Softletter's Telesales Efficiency Survey

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Softletter's Marketing and Selling SaaS (Software as a Service) Seminar, 2008
Softletter's Marketing and Selling SaaS Seminar, 2008
January 30/31, Atlanta, GA

Dear Colleague:

As you may know, Softletter, now in its 23rd year of publication, publishes a series of surveys that examine every aspect of running a successful software business. This survey covers telesales compensation processes and practices for a software firm's telesales force. Softletter defines a telesales force as one that closes sales and takes orders. If your telepersonnel are involved in lead generation or sales support but do not close sales and take orders, please do not take this survey. We will be covering telemarketing forces in a future Softletter survey.

We're looking for some fairly standard information and will use this data to identify trends and current benchmarks that you can use to see how your own numbers and processes compare to those of comparable companies. In addition, we analyze information based on company development stages, an important factor that allows us to establish medians for companies in different market sectors. We also break software companies into four types: Enterprise/Client Server, SaaS, Desktop/Retail and OEM. The entire survey is 18 questions and should take approximately 15 to 20 minutes to complete. Please pass this invitation along to a colleague in the industry who you feel should participate.

Everyone who supplies data for this survey will receive a complimentary copy of the summary report. Of course, all responses will be strictly confidential. We won't disclose or identify data about any individuals or about participating companies. Also note that we will be sending the summary results via E-mail; if you provide us with a non-working address you won't receive them. We're sorry, we don't have the time to deal with whitelist verification and suggest you add softgram@softletter.com and rickchapman@softletter.com to your approved recipients lists to ensure you receive the survey results.

Don't forget to push the Submit Survey button at the bottom of this question page, and then wait for the acknowledgement page.

Final summary results will appear in our November 15th issue of Softletter.

For more information on subscribing to Softletter (www.softletter.com) and Softletter publications such as the Financial and Software as a Service Handbooks, please click here.

Many thanks for your help!

Merrill R. (Rick) Chapman, Managing Editor
Softletter
34 Sugar Hill Road
Killingworth, CT 06419
860/663-0552
rickchapman@softletter.com

The Softletter 2007 Telesales Efficiency Survey

(Please enter all monetary numbers in US$, 100,000 format, no decimals, dollar signs, or percentage symbols.)

1. Development stage of the company:






2. Current revenues:






3. What type of software does your company primarily sell?





4. What is the average yearly quota assigned to your telesales representatives?








5. What is the average yearly salary, including both fixed and variable compensation, of your telesales force?











6. Please enter the base/fixed amount of compensation paid to your telesales representatives.

7. Please enter the average variable/commission compensation paid to your telesales representatives.










8. What is the average time it takes to close a major telesale?







9. If a telesales representative exceeds quota, how are they typically compensated?





10. If you answered “Increase in commission percentage," please indicate below how much increase in commission a telesales representatives receives as compensation for their exceeding quota:
Percentage Over Quota Increase in Commission (added to standard commission rate)
1% 2% 3% 4% 5% 6%+
1% to 20%
10% to 25%
25% to 50%
50% to 75%
75% to 100%
100%+

11. If you answered “Fixed monetary bonus," please indicate below the size of the bonus a telesales representatives receives as compensation for their exceeding quota:
Percentage Over Quota Amount of bonus (no $)
Amount:
1% to 20%
10% to 25%
25% to 50%
50% to 75%
75% to 100%
100%+

12. How soon do your telesales personnel receive their variable compensation after the close of a sale?






13. What is the size of your average sale? (Please use a 100,00 format; no $)

14. What percentage of your telesales representatives achieved quota last year? (No % sign)

15. What percentage of your telesales representatives exceeded quota last year? (No % sign)

16. By what average percentage was quota exceeded last year by your telesales force? (No % sign)

17. How many telesales representatives do you currently employ or contract with?

18. How often does your company change its sales compensation plan? (Please enter a number representing months.)

19. Please send my free copy of the summary report to:

Thank you for your patience and help in taking this survey. The summary results will be published in the November 15th issue of Softletter. Interested in subscribing to Softletter and obtaining key business metrics and keeping up with vital trends in the software industry? Then please click here.

©2007 Softletter, 34 Sugar Hill Road, Killingworth, CT 06419. Voice: 860/663-0552; Fax:860/663-0553.
E-mail: rickchapman@softletter.com


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