Simple ways to measure what’s really driving your sales and stop wasting money on what isn’t.

I’ve always found it interesting how some businesses know every line item in their budget down to the penny: cost of goods, payroll, supplies. Yet when it comes to marketing and sales, they’re not really sure what’s working. The good news is, with the right approach or partner in place, you can treat your demand generation engine the same way: measured, predictable, and accountable.

Most business owners I talk to say something like this: “We tried that, and it might have worked, but we never really knew.”

That uncertainty is frustrating. You spend money, you run ads, maybe you see more traffic or phone calls, but you can’t connect the dots back to sales. The truth is, if you don’t know how you’re going to measure success before you launch a tactic, it’s nearly impossible to figure it out afterward.

If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.

Start with the end in mind

Before launching any marketing campaign, decide exactly what you want to learn from it and how you’ll measure success. Is the goal to generate leads, appointments, or sales? If you can’t clearly define what “working” looks like, you’ll never be confident enough to invest more.

Over the years, I’ve heard dozens of owners say: “We tried X, and I would have done more if I knew it was working.” When I ask how they tracked it, I usually get a blank stare or something like, “We got a report about clicks and impressions.”

Clicks and impressions might look good on paper, but they don’t mean much unless they tie back to revenue.

A quick story

Early in my career, I worked with a car wash that spent their entire marketing budget on one big radio remote setup at their location. Hats off to the salesperson who sold it, I’m sure they made a nice commission. But really, does that even sound like a worthwhile investment?

I’m not saying this to poke fun, but when you’ve been in marketing for a while, you learn that the best results come from consistency, not one-time stunts. Even the best lower-funnel tactics like PPC or direct offers work better when the brand is supported by a solid website, great reviews, and strong local awareness. Those things don’t happen overnight.

Can you buy leads? Sure. But you’ll usually pay more for them than a company with a strong foundation. And even then, ask yourself: will a customer choose a brand they’ve never heard of before just because they saw one ad? Probably not, especially if the competition has been building trust over time.

Think small before you scale big.

Make attribution simple

Attribution doesn’t have to be complicated. Start small and build. If you’re adding a new tactic, figure out how to track it before launch. Think through every way a lead can come in:

• Call center
• Receptionist or CSR
• Contact form or chat
• QR code or promo code

Give each tactic its own marker, whether that’s a tracking number, a campaign tag in your CRM, or even a custom URL. The goal is to identify where each lead came from so when it turns into a sale, the right tactic gets credit.

Set up your systems before you hit go

CRMs and marketing automation tools can do this really well, but only if they’re set up right. Don’t wait until after launch to configure your tracking. Make sure your team or vendors know exactly how to tag leads and report on performance.

If you’re working with outside vendors, push them to go beyond vanity metrics. Clicks and impressions are fine, but they should be the beginning of the conversation, not the end. Ask them to show how activity turns into real opportunities and sales.

Questions to ask before spending a dollar

Before you spend a dime on a new marketing tactic, take a minute to ask a few basic questions. They’ll save you time, money, and headaches later.

1. Can I test it first?
Be careful about going all in on a new campaign. It is always better to run a pilot first. Instead of targeting your entire market, start with one or two zip codes. Test, measure, and learn before scaling. I’m always skeptical of anything you can’t test, especially if it’s new to the marketplace.

2. Your tracking or theirs?
Vendor-supplied data can be helpful, but it’s always best to track results on your own end too. Sometimes just asking, “How can I track this myself?” sends a clear signal to the vendor that you take attribution seriously. If they hesitate or can’t answer, that tells you something.

3. Can I talk to a few happy customers?
Ask to speak with other businesses that have used the same tactic successfully. A direct competitor might not be willing, but a similar company, like another B2B service provider or B2C home services business, will usually share their experience. You’ll learn more from a five-minute conversation with a peer than a two-hour sales pitch.

4. What does success look like, and how will I know when I’ve reached it?
Define clear success metrics before launch. Are you looking for more leads, higher conversion rates, or lower cost per sale? When everyone understands what “good” looks like, it’s much easier to hold the campaign accountable.

Final thought: measure what matters

Be careful about what you measure. Sometimes a tactic looks great through one lens but terrible through another. I remember running a $1 million Meta campaign across multiple markets that generated a ton of leads. I was over the moon at first, the phones were ringing, the forms were filling up, and it looked like a huge win.

Luckily, we tracked not only the leads but the resulting sales. After a few months, we realized that while lead volume was consistent across every market, only the markets with better-than-average brand awareness produced a good ROI. The rest of the markets were generating a lot of noise but not much revenue. That experience taught me that data without context is dangerous. You have to connect results to reality.

Another thing to keep in mind: what works one year may not work the next. I saw leads from PPC drop by half year over year. Fortunately, we were testing other lead-generation methods at the same time, so we were able to keep growing.

The market is fickle. Algorithms change, competitors adjust their bidding, and new players enter the space. Things can get upside down fast. That is why measurement shouldn’t be a quarterly task, it should be part of your culture. When your whole team understands what’s being measured and why, it becomes a habit.

Practical takeaway

If you take one thing from this, it’s that tracking and consistency are what separate busy marketing from effective marketing. Whether you handle it in-house or partner with someone who knows how to connect the dots, make sure every dollar teaches you something.

When you make measurement part of how you operate, marketing becomes predictable, sales become accountable, and growth becomes repeatable.

About Demand Growth Partner

At Demand Growth Partner, I help business owners build measurable demand generation systems that connect marketing spend to real sales results. My goal is to give leaders clarity on what is working, eliminate wasted spend, and create a process that scales.

If you’re ready to bring more structure and accountability to your growth efforts, let’s have a conversation about what that could look like for your business.