Sales metrics and key performance indicators (KPI) are only successful if your sales force is constantly trying to improve upon their metrics. Since your salespeople spend so much time on the road, your enterprise mobility solutions must be able to track their ability to attain these performance indicators. KPI are meant to define the value of a given sale. They allow your company to measure your sales team’s performance in attaining specific goals, ones you’ve deemed important to increasing market share. For instance, your company may decide that its sales metrics should be focused on incentivizing your salespeople to attain a certain gross profit percentage on each transaction. You may place greater emphasis on sales volumes, units sold over time, territory and customer account growth. Or, you may even decide to measure your sales team’s abilities to reduce inventory and receivable financing. However, how will your management manage salespeople in the field if they don’t have access to real-time data? This is ultimately why your enterprise mobility solutions are so important.
Customer face time is an essential aspect of sales success. However, with so much time away from the office, how can salespeople possibly track their own performance if they didn’t have a handheld computer? Well, it would likely involve constant calls, updates and timely discussions. In this case, it’s about empowering your salespeople to act on their own behalf. It’s about using your enterprise mobility platform and giving your salespeople the tools to succeed.
Salespeople are most effective when they have clearly defined objectives. Keeping it simple is essential. However, it’s far more important that they have the tools they need to track their own performance. It’s ultimately about personal responsibility and those who work in business development know that they can’t spend too much time coddling salespeople. The best and brightest are able to take charge of their territory by charting their own path to success. So, does having a handheld computer really make a difference in tracking sales metrics? It most certainly does and here’s why.
Real-Time Instant Data
Management will have access to real-time data on sales, quotations and closing rates. This will provide them with increased visibility into current business trips and customer discussions. They can then follow up with pertinent questions and provide guidance via the company’s enterprise mobility network.
Up-to-the-Minute Market Data
Managing a sales team is never just about offering the lowest price on all bids. It’s ultimately about using timely data directly from the market in order to close more business. If your company wants to increase its market share, then giving your sales team handheld computers is the surest way to get up-to-the-minute market data.
Improved Communication
It’s never just about disseminating that information back at the office, but ultimately about providing new marching orders to your sales team. Rugged handheld computers improve communication by allowing sales managers to constantly stay in touch with field service and sales personnel.
If your company has specific sales metrics that it uses to gauge how well its sales team is performing, then it just makes sense to empower your salespeople to reach those goals you’ve set forth. Today’s marketplace is all about speed and decisiveness. This ultimately requires an enterprise mobility platform that can respond to time constraints of being on the road.