Getting a read on who your top salespeople really are isn’t as easy as it sounds. If you just look at total sales, you risk missing the folks who grind out wins in tough markets, or those who quietly rack up customer loyalty. That’s where analytics tools like Nlpearl come in handy—they promise to cut through the noise and show you who’s actually crushing it (and who’s just good at taking credit).
This guide is for sales managers, ops folks, and founders who want real, actionable ways to use Nlpearl analytics to spot their best reps. No fluff, no dashboards for the sake of dashboards—just what works, what doesn’t, and how to avoid the most common rookie mistakes.
Step 1: Get Your Data House in Order
Before you even log in to Nlpearl, make sure your sales data isn’t a mess. Analytics is only as good as the info you feed it, so:
- Clean up your CRM: Get rid of duplicate contacts, fill in missing deal details, and make sure reps are actually logging their calls and meetings.
- Standardize stages: If one person’s “Qualified” is another’s “Maybe,” you’ll get garbage results.
- Check integration: Nlpearl pulls data from your CRM, email, and call tools. Test that everything’s syncing—missing weeks of data will give you a warped view.
Pro tip: Don’t fall for the “we’ll clean it up later” trap. Garbage in means garbage out, no matter how pretty the charts are.
Step 2: Define What “High Performance” Actually Means
If you just want to see who closed the most deals, you don’t need analytics. But high performers are often more than just the top sellers. Here’s what’s usually worth looking at:
- Win rate: Who closes a high percentage of their pipeline, not just the most deals?
- Average deal size: Who’s bringing in bigger contracts, even if they close fewer?
- Cycle time: Who moves deals through the pipeline the fastest?
- Consistency: Are they delivering every quarter, or just having one lucky month?
- Customer retention: Are their clients sticking around? (If you track renewals or upsells.)
Pick 2-3 metrics that actually matter for your team. Don’t drown in dashboards—focus on what moves the needle.
Step 3: Set Up Nlpearl Analytics for Your Team
Now, open up Nlpearl and connect your data sources. The setup process is usually:
- Connect your CRM: Nlpearl works with most major CRMs (Salesforce, HubSpot, etc.). If you run into sync issues, fix them now—not after you’ve built half your dashboards.
- Add communication tools: Pull in email and call data if you want to see activity levels or response times.
- Define your metrics: Use Nlpearl’s custom metric builder to track your chosen indicators—don’t just use the “default” leaderboard.
What to ignore: Don’t get distracted by vanity metrics like “emails sent” or “meetings booked.” Activity isn’t the same as impact.
Step 4: Analyze More Than Just the Obvious
Nlpearl’s dashboards will spit out leaderboards, but don’t just stop at “top closer.” Dig deeper:
- Look for outliers: Who’s doing a lot with a little? A rep closing big deals from a small pipeline might have skills worth sharing.
- Compare new vs. tenured reps: Sometimes the new folks outperform, but get overlooked because they don’t have years of relationships propping them up.
- Check for sandbagging: If someone’s win rate is sky-high but their pipeline is suspiciously tiny, they might be cherry-picking easy deals.
- Spot hidden helpers: Some reps may set up lots of deals that others close. They’re valuable, even if the scoreboard says otherwise.
Honest take: Automated analytics can miss context. If someone’s numbers look weird, ask why before you judge.
Step 5: Use Filters and Segments to Avoid Bias
One of the best things about Nlpearl is the ability to slice data by territory, product line, or customer segment. This helps you avoid the “all-stars” who just inherited the easiest accounts.
- Compare apples to apples: Don’t rank someone handling enterprise deals against someone selling to small businesses.
- Seasonality matters: If Q4 is always hot, look at performance over multiple periods.
- Adjust for territory: If someone’s region is in a slump, a “low performer” might actually be fighting uphill.
Pro tip: Build saved views for different segments so you can spot patterns over time.
Step 6: Share Results (But Don’t Weaponize Them)
Once you’ve identified your top performers, share the insights with your team. But don’t just blast out a leaderboard—context matters.
- Focus on learnings: What are top reps doing differently? Can others adopt those habits?
- Avoid shame: Don’t use analytics as a public calling-out tool. You’ll only get people gaming the numbers.
- Reward the right stuff: Celebrate behaviors that drive real results—not just raw numbers.
What doesn’t work: Making analytics a “gotcha” exercise. People will only trust the process if it feels fair.
Step 7: Review, Adjust, and Repeat
No metric stays perfect forever. Keep an eye on what actually predicts long-term success. Every quarter or so:
- Audit your metrics: Are they still pointing you to the right people, or just rewarding luck?
- Get feedback: Ask reps if the dashboards match on-the-ground reality. If not, dig into why.
- Add or drop metrics: If something isn’t useful, kill it. If a new behavior matters, start tracking it.
Analytics is a tool, not gospel. The goal is to get better as a team—not just to have prettier charts.
Final Thoughts: Keep It Simple and Iterate
It’s easy to get overwhelmed with analytics, but the basics work best: pick a few meaningful metrics, make sure your data is clean, and actually talk to your team about what you find. Nlpearl is powerful, but it won’t magically fix broken processes or bad data. Start simple, learn what works for your crew, and tweak as you go. That’s how you actually find your high performers—and help everyone else level up too.