based on purchase history
- Loyalty programs: Loyalty points for higher purchase values
- Premium products: high-priced product lines
Practical example: A company increased its AOV from €5,000 to €6,500 through targeted upselling strategies and premium product launch - sales growth without additional customer acquisition.
Bliro analyses customer conversations and identifies the most effective sales arguments for cross-selling and upselling. These insights continuously optimize your AOV strategy and enable targeted team coaching.
KPI 3: Completion rate (conversion rate)
The closing rate shows the most critical moment in the sales process: prospects become customers. The Conversion rate is one of the most important KPIs in sales because it makes sales processes directly measurable and enables immediate optimization.
Formula and meaning
The conversion rate is costed by dividing the successful deals by the total number of sales calls multiplied by 100:
Conversion rate (%) = (number of conversions ÷ number of visitors/contacts) × 100
Example: Five purchases with 100 website visitors result in one Conversion rate of 5%. 30 purchases from 1,000 visitors reach just 3%.
B2B companies achieve an average conversion rate of 3-4%, while B2C areas are often 1%. More complex decision-making processes in companies explain these differences.
Macro conversions measure key goals, such as purchases or contracts. Micro-conversions capture smaller steps, such as newsletter signups or product demos. These sub-steps help to optimize the entire sales funnel.
Factors influencing the conversion rate
Several factors determine the completion rate:
- Target group adjustment: Addressing the right prospects significantly increases the conversion rate
- Product quality: Convincing offers lead to better closing rates
- Userfriendliness: Intuitive websites and understandable sales processes increase conversions
- Industry differences: Averages vary between 0.8% and 5.2%
- Pricing: Prices directly influence buying decisions
- Technical factors: Slow load times dramatically increase bounce rates
Seasonal fluctuations play an important role. Monthly analyses make sense - short enough for single-phase analyses, but long enough for statistically relevant statements.
Bliro as a tool for optimising conversations
Personal sales calls offer enormous potential for optimization. Bliro comes in right here - the AI-based solution demonstrably increases completion rates 22%.
The platform provides decisive advantages:
- 100% transparency through automated transcription and analysis of all customer conversations
- Save time of over 8 hours per week through automated meeting notes
- Boosting performance through AI coaching and sharing best practices
Systematic recording and evaluation of sales calls identifies successful sales strategies. Teams can establish these throughout sales — an essential lever for sustainably better sales figures.
KPI 4: New customer rate and lead quality
Understand why the new customer ratio is one of the most strategically important KPIs in sales. This key figure shows how effectively your company is driving growth. Existing customers offer stability - new customers generate fresh sales and tap into additional market potential.
What is a good new customer rate?
On average, companies lose around five percent of their customers per year. This migration must first be compensated for before real growth is possible. When it comes to cold calling, the success rate rarely exceeds the 10 percent mark - a challenge for any sales team.
80 percent of all potential customers only make a decision after the fifth to twelfth contact for a purchase. Yet most leads are lost due to a lack of touch points. This makes systematic follow-up processes essential.
Set measurable goals for sustainable growth - for example, a certain number of new customers per quarter with a defined minimum order volume.
Lead scoring and qualification
Efficient use of resources requires precise lead qualification. Evaluate prospects according to their purchase probability. Lead scoring helps to prioritize promising contacts and to use time and budget in a targeted manner.
Rate contacts based on two categories:
- Explicit scoring: Demographic or firmographic characteristics such as position, company size, or industry
- Implicit scoring: Behavior-based factors such as website visits, email interactions, or webinar attendance
Qualified leads go through various phases: Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL), Sales Accepted Lead (SAL) to Sales Qualified Lead (SQL) An SQL is already in the decision phase and is ready to close the purchase.
Connection to sales new customer acquisition
Lead quality decisively determines the success of your new customer acquisition. 80 percent of all sales are only made after at least five Follow-ups. Close coordination between marketing and sales is becoming essential.
Bliro takes your lead qualification to the next level. AI-based analysis of customer conversations helps to identify successful sales patterns and applyhem to new leads. In addition, Bliro significantly reduces the onboarding time of new sales reps - they become productive faster and contribute to acquiring new customers.
Qualified leads combined with optimized sales calls form the basis for sustainable sales success in 2025 and beyond.
KPI 5: Customer Retention Rate and Churn Rate
Retaining existing customers not only costs less than acquiring new customers - it is demonstrably more profitable. The customer retention rate and churn rate are among the most critical KPIs in sales for sustainable business success.
Why customer retention is more profitable than acquisition
An increase in customer loyalty of five percent makes companies up to 75 Percent more profitable. Acquiring new customers costs six to seven times more than retaining existing customers.
Existing customers offer measurable benefits:
- Higher purchase frequency and larger order volumes
- Lower price sensitivity
- Tolerance for service errors
- Active referrals
- Valuable product feedback
Satisfied existing customers become the most credible marketing tool. Positive customer experiences often attract new prospects.
Calculating the churn rate
The churn rate measures the ratio between emigrated customers and the total number of customers over a defined period of time:
Churn rate (%) = (number of emigrated customers ÷ number of existing customers at the start) × 100
Practical example: 500 customers at the beginning of the month, 450 customers at the end of the month = 10% churn rate.
The average annual rate of churn varies between 5 and 30 percent depending on the sector. Experts differentiate between “transparent churn” (active termination) and “opaque churn” (passive inactivity).
Strategies to win back customers
The recovery rate shows the percentage of lost customers that were successfully won back. Proven Approaches:
- Immediate response to cancellations - timeliness increases chances of success
- Personal contact instead of automated communication
- Proactively reaching out to customers who are willing to change
Bliro analyses customer conversations to identify early churn signals. The AI platform recognizes critical conversation patterns before customers actually leave. Successful recovery strategies are shared as best practices within the sales team.
Successful customer recovery starts with a systematic analysis of the reasons for emigration. These findings form the basis for process improvements and preventive measures.
KPI 6: Sales cycle and ramp-up time
Time determines sales success - especially when it comes to two critical KPIs in sales: the sales cycle and ramp up time. These time-sensitive key figures uncover optimization potential and directly measure the efficiency of your sales process.
What makes for an efficient sales cycle?
The sales cycle covers all phases from initial customer contact to contract conclusion. 25% of sales teams prioritize shortening the sales cycle as the most important goal. The reason is obvious: Longer cycles demonstrably reduce the probability of closing deals and open doors for competitors.
Various factors slow down sales speed - from excessive administrative tasks to unproductive acquisitions to a lack of coordination between departments. The optimization pays off: Sales velocity acts as a direct indicator of company success.
New employee onboarding time
Ramp-up time measures a costly factor: How long do new sales employees need to reach full productivity? On average, a new employee needs 381 days for the performance of an experienced team member. In the B2B sector, training typically takes 3.2 to 6 months. This period of time causes significant costs.
How Bliro shortens ramp-up time
AI tools like Bliro significantly speed up the onboarding of new salespeople. The systematic recording and analysis of customer conversations enables new team members to learn successful sales patterns more quickly.
100% transparency in all customer conversations accelerates the learning of new employees through best practices - the decisive lever for reduced ramp-up time and optimized sales cycles.
KPI 7: Pipeline value and forecast accuracy
Precise sales forecasts form the backbone of successful sales management. Pipeline value and forecast accuracy are among the most important management tools in modern sales - they determine the strategic allocation of resources and goal achievement.
Calculate pipeline value correctly
The Pipeline value represents the total value of all open sales opportunities in your sales pipeline. The calculation is carried out using the following formula:
Pipeline value = (deal value × probability of closing)
Practical example: Three transactions with values of 50,000€ (60% probability), 20,000€ (80%) and 40,000€ (50%) result in a weighted pipeline value of 66,000€. This key figure enables more reliable sales forecasts and optimal resource allocation.
CRM and Excel for precise forecasts
There are various forecasting methods available:
- Pipeline-based forecast: multiply closing probabilities by expected business values
- Historical data analysis: Calculation based on past growth rates (e.g. 15% annually)
- Multivariate analysis: Consideration of various variables such as individual success rates of sales staff
Excel offers helpful functions: AVERAGE for moving averages, FORECAST for linear forecasts, or FORECAST.ETS for exponential smoothing. These tools help identify seasonal fluctuations and long-term trends.
4 common forecast mistakes to avoid
Typical sources of error when forecasting sales:
- Forecast is used for planning: Forecast mistakenly used as a new plan
- Excessive detailing: Overly complex forecasts lead to cumbersome processes
- Human misjudgement: Salespeople are often too optimistic (“overconfidence”) or too conservative (“sandbagging”)
- Missing adjustments: forecasts should be reviewed weekly or monthly
Bliro minimizes these sources of error through AI-based analysis of customer conversations. The platform provides valuable insights to improve your forecast accuracy - for more accurate pipeline calculations and more effective sales management.
KPI 8: Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)
Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) measures the long-term value of every customer relationship. This sales key figure figures the estimated total turnoverthat a customer generates throughout their business relationship with a company.
How to calculate long-term customer value
The CLV calculation follows a clear formula:
CLV = (average purchase value per year) × (average number of purchases per year) × (average customer lifetime in years)
The value is the result of adding up all contributions made with a customer.
CLV vs. CAC: The optimal ratio
The relationship between CLV and customer acquisition costs (CAC) determines profitability. Experts recommend a ratio of 1:3 - Each customer should generate three times more revenue than their acquisition costs. Many companies aim for a ratio of 1:4 or 1:5.
Why CLV shapes strategic decisions
A high CLV signals strong customer loyalty and satisfaction. This data helps sales teams make informed decisions and identify opportunities for growth.
KPI 9: Recommendations and Social Proof
Social proof is becoming one of the most important sales figures of the future. This key figure measures the trust that customers place in your company - far beyond mere figures.
Recommendation rate as a confidence indicator
Customer testimonials are more convincing than any marketing message. 78% of all purchase decisions go to providers who are perceived as consultants and not as sellers. Authentic recommendations and testimonials create this decisive perception. Companies should therefore systematically record and expand recommendations as a strategic KPI in sales.
Systematically increase recommendations
Personalization makes the decisive difference when it comes to attracting recommendations. Standardised contact requests achieve acceptance rates below 15%, personalized messages, on the other hand, up to 85%. Proven strategies:
- Integrate success stories to suit the customer situation
- Build up customer feedback database for various use cases
- Develop long-term relationships through continuous presence
Social selling as a success factor
Social selling and referral marketing are mutually reinforcing. Significant results can be seen after 3-6 months of consistent implementation - but then with consistently higher completion rates.
Bliro helps sales teams analyze customer conversations and find out which types of social proof are particularly effective for specific customer groups. These insights enable targeted use of recommendations in the sales process and increase the effectiveness of your sales KPIs.
KPI 10: Employee Retention and Productivity
Employee retention in sales determines sustainable corporate success. This sales key figure measures the internal health of your sales team - an often overlooked but critical success factor.
Why fluctuation is expensive
Fluctuation affects more than just the working environment. Replacing an employee devours between 90% and 150% of an annual salary. Particularly problematic: Sales accounts for almost a quarter of all company turnover. The departure of key people can take on existence-threatening proportions and destabilize entire departments.
KPI Sales Field Service vs. Back Office
Sales representatives need specific key figures:
- Number of customer visits
- Completion rate per appointment
- Turnover per employee
The back office focuses on other metrics:
- Number of calls made
- Ratio of achieved decision makers
- Average duration of successful sales calls
Measure productivity per employee
Sales productivity can be recorded using various methods:
Activity reports in your CRM show not only quantity, but in particular the quality of customer interactions. The progress of the sales pipeline and the fulfillment of sales forecasts provide additional insights.
Bliro helps sales managers analyze customer conversations and identify productivity-boosting patterns. This enables targeted coaching and reduces employee turnover through better results.
Conclusion
The 10 sales figures presented form the basis of successful sales teams in 2025. These KPIs cover the entire sales process - from initial customer contact to long-term relationship. Decisive here: Individual key figures only show partial aspects. Only the combination of all KPIs provides the complete picture of your sales performance.
Systematic KPI recording enables precise sales management. Well-founded decisions replace gut feeling. However, the growing flood of data requires intelligent analysis tools for optimization.
Bliro supports future-oriented sales teams through AI-based conversation analysis. The platform increases completion rates, reduces ramp-up times for new employees and improves all relevant sales figures.
Data-driven teams dominate tomorrow's market. Investing in proper KPI measurement and optimization pays off. With the right tools and a clear focus on key figures, nothing stands in the way of sustainable sales success.
