A client of mine told me they want to have a Salesforce dashboard component that displays a conversion rate. I asked for clarification, and how this metric would be used. As you know, asking why is an important step before you begin the design phase.

What was interesting about the conversation was the client’s definition of conversion rate.

When I think of a conversion rate, I imagine something like a typical opportunity stage pipeline.

Example 1:

The opportunity starts at stage A and at some moment in time, a decision is made. The outcomes are either won or lost. The won conversion rate is the number of won opportunities divided by the won + lost opportunities, i.e. won / (won + lost).

The client had a different definition and a different scenario, one without a decision element.

Example 2:

The client’s definition of the conversion rate for B was the number of opportunities in stage B divided by the number of total opportunities, or B / (A + B). The conversion rate for C was C / (A + B + C). To me, these are not true conversion rates because they are missing a critical element: the decision step.

The takeaway
Make sure you talk through the requirements from multiple angles. Include several “why’s” and understand how the results will be used. Also, make sure your definitions are aligned!

PS. What is your definition for the conversion rate for example 2?

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