No one likes paperwork, not least salespeople who want to spend their time meeting customers and selling rather than typing up reports. This is particularly true for sales representatives in the field, who have traditionally viewed updating the CRM system as wasted time. As such, field sales staff have tended to do all their CRM reporting at the end of the day, end of the week or even end of the month, severely degrading the quality and value of the data entered.
Until recently CRM systems had not been developed with the field sales representative in mind. While office-based sales teams have had access to a wealth of customer knowledge, enabling them to track progress, schedule calls and provide detailed reports to sales managers and directors, those on the road have, by and large, been left to rely on their own skill to manage relationships. The initial mobile offerings from the major CRM providers did not provide field sales reps with the functionality they need.
The lack of user-friendly and suitable tools for field sales representatives has presented two key problems for organizations. First, they have been unable to provide the same quality of supporting tools to their field sales force, leaving them devoid of key resources to drive sales. Second, sales directors and managers have had limited information, and of dubious quality, to monitor field sales performance and provide targeted support to the staff that require it the most. With significant time lapses between meetings and reporting, they have had limited data with which to monitor progress, output and sales success, meaning their ability to further improve activity has been hampered.
Making Field Sales Fully Mobile
Over the past couple of years the industry has seen the emergence of truly mobile CRM solutions. They make reporting while on the road easier, as a result of features that are designed to facilitate the daily activity of mobile sales staff. In fact, mobility is now a requirement for most sales professionals, not just those who are based in the field. They need access to customer information and sales material in real-time, wherever they are and on any device to ensure they are not missing out on opportunities. We are also seeing CRM systems increasingly becoming available on wearable devices, which is certainly a future trend to look out for.
By automatically recording every interaction (phone calls, emails, visits) that takes place between the rep and the client or prospect, reps can better track their contact history and identify those who have not been contacted for a long time. Reps can also report on the outcome of meetings immediately afterwards using voice recognition technology, while geolocation technology enables them to identify other contacts in the nearby area who could be visited at the same time, improving travel efficiency.
Furthermore, modern CRM systems offer better reporting systems for field sales reps and a larger pool of data that organizations can utilize to analyze performance. The automated reporting process provides sales managers and directors with enhanced, real-time insight into their sales staff activity, enabling them to identify areas where opportunities may be being missed, evaluate staff performance and provide more tailored support and training to individual reps.
Enhanced mobility = improved sales performance
As mobile sales solutions move away from the idea of managing workflows and focus instead on improving sales performance, they can help organizations increase their sales. They enable sales staff to become more productive, helping them to exceed targets and sell more, rather than holding them back with restrictive processes.
CRM should no longer be seen as a chore by sales reps, but as a valuable tool that boosts their performance. Meanwhile, the real-time reporting and analytics features provide sales managers and directors with greater insight into the activity and performance of their sales teams. This helps organizations improve sales productivity and blow past goals.
Oscar Macia is CEO of ForceManager, a specialist provider of mobile sales management technology aimed at field sales teams.
