You are on page 1of 10

LEAD-TO-ORDER

End-to-End Process Map and Measures

Ensuring an efficient and effective sales funnel is a core competency for any organization. However, organizations need to ensure they have sufficient
resources and methods to qualify and convert a potential lead to a sale. Hence, the lead-to-order—the end-to-end process focuses on shepherding a
lead through the sales funnel.

Lead-to-Order: High-Level, End-to-End Process

Lead Opportunity Quote Order

Figure 1

A common struggle for any end-to-end process management is identifying the right measures that encapsulate the value of the process. These key
performance indicators (KPIs) allow the organization to focus all participants in the end-to-end process, Lead-to-Order, on a shared goal that aligns with
the strategic purpose of the process.

Common End-to-End Process KPIs:


» Sales revenue
» Cost per customer
» Client to staff ratio
» Sales conversion rate
» Average cycle time from lead to order
» Customer lifetime value

1 K011390 ©2021 APQC All Rights Reserved.


The following table (Figure 2) provides the median values of the end-to-end process KPIs. In addition to KPIs that measure the overall value created by
the end-to-end process, organizations will also monitor their performance through common productivity measures such as cycle time. These measures
allow the organization to identify improvement opportunities and drill into root causes for performance dips in the above KPIs.

Lead-to-Order Benchmarks: Select KPIs

MEASURE
MEASURE NAME MEDIAN SAMPLE SIZE
ID

107360 Organization's average conversion rate 25.0% 826

106159 Customer lifetime value 8500 48

102456 Percentage of qualified leads where the sale is closed 29.5% 432

Average sales cycle time in calendar days from the time the lead/opportunity is identified
104636 6.0 532
and the sale is closed

Figure 2, Source: Open Standards Benchmarking Portal

In addition to understanding the organization's overall sales and conversion rate, organizations also need to understand the sales revenue and
conversion rates of their various channels.

Conversion Rate by Channel

MEASURE
MEASURE NAME MEDIAN SAMPLE SIZE
ID

105815 Average sales conversion rate for direct mail 12.0% 540

105816 Average sales conversion rate for face to face contact 30.0% 546

105817 Average sales conversion rate for mobile applications 25.0% 532

105819 Average sales conversion rate for website (your company name.com) 30.0% 540

Figure 3, Source: Open Standards Benchmarking Portal

2 ©2021 APQC All Rights Reserved.


Sales Revenue by Channel

MEASURE
MEASURE NAME MEDIAN SAMPLE SIZE
ID

Percentage of total annual sales revenue attributable to sales completed on mobile


104747 12.0% 753
applications

104746 Percentage of total annual sales revenue attributable to sales completed on social media 22.0% 754

Percentage of total annual sales revenue attributable to sales completed on your business
104745 12.0% 777
entity's website

Percentage of total annual sales revenue attributable to sales completed through human-
104749 14.0% 760
assisted channels other than face-to-face contact

Percentage of total annual sales revenue attributable to sales completed through


104748 24.0% 757
traditional face-to-face channels

Figure 4, Source: Open Standards Benchmarking Portal

PHASE DEFINITIONS AND MEASURES


This section of the article dives into each phase of the Procure-to-Pay process and includes definitions, phase-specific KPIs, and available measures for
the relevant KPIs.

LEAD
Definition—the act of moving a potential lead into an opportunity. The process includes the discovery of leads through IT applications, cold calling,
reference/network development, or other sales and business development techniques and then employing a scoring model qualify the prospective
customers into leads and prioritize them.

3 ©2021 APQC All Rights Reserved.


Lead Process

Figure 5

4 ©2021 APQC All Rights Reserved.


Phase-Specific KPIs:
» Number of leads in pipeline
» Value of qualified leads in pipeline
» Average lead response time
» Average value per lead

Lead Benchmarks: Select KPIs

MEASURE SAMPLE
MEASURE NAME MEDIAN
ID SIZE

104769 Number of active customers per sales FTE 3,030 211

Figure 6, Source: Open Standards Benchmarking Portal

5 ©2021 APQC All Rights Reserved.


OPPORTUNITY
Definition—the qualification of prospective customers into credible leads through communications and gauging their behavior against the organization's
offering. The process also includes identifying current needs, potential solution sets, and if they have decision-making authority.

Opportunity Process

Figure 7

6 ©2021 APQC All Rights Reserved.


Phase-Specific KPIs:
» Opportunity-to-customer ratio
» Cost per opportunity
» Performance measures for the phase: cycle time

QUOTE
Definition—Understanding and refining the customer requirements as provided in a RFP (Request for Proposal) or RFI (Request for Information). The
process includes aligning the proposal with the strategic or tactical plans of the organization and whether the proposal is competitive based on an
understanding of the offerings of other competing organizations. The bid is then submitted and notification of whether it was successful is received.

Quote Process

Submit/present bid/
Revise bid/proposal/ Manage notification Close the sale
Start proposal/quote to
quote (20018) outcome (11793) (10192) End
customer (11790)

Record outcome of
sales process
(10193)

Figure 8

Phase-Specific KPIs:
» Number of proposals submitted
» Proposal conversion rate
» Performance measures for the phase: throughput and number of FTEs

7 ©2021 APQC All Rights Reserved.


Quote Benchmarks: Select KPIs

SAMPLE
MEASURE ID MEASURE NAME MEDIAN
SIZE

106524 Percentage of new proposals resulting in a new contract 70.0% 757

106521 Number of proposals managed per contracts management FTE 73.2 86

Percentage of contracts management FTEs that perform the process "manage proposals, bids, and
106512 15.0% 107
quotes"

Figure 9, Source: Open Standards Benchmarking Portal

8 ©2021 APQC All Rights Reserved.


ORDER
Definition— the process of receiving and confirming orders from customers. Which includes verifying that no extra expenses must be disbursed on part
of the organization for labor or inventory when processing the order.

Order Process

Accept and validate Order


Start sales order (10194) End

Figure 10

Phase-Specific KPIs:
» Salesforce quota targets
» Volume of orders
» Order accuracy

Order Benchmarks: Select KPIs

SAMPLE
MEASURE ID MEASURE NAME MEDIAN
SIZE

102529 Percentage of the sales force that made their quotas/targets in the last 12-month reporting period 68.0% 154

101410 Number of sales orders placed per FTE that performs the process "manage sales orders" 4,444 1,114

100004 Sales order accurate documentation rate 98.0% 2,501

Figure 11, Source: Open Standards Benchmarking Portal

9 ©2021 APQC All Rights Reserved.


ABOUT APQC
APQC helps organizations work smarter, faster, and with greater confidence. It is the world’s foremost authority in benchmarking, best practices,
process and performance improvement, and knowledge management. APQC’s unique structure as a member-based nonprofit makes it a differentiator
in the marketplace. APQC partners with more than 500 member organizations worldwide in all industries. With more than 40 years of experience, APQC
remains the world’s leader in transforming organizations. Visit us at www.apqc.org, and learn how you can make best practices your practices

10 ©2021 APQC All Rights Reserved.

You might also like