Beyond the dashboard: why sales engagement alone isn't enough

By Liam Mercier, Global Operations & Enablement Manager at Sumo Logic 

You’ve probably heard the phrase “what gets measured gets managed.” But here’s the problem: most teams are measuring the wrong things — or at least, not the things that truly move the needle. 

At Unleash 2025, I shared a bit about our journey at Sumo Logic — the moments when I realized that traditional sales metrics weren’t giving us the full story. They gave us motion but not progress. They showed us activity, but not impact. 

As leaders, we often lean into dashboards like they’re gospel. Call counts, email open rates, meetings booked; they’re easy to pull, easy to share, and they look impressive on slides. But those numbers don’t tell you why you’re winning or losing. They don’t reflect the real story unfolding on the frontline. 

I think of tools like Outreach Kaia™ as a mirror. It doesn’t just show you how many swings you took — it shows you where you missed, why you hesitated, and what resonated with your buyers. And honestly? That mirror can be uncomfortable. But that discomfort is where growth starts. 

Our mindset at Sumo Logic has been simple: progress over perfection, insight over vanity. Every data point should move us closer to understanding our team better, not just checking a box. If it doesn’t lead to action or reflection, is it really worth tracking at all? 

Why high performers still crack (and what to do about it) 

One of the biggest traps I see is assuming that high performers don’t need coaching. We think they’re fine because they’re hitting numbers. But performance isn’t just about outcomes; it’s about behaviors that drive consistency. 

The real question: Are your top reps thriving because of your system — or in spite of it? 

This question has challenged me more than any KPI ever could. It forces us to go beyond the highlight reels and look at the hidden cracks. Maybe they’re working longer hours, carrying unseen stress, or compensating for weak processes with sheer hustle. 

To uncover this, I like to flip the script and ask questions most teams avoid: 

• Where are we losing buyer attention on calls? 

• What talk tracks feel forced or misaligned with our product marketing? 

• Is our success scalable, or does it hinge on a few standout personalities? 

At Sumo Logic, this led us to rebuild our persona strategy, simplify our messaging, and refine how we confirm the status quo in early conversations. We moved from a model of hero sellers to a system that anyone can succeed in — and that’s the ultimate test of enablement. 

Beyond technical training, we started running internal “mirror” workshops where reps self-assess call recordings. They share what they see, not just what they hear. We ask them to identify what felt off, what felt strong, and what they’d change next time. Watching them reflect in real time has been powerful — and a big culture shift. 

Introducing the SIGN framework: find real gaps 

During my Unleash session, I didn’t walk through a magic list of metrics every GTM team should track. Why? Because the right metrics are unique to your team, your goals, your culture. 

Instead, I introduced the SIGN framework, which helped us surface real gaps and stop chasing generic benchmarks: 

1. State 

What’s actually happening today? Are reps using tools as intended? What does adoption really look like? “Do not sugarcoat this!”

2. Influence 

What do we want to change? Win rates, call quality, messaging — choose your north star. 

3. Gap 

Where’s the friction? Are there missing workflows, unclear resources, or misaligned expectations? 

4. Network 

Who needs to be involved? Sales, enablement, product marketing — alignment only works if everyone’s in the room. 

Once we mapped our SIGN, we didn’t stop there. We circled questions we’d been dancing around for months — those are the real needle-movers. And we owned them, together. 

One exercise I recommend: Write down every question your team keeps revisiting but never fully answers. Then underline the ones your leadership team actually cares about. Finally, circle the ones that have gone unresolved for over three months. Those are the questions you start with. 

This framework doesn’t just drive strategy — it builds shared ownership. Suddenly, enablement isn’t a department on the sidelines. It’s an embedded partner in revenue strategy. 

Kaia as a coaching partner, not just a scoreboard 

At Sumo Logic, we don’t see Kaia as a referee keeping score. We see it as a co-pilot, helping us understand not just what’s happening, but why it’s happening. 

One way to do this is by creating saved searches tied to behaviors we wanted to reinforce — not just “calls logged” but “calls where we confirmed status quo in the first 5 minutes,” or “calls where we introduced a customer story naturally.” 

Those insights fuel better coaching conversations. Instead of “listen to more calls,” we ask: What repeatable behavior would signal real adoption? Where exactly do reps get stuck? 

We also started tracking micro-signals. For example, where does the rep pause? When does the prospect’s energy drop? Where do they start asking clarifying questions? These moments are gold — they tell us more about buying intent than a spreadsheet ever will. 

It’s not about adding more dashboards. It’s about surfacing insights that spark curiosity, vulnerability, and growth. The goal isn’t to catch reps doing something wrong; it’s to catch them doing something right — so we can scale that behavior across the team. 

From vanity metrics to meaningful momentum 

I see too many teams chasing volume. More calls, more emails, more meetings. But more doesn’t equal better. 

Our real progress came when we shifted focus to engagement quality — how reps make buyers feel, how confidently they deliver value, and how consistently they mirror our positioning. 

Volume-based metrics can become comfort blankets. They make us feel productive even when we’re not being effective. Real momentum comes from leaning into what truly matters: conversations that inspire trust, align value, and move deals forward. 

Frameworks like SIGN aren’t there to add work; they help us zoom in on what matters. We keep reflecting, reframing, and refining. Enablement isn’t a project — it’s a living system. It’s a shared language between revenue, marketing, and product teams. 

This iterative approach also shifts how we celebrate wins. We don’t just high-five closed deals; we celebrate when someone adopts a new behavior, when a rep confidently uses a new story, or when they turn feedback into action. These are the true seeds of scale. 

What’s your team seeing in the mirror? 

At the end of the day, sales success isn’t about who can run the fastest. It’s about building a team that can run together, again and again. 

When you look at your data, ask yourself: Are we using this as a mirror, or as a scoreboard? Are we creating a culture of curiosity, or just measuring activity for the sake of activity? 

If your metrics aren’t helping you understand your people, they’re just noise. 

We’ve found that the best growth moments come when we invite teams to reflect. When they can see themselves clearly — the strengths, the gaps, the opportunities — they show up more open, more coachable, and more aligned. 

Let’s build teams that grow beyond the numbers — together.