Changing the face of selling

The concept of using location data to maximise efficiency for teams on the road is not a new one. Many field service managers utilise software management teams to get the best out of their mobile teams, but what about the sales team? One of the issues with existing customer management systems is that data typically only encompasses existing clients, not new prospects. It’s also not uncommon for data to be out of date, incomplete, expensive and time-consuming to collect and maintain.

Imagine if your sales field force had information on retail outlets throughout Australia - not just existing customers, but the unknowns as well. Now imagine the possibilities if that data identified the size of every opportunity at every one of those outlets.

Why ERP and DIY data doesn’t work for selling

Getting the right customer data is a constant challenge. Most rely on data from their ERP system, but it just doesn’t work. ERP is designed for billing customers, not looking after them. All the ERP data tells a rep is the number of stores they are going to and the number of sales they make there. Even if a store closes, contact details can remain in the ERP for years, until the back office undertakes the time-consuming and costly chore of cleansing data for the sales team.

Some field forces collect and maintain customer data themselves. This expensive, inefficient DIY approach results in information of limited value because it lacks competitive, comparative data and is difficult to maintain. The final nail in the DIY customer data coffin is that after all that time and expense, the end result - at best - is basic location information, such as the outlet’s address. At worst, trust in the data is eroded if it tells a rep a store exists when, in reality, it does not.

The game-changer: intelligent outlet data

A complete software-as-a-service (SaaS)-based, mobile sales solution that provides the outlet data, journey planning tools, with ongoing refreshes and data maintenance, empowers field forces to become more efficient and productive, to identify opportunities and discover better ways to manage a territory.

The data alone is little more than a spreadsheet: its true value is unleashed when combined with software to pinpoint the location of all outlets, including existing customers and prospects - and identify the size of each opportunity. It puts data at the fingertips of field reps and sales managers in easy-to-use dashboards, while onboard mapping tools direct the representative to the store - all on their mobile devices.

Provision of sales and competitive indices by outlet allows for easy comparison between stores. A sales index is capable of predicting potential sales for each outlet, while a competition index can compare one store against other outlets. Such indices draw information on a range of factors including current sales performance as well as local area and store attributes such as outlet information (including location and complementary outlets), the competitive landscape, the demographics of the catchment area and accessibility by road and public transport.

Time is money: save both

Sales representatives can end up costing their employer double their salary when costs such as vehicle, superannuation, payroll tax, WorkCover, PLI, mobile phone, general expenses, payroll and HR management are added. That makes a typical rep call to collect customer information, rather than to sell, an expensive proposition - and potentially even more costly if someone in the back office is spending time checking and updating customer records.

Integrating outlet data via a mobile selling solution on a subscription fee per user basis, independently verified and maintained with regular updates, is much more cost effective than attempting to collect and manage the data independently.

Maximising territory potential

Using a mobile selling solution allows sales managers and reps to identify territory patterns and plan tactics and strategies to drive sales with existing customers and prospects based on a territory’s potential. Territory managers can use that intelligence to schedule activities in order of best ROI - attacking the biggest stores, or those with the greatest potential, first. The most attractive opportunity could in fact be the opportunity to sell more to an existing customer. A business can’t identify that potential using its own data in isolation - it requires comparative, indexed data.

Using the adage that it is at least three times more cost effective to develop your own customers than find new ones, companies can use indices to identify underperforming stores and develop strategies to grow sales in those outlets. A rep in an underperforming store could go to the outlet armed with an informed deal based on competitive intelligence to switch out the competitor product for their own.

Allocating resources - farmers and hunters

Without intelligence on territory potential, allocating reps to particular territories is as unscientific as assigning reps based on whoever lives closest to a geographic area - which is what many companies do.

Intelligent outlet data gives managers insights and intelligence to identify skill sets and match them to the right territory based on identified opportunities. That might mean putting a ‘hunter’ who enjoys selling into a territory with the most prospects and untapped potential. Or putting the ‘farmer’ who enjoys relationships into another territory to nurture a high-value customer.

Find customers and manage resources for ROI

Reps can find new sales opportunities without intelligent data through a Google or online directory search for nearby retail listings - but that is not only a slow and error-prone approach, it won’t tell them anything about a territory’s size or potential. Intelligent outlet data will show them other outlets in a territory that their business is not currently selling to, while the sales and competitive indices will show each outlet’s potential sales opportunity.

An accurate snapshot of a territory’s worth - and potential worth - enables human and financial resources to be allocated for the greatest ROI. Managers can determine what they will get out of an investment before they put their dollars into it. If a convenience store owner asks a beverage company for a fridge for example, the sales manager could calculate what they would sell per week in the store, rather than rely on what the outlet owner says the store does in sales.

The age of integrated, intelligent outlet data for mobile retail execution has arrived. The combination of powerful tools and compelling intelligent location data on all retail outlets delivers the insights and enhanced field planning ability needed to drive field force effectiveness and grow sales through existing customers and new opportunities.

Image credit: ©iStockphoto.com/nullplus