It’s a bitter truth that 80 percent of any organizations sales done by 20 percent of their sales reps and remaining 20 percent by 80 percent of sales reps. According to latest sales compensation and performance management study , only 55 percent of sales professionals actually meet quota. Sales force automation and customer relationship management software are just the tools, but we often blame them whenever our sales process doesn’t work. It’s like blaming the bat for not playing the short right by the batsman. The Objective Management Group has evaluated over a million field reps from various industries across the globe and found that only 16 percent field reps were elite-they have the mindset that allow them to develop any skill and competency, The rest all are struggling anyhow. But why field reps are getting worse, not better? Is it competition, pricing, poor sales process, complicated technology, or is it something more obvious? Why does the same process and technology work wonderfully for one person, and not the next? Here is this article we have tried to explain, how you can keep your field force motivated and transform them into high-velocity machine.
Change your sales at any cost attitude
Sales by hook or crook strategy never work in long run. Your field force are the human beings not the machine. So you will have to understand their emotional, personal and professional requirements. Setting realistic targets, careful selection and promotion of front line managers, on job coaching, transparent performance assessment system will keep your field force always focused, disciplined and motivated.
Bring automation
Statistics show that businesses without automation consume 71 percent of your time and resources in planning and defining business processes. The same holds true for sales organizations. Selling requires a number of tedious, time-consuming, and repetitive tasks, such as scheduling appointments, tour planning, DCR submission, expense, follow-ups, maintaining database. Sales force automation (SFA) is the perfect solution which automate all these sales associated tasks and allow field force to focus on activities that generate more sales and revenue. Sales force automation allow your front line managers to instantly access to activities of individual sales employees, sales figures, opportunities, customer complaints, and other data used to determine sales success. Armed with real time informations, your managers can take action and make adjustments quickly to optimize efforts.
Equip your field force with latest technology
Androidization has transformed many aspects of sales processes forever. Mobility solutions added with cloud computing help both front line managers and field force to connect 24*7. Your field reps can accomplish many tasks like order booking, stock audit, return processing and tracking changing trends and competitors activity on the go as well as in remote areas. Field force effectiveness is not a destination it’s a journey because with the change in market trend, customer behavior and arrival of new technology the definition of effectiveness will also change hence the requirements.