How to Use Data and the Right Tools to Build Your Sales Plan (Ask Jeb)

Eric in Lewiston, Maine, asks how to use last year’s data to create and accurate sales plans and evaluate software tools (like CRMs and ZoomInfo) to make those goals happen. Sales planning is vital—without a roadmap, you’re just hoping your revenue targets magically come to life. If you haven’t defined clear performance metrics—like call activity, lead generation, conversion rates, or daily prospecting targets—then you don’t really have a plan. You have a wish list. Looking Back at Last Year: Which Metrics Matter? Eric wanted to know which metrics from the previous year he and his team should be analyzing to inform this year's targets. The short answer? All of them, if they are metrics that matter to your business goals. Consider: Conversion Rates from Inbound Leads Speed to Lead (How fast are you following up?) Outbound Touches vs. Opportunities in Pipeline Opportunities-to-Proposal Ratios Proposal-to-Closed Deals Ratios Upsells, Cross-Sells, and Expansion Deals By mapping out how each step in your funnel converts to the next—calls to first appointments, first appointments to proposals, proposals to closed deals—you can see exactly where to focus in the new sales year. Maybe you need more first appointments. Maybe you need to tighten up your proposals so more of them convert. Or maybe you’re missing upsell opportunities with existing clients. Data points you to the gaps. Pro Tip: Once you understand your ratios, you can decide if you’re aiming to improve them by, say, 25% (a stretch goal) or if you’re reaching higher. However, be careful not to “fix” one area and inadvertently break another. Success in sales is about balance across the entire funnel. Choosing the Right CRM: Beware of Overkill Eric also mentioned his team’s struggle with an outdated CRM that’s not built for strong tracking. As they look ahead, they’re weighing big guns like Salesforce. But here’s the deal: Salesforce is an excellent platform—if you’re a larger organization with the bandwidth, budget, and complexity to justify it. For smaller teams (like Eric’s with just two salespeople), adopting a massive enterprise CRM can be overkill. Zoho, Pipedrive, Nimble, and HubSpot are great alternatives for small-to-midsize sales teams. They’re user-friendly, more cost-effective, and far simpler to deploy. The rule of thumb? Choose a CRM that matches your current size and selling process. The last thing you want is to waste months configuring a powerhouse system that nobody uses because it’s too big or too confusing. Making Sense of “Big Data” Tools Like ZoomInfo Eric’s final question was about whether to invest in a data-intelligence tool (e.g., ZoomInfo, Apollo, LeadIQ) to identify new leads and tap into “intent data.” My take: ZoomInfo: This is what we use at Sales Gravy, and we love it. It delivers reliable data, helps us expand into new verticals, multi-thread inside target accounts, and dramatically speeds up our list building. Intent Data: Tools like ZoomInfo can show you who’s actively looking for solutions like yours. While it’s not perfect, it can be a game-changer for prioritizing outreach to the prospects most likely to buy. Beware the Shelfware Trap: If you invest in a high-end data platform, make sure you have a solid plan (and the discipline) to use it consistently. It’s easy to drop serious money on software and then let it collect dust. Pro Tip: Start with a limited number of “power users” on your team who will commit to mastering the tool. Then expand usage as you integrate it into your sales workflow. How We Made It Work: A Cautionary Tale We’ve been using ZoomInfo for years. Early on, we blew through a lot of money because we didn’t fully implement it. It wasn’t until we got serious—trained our people, integrated it with our CRM, and held each other accountable—that we started seeing results. Today, ZoomInfo is essential to how we prospect, grow pipeline,