Most companies send their field agents to talk to qualified leads or prospective clients. The agents have to remember all their appointments and plan the sales visits manually. Sometimes, they also need to collect information and verify documents.
Relying on a manual process increases the likelihood of missing many meetings and significantly reduces sales rep efficiency. That’s why many companies have adopted field sales app for their agents to make them more productive.
Today, we will find out how you can solve the pain points and enhance your sales process using a field sales app.
Here are 13 Good Reasons to Embrace a Field Sales App
A field sales app equips your sales force to maximize their capabilities and increase productivity. They can handle all facets of sales using a single app on their mobile.
Record Attendance Digitally
You don’t need to maintain a register or a separate attendance system when you use a field rep app. Your agents can check in using the app and register their attendance. Geo-attendance technology can be used to locate your agents and automatically mark attendance when employees land in designated areas.
Manage Daily Schedule
Your sales agents will be able to see all the meetings for the day with details like time, location and more. They can plan the day effectively and optimize routes and travel time smartly.
Discover Nearby Leads
The app lets the agents track the leads in their vicinity. They can access the address of the leads on the map and schedule a meeting with the nearest ones.
Smarter Route Planning
Your sales rep have no way of planning their routes without an app. They just have the addresses noted down on a diary and rely on their knowledge of the city to plan their routes. A rep may catch a bus to go to point A and then travel 6 miles to reach point B and another 8 miles for point C.
He has no way of knowing the best routes or the options to save travel time.
A sales rep app comes with GPS maps and all the meetings are marked on the map. The GPS map also allows him to work out the best routes to save time and cost and let him plan beforehand.
Meeting and Appointment Reminders
Your on-field sales rep again has to rely on his diary to stay abreast of the meetings and appointments. But the task becomes challenging when there are 50 meetings lined up for the week. Your sales rep may miss or forget their appointments which end up affecting the bottom line of your company.
The field sales app comes with integrated calendars where the meetings can be marked. The app sends auto reminders and notifications to the sales force so that they never miss an opportunity!
You can also add tasks and leads for your reps and they receive instant notifications. They can then close the lead and reduce delays in the process.
Opportunities for Successful Conversions
Closing leads and sourcing orders are the main goals of your sales team. Your reps will need adequate information and data about the lead to close the deal successfully. This means they have to prepare before the meeting and hope the client doesn’t ask extra questions!
Field rep apps can be integrated with your CRM. This way they can have all the information and past history of a lead and can answer the prospects with confidence.
Automated Lead Search
The sales reps sometimes get free time between their meetings or in case, any of their appointments are canceled. They may want to use the opportunity to visit new leads in the neighborhood. But they have no way of tracing the leads or knowing their exact location.
The app stores the database of the leads along with their location and other details. Your sales reps can quickly glance at the GPS locations and determine the nearest lead to start with. It saves them time and increases productivity.
Mobile CRM
Without an app, your agents have to note down the details of a new lead in their notepad. They will have to return to the office and then enter the information in the CRM. At the end of the day, the agents may forget some of the vital information or miss out on details.
With a field sales app, your agents can directly enter new leads in the CRM. You also minimize the chances of errors and reduce the number of steps in the data entry process.
Create Instant Orders
Your agents can pick up new orders during the day. They either have to call the office or wait until they return to the office to record the order. The process creates a delay and the customer may not be ready to wait.
Using sales rep app, your agents can instantly take new orders on the go. No time is wasted and the sales department gets to know about the update instantly. They can proceed to process the order and ship it to close the deal in a timely manner.
Offline Functionality
Your sales reps may be in areas with a poor network or internet service. They will not be able to access information or log details in such cases.
Field rep apps can have the feature to work offline. The agents can input data in offline mode or carry out other functions as necessary.
Real-time Rep Tracking
Managers have no way to track the sales rep other than calling them up and relying on their honesty. Some agents may also increase the distance traveled for the day to increase their reimbursements. Managers have no way to verify the truth!
The apps can be used for sales rep tracking and managers can see the route taken by the sales reps. You can also access the number of appointments attended, check-in and check-out times, total distance traveled for the day and other useful details.
What’s more, managers can also get the real-time location of the agents through location sharing.
Go Paperless
The sales agents have to maintain several diaries, forms, and documents to manage their sales. They also have to write down information and details manually which is not meant for this digital age! It also becomes quite troublesome and increases mismanagement.
Sales rep apps offer a paperless sales process. Your reps can capture all sorts of data using the app and you can also create customized forms for your unique needs. The agents don’t have to carry an array of documents but only an app to complete their tasks.
Actionable Insights
You have to invest in tracking and collecting data from various verticals if you want to develop insights about your sales agents or their performance. But not all companies are ready or can afford such a data collection process.
Solution: The field sales app can be used to collect all sorts of data about your sales reps and their work. You can create personalized reports and analyze the data to gain valuable insights. Analytics can help you discover the weak areas in your sales process and boost areas of low productivity.
Check Out a Video Walkthrough of Our Field Sales Software Solution
Industries That Can Benefit From a Field Sales App
Almost every industry with agents on the field can benefit from a field sales app. The common industries using field rep app are –
Pharma Manufacturing & Distribution
Medical representatives have to visit numerous doctors and keep track of a lot of things. A field sales app helps them manage their meetings and collect data for the company. They can also use the app to present demonstrations of products and services.
BFSI
Sales rep apps help the banking and insurance industry to capture leads and data on the go. You can use custom forms and even accept e-signatures on the documents. The app also improves task allocation and customer service.
Retail/FMCG
Showcase portfolios, access buyer history and accept orders with field sales app for the FMCG industry. Your agents can also add new leads and track their daily targets while accepting instant orders.
Home Services
Any home service industry like plumbing, electrical or pest control can take advantage of sales rep apps to increase their productivity and efficiency. The service team can plan daily routes based on location and distance and use in-app forms to collect details of the customer and the job.
Wrapping Up!!
If your business involves agents working in the field, a sales rep app can boost your sales and mean the difference between a good and a great field sales team.
Author's Bio
Nitin Lahoti is the Co-Founder and Director at Mobisoft Infotech. He has 15 years of experience in Design, Business Development and Startups. His expertise is in Product Ideation, UX/UI design, Startup consulting and mentoring. He prefers business readings and loves traveling.
