How long before I can tell if a pitch change worked?

Longer than it feels. Sales are rare enough that a few good days are indistinguishable from luck; think in months rather than weeks.

What if I changed areas?

Then the comparison is compromised and rates are less misleading than totals. Say so when quoting the improvement rather than letting the number stand alone.

Can I compare against other reps?

Only against reps selling the same offer in similar areas, measuring the same way. Otherwise you are comparing territories.

Proving you actually got better

To show real improvement, compare the same measure across two periods in a comparable area, and use contact rate and close rate separately rather than sales. Sales are too rare and too variable to demonstrate anything over short windows. Most claimed improvement is asserted from memory, because nobody recorded the earlier period.

You need the earlier number

This is where it usually breaks. Improvement is a comparison, and reps almost never have a trustworthy version of the first half of it. Memory reconstructs the past to match the story the present suggests.

It is also the cheapest problem to solve, since it costs one tap per door starting today.

Control for what moved underneath you

Area and season change results independently of skill. A rep moved to a denser neighbourhood improves on every count without getting better at anything, and one moved to acreage looks like they got worse.

Comparing rates rather than totals removes some of this. It does not remove all of it, and that is worth being honest about.

Sample size

Close rate over a week is mostly noise, because sales are rare. Contact rate stabilises much faster since conversations are frequent. Judge timing changes in weeks and pitch changes in months.

Common questions

How long before I can tell if a pitch change worked?: Longer than it feels. Sales are rare enough that a few good days are indistinguishable from luck; think in months rather than weeks.
What if I changed areas?: Then the comparison is compromised and rates are less misleading than totals. Say so when quoting the improvement rather than letting the number stand alone.
Can I compare against other reps?: Only against reps selling the same offer in similar areas, measuring the same way. Otherwise you are comparing territories.

More on your numbers

Contact rate, close rate and knock math — and telling a pitch problem from a timing problem.

All of your numbers