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In a world of constantly changing data and shifting market trends, it is almost impossible to over-emphasize the importance of good data visualization software. Without an advanced degree in statistics, it used to be difficult to understand and interpret what multiple graphs or charts meant and how they interacted with one another. It is only a matter of time before data visualization completely disrupts the way sales game.
Viewing KPIs can take weeks of compiling and were difficult to explain to new members of a company. Since not everyone is a mathematician, it is important that business data be easy to visualize and understand for everyone. Information is only useful when it is understood.
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have determined that the human retina can transmit data at roughly 10 million bits per second – about the same rate as an Ethernet connection. However, most business reports are still compiled in boring charts, graphs, and spreadsheets, rather than in exciting real-time displays. This means that much of the potential to really understand and visualize changing trends is lost. We live in a data-driven world where timely information is the key to success.
Connecting the dots
In order to boost performance, your organization must be able to connect the dots between your current operations and the results of that work. If you are using old, static graphs and displays, this is almost impossible because in today’s world the information is changing before you even press print. Instead, you need to see live information and make data-driven decisions.
Live data allows you to make plans based on what is happening NOW, rather than what was happening last week. Armed with an understanding of the business landscape as it exists today and the data to see how your teams are performing, you can make immediate decisions to influence growth and mobility of your teams.
Much of the responsibility for driving growth lies on the shoulders of sales managers. Data visualization software allows them to see the playing field in real-time and adjust their plays accordingly. Don’t let a struggling offense cause you to lose the sales game; see the trends, understand them, and take action to get your teams moving towards a win.
Understanding markets in real-time
Building and maintaining sales momentum can be difficult if you are unable to understand why the playing field is changing; but with data visualization you can see market trends, predictions, and KPIs that will help you understand what is taking place in real-time. For senior managers and executives, the data can prove useful in developing business strategy as well. Using this information to develop a game plan rather than sitting and waiting for reports and numbers to come in will put you steps ahead of the competition.
Rather than just seeing that your sales are lagging, you can combine that real-time data with insight to finally understand why sales are lagging – for example, another insurance company started running a big promotion or another bank dropped the APR on their cards for this year, you may want to design a strategy to compete with these new changes before it’s too late. Or, perhaps the opposite is true – maybe you are running a promotion and you see in real-time that the number of offers and closings has doubled, so you decide to take advantage of that and combine it with a stronger marketing campaign or an extended sale to keep the momentum going.
