Author: Mathan Kumar J

  • 4 Ways to Build the Ultimate Sales Kickoff

    4 Ways to Build the Ultimate Sales Kickoff

    It’s never been more crucial to make the most of face-to-face moments worldwide when in-person discussions are supplanted by Skype meetings, e-mails & instant messaging conversations. A clever annual sales launch meeting has become a reliable way to create energy.

    Let’s discuss the importance of a sales kickoff discussion, how to narrow down the priorities that lead to company goals & the parts that produce a robust sales kickoff discussion with the best methods from renowned firms.

    What’s a sales kickoff?

    A sales kickoff discussion aims to gather your complete sales team, share best practices, product updates, and new sales methods, and re-energize everyone to hit the streets and bring in new business.

    For most field force managers, it’s a significant expenditure regarding travel and production costs and lost opportunities. In addition, taking your sales crew out of the picture for a full day or two might be difficult to sell at any organisation.

    On the other hand, a sales kickoff meeting should leave your reps feeling motivated, confident, respected, and more prepared to interact with leads and close sales if done correctly.

    Key advantages of a having a solid sales kickoff plan:

    Sales kickoff events are crucial in getting your year off to a good start. They keep your team and stakeholders updated and engaged on your year’s goals and objectives and help grow and enhance a sales team’s vision and leadership. 

    It is why sales launch events are so important: they give the team motivation and a surge, putting them on the right course for the rest of the year. So, what are the benefits of a well-planned sales kickoff plan?

    1. Creating Friendly Relationships & Trust

    Face-to-face interactions provide a one-of-a-kind chance to connect & form personal bonds. When teams are anchored on solid, productive relationships, they can be 10 times highly productive for the entire year.

    Furthermore, spending time with teammates and interacting with them fosters trust & emotions, laying the framework for joint ventures.

    1. Energised Team

    A successful & interesting meeting always got a steady flow of energy. A captivating speaker, an awards ceremony, or a little pause to create a positive vibe are amazing techniques to refresh your group.

    1. Focus Throughout the Year 

    Online meetings are used for multitasking & distraction. If you bring them face-to-face, you are more inclined to capture and hold your team’s focus throughout your plan. When people gather for the sales kickoff discussion, it’s also a wonderful opportunity to educate and train your team on the business.

    4 tips for creating a killer sales kickoff:

    Sales kickoffs can raise morale, establish team trust and rapport, and guarantee that everyone in the company works on the year’s goals and objectives. Here are our four particular kickoff planning suggestions!

    1. Kickstart with your plans

    Your sales team must be organised with your firm’s broader goals to meet your revenue targets. Your sales team’s efforts must be in line with the company’s objectives to be effective. 

    Your sales kickoff meeting is a one-of-a-kind opportunity to interact with those higher-level goals or strategies that aren’t making it down to leadership and use mobile sales app to expedite such.

    This open & deliberate talk about your company’s strategies and objectives can help your staff understand the vision & can be a great motivator. Use this opportunity to incorporate your company’s story into the one told at your kickoff.

    1.  Make it engaging

    Choosing a topic for your sales kickoff will help define the event’s mood and purpose. So, why do you need to pick a theme for the sales kickoff? First, if all of your content revolves around a single theme, it will be more interesting and memorable. 

    Second, it increases the level of amusement. You can include jokes, slideshows, skits, mini-contests, and more with a theme. 

    Finally, a theme helps you stay on target. When kickoffs are all over, reps forget what they’ve heard, and the information has no enduring significance. So, give your kickoff a theme to make it more successful.

    1.  Involve the right people

    According to research, group members can stay engaged when they get any idea in the process. Polling the team well before the meeting is a smart approach to involve them in the planning. Of course, it’s critical to include their input and add policy goals depending on their suggestions.

    Delegating some instructions & tasks to your group can help in management & scheduling is another way to involve your team. At the same time, you can use a sales force tracker to monitor their activities.

    1.  Make use of advanced technology

    Everyone nowadays is glued to their phones. Therefore, look for methods to integrate tech concepts into your meeting when preparing it. For example, incorporate a streaming poll system to reach your customers during your online sessions, create an easy app to manage the entire schedule & sign up for group discussions. 

    You can also organise a virtual event! Using technology, irrespective of whatever option you choose, you need a simple method to turn your resources interest and informed while organising the event.

    Final Words:

    Your sales launch meeting can be an amazing way to get your team together, agree on a strategy, build excitement, and encourage collaboration in the months ahead. Building camaraderie in today’s extremely competitive industry is more crucial than ever.Get benefit of this great opportunity to get your team on the same page, whether you can schedule an in-person event or host one using a field assist app like Happisales. Companies that invest in their employees are the most successful. One method to show your team that they have your complete support is to host a creative sales kickoff event.

  • Top 10 Problems in Sales with Simple Solutions

    Top 10 Problems in Sales with Simple Solutions

    Selling is hard work. In order to achieve your targets, a salesperson has to address a number of issues. In order to achieve your targets, a salesperson has to address a number of problems in sales on a daily basis. Technology has helped buyers become more knowledgeable than ever before – they are able to make informed choices by doing basic research about the company, its products and offerings.

    Salespeople today face multiple problems in sales, especially after the rise of digital-first buyers and remote interactions. Some of the challenges that have risen after the advent of social media and the “new normal” include building trust, being productive, nurturing prospective leads, and more. So, yes, closing deals is more of a challenge these days for sales personnel and in this blog post, we will try to understand 10 common sales challenges that must be addressed to clinch the deal! Can a field service management software help? Let’s find out.

    What are the challenges faced by sales personnel?

    Some of the challenges that have risen after the advent of social media and the “new normal” include building trust, being productive, nurturing prospective leads etc. Let us examine them one by one.

    1. Building Trust:

    The Covid-19 pandemic pushed most sales personnel to rely primarily on email and telephone to communicate with their prospects. Potential clients receive a great deal of emails and phone calls, so standing out as the best vendor may be difficult. Developing credibility online necessitates creative strategies for distinguishing yourself from your competitors. A personalised approach can help achieve this. Making use of field service management software can smoothen this process. It is also vital that sales personnel ensure that their efforts are relevant, timely, and appropriate for the platform being used.

    2. Less Number of Qualified Leads:

    Statistics indicate that sales personnel spend less than 36% of their time selling. It is primarily a matter of not spending enough time developing connections and prospecting. As far as discipline is concerned, making time to prospect every day requires setting aside time and minimising distractions. New opportunities can be generated by combining a territory and account strategy, blocking time, and an insight-based approach.

    3. Goal Setting:

    In order to achieve success, realistic sales targets that are actionable and attainable should be set, rather than focusing too much on just numbers. To meet targets, your sales team may end up pursuing low-quality, ineffective leads. Sales team managers utilise field sales tracking software to assign  and track these goals and targets. 

    4. Closing Deals:

    Economic circumstances are difficult all over the world, and customers do not want to feel compelled to buy in today’s competitive market. That is why closing deals are difficult. It is usually plagued by problems much sooner in the sales cycle. The most efficient way to increase your close rates is to make the buyer’s journey easier and to ensure that all key dialogues occur in the right order. If sales people don’t begin to bargain right away, they will run into a lot of problems. It is beneficial to utilise the entire sales discussion to explain the pricing, triangulating the competitors, and emphasising the amount of effort needed to achieve the client’s goals. In this manner, profits can be maximised. The buying cycle can be documented in the field sales tracking app too to enable easy tracking.

    5. Discussing Pricing:

    Most often, the decision to choose a product or service boils down to the pricing. To weed out the unqualified prospects, it’d make sense to present the pricing on the company website. Knowing your competitors and what the market charges is also essential. Sales personnel need to recognize if they are genuinely meeting their needs with the service or product.

    6. Productivity Issues:

    After the pandemic, many sales organizations moved to a remote sales model. Such firms were faced with inefficiencies and lack of cohesiveness. The pandemic also saw changes in people’s buying patterns. The changing nature of buying patterns presents reps with new challenges, managers with new methods to boost seller productivity, and executives with new challenges to drive development. With field sales tracking software such as Happisales, managers are able to provide clarity and sound advice as and when their team members are found struggling to adjust to prospects’ changing habits and sensitivities.

    7. Nurturing Leads at Right Time:

    Sending emails and making phone calls to a prospect list is simple, but doing this manually will not only take time but it might hamper relations too. Without comprehensive activity monitoring in place, analysing each prospect takes time and leaves gaps. When using a mobile sales app for field service tracking software such as Happisales, sales personnel can set up automated reminders for themselves to analyse a prospect once specific events occur. Automations that send emails to prospects at predetermined intervals can also be triggered by actions.

    8. Wasting Time on Unqualified Leads:

    As mentioned earlier, the amount of time spent on selling is far lesser than the other work done by a sales representative. Erroneous prospect data can lead sales professionals to spend nearly a quarter of their time pursuing unqualified leads. This may severely demotivate your sales staff, resulting in a negative impact on your sales funnel and, eventually, your figures.

    By ensuring accurate data for your sales team to analyse, you can solve this problem. Solutions for field sales tracking such as Happisales ensure that your sales team is spending their time productively nurturing the qualified prospects.

    9. Time Management:

    The majority of your sales team’s time is spent on administrative tasks like data entry and report generation. This can be addressed by automating these simple administrative tasks with mobile sales app for field sales tracking such as Happisales. Having the right tools and technology at their disposal will ensure your sales team has more time on hand to devote to key sales tasks. Meeting scheduling solutions allow prospects to arrange time on your reps’ calendars promptly, avoiding extensive email threads. Email templates also save time.

    10. Poor Teamwork:

    In sales, teamwork is key. You can find creative solutions to problems by working in a group and benefit from the expertise and experience of others. Team members aren’t the only thing that makes a team successful. Team sales can be particularly challenging for sales staff that are used to working alone. Establishing a collaborative atmosphere will help your sales staff be successful. Regular communication will prevent a disconnected selling process.

    Conclusion:

    These are some of the most common problems in sales that field executives encounter in their day-to-day work. By ensuring better teamwork, improved time management, and leveraging technology like field service management software such as Happisales, your business can overcome these issues effectively. To find out more about it, schedule a demo today!

  • Sales Territory Planning and Management for Field Sales

    Sales Territory Planning and Management for Field Sales

      Sales success depends on more than skill, persistence, or knowing how to start a conversation. These qualities matter, but the most important factor comes before meeting a client: your sales territory.

      A well-structured sales territory plan improves productivity, ensures better client coverage, increases revenue, streamlines field sales tracking, and reduces costs. Poorly balanced territories or frequent reshuffling can hurt performance and weaken customer relationships.

      Whether you are creating one from scratch or refining an existing strategy, understanding the importance of sales territory is essential for effective sales management.

      What is a Sales Territory?

      Definition of a Sales Territory

      A sales territory is a specific area, industry, or set of accounts assigned to a salesperson or team. The person in charge works to win new customers and meet targets. How a territory is managed directly shapes sales results.

      Why Sales Territories Matter?

      How well your team understands their territory affects outcomes. Salespeople need to know their accounts and how their territory fits into the larger team strategy. A clear plan helps them work smarter and stay focused.

      How it Affects Sales Performance?

      Poorly defined territories or frequent changes slow teams and can harm client relationships. A well-organized sales territory management system ensures your team covers the right areas efficiently and meets client needs.

      Advantages of Sales Territory

      • Focuses your team on customers and areas that matter most.
      • Assigns reps to territories where their skills can make the biggest impact.
      • Encourages collaboration between teams for smoother operations.
      • Matches the right reps with the right clients, improving experience.
      • Builds long-term relationships with customers and the market, supporting growth.

      Benefits of Sales Territory Planning

      Strategic Targeting of Prospects

      A structured sales territory plan allows your team to focus on the right prospects based on growth potential, industry, company size, and role. Tools like field assist apps simplify the process. Clear territory criteria give reps confidence to pitch clients who can generate real revenue.

      Improved Insights

      A data-driven approach identifies what works and what needs adjustment. Managers can analyze performance, define boundaries for each field sales territory, and ensure salespeople operate efficiently using territory management tools.

      Enhanced Customer Experience

      Assigning reps to accounts that match their skills and location improves client understanding. Consistent field sales territory planning allows long-term relationships, boosting loyalty and retention.

      Proper sales territory planning aligns company goals with resources and client needs. It balances workloads, strengthens relationships, and improves long-term revenue.

      Sales Territory Planning Best Practices

      Focus on the Right Accounts

      Know which accounts matter most. Evaluate territories, group accounts by priority, and plan how often to engage each client. A clear sales territory planning best practices approach keeps the team focused and confident.

      Use Tools to Simplify Territory Management

      Field service and sales management software streamline sales territory management. Reps get access to pipelines, sales targets, forecasts, and progress updates, freeing time for actual selling.

      Balance Existing Clients with New Opportunities

      Sales territory management best practices involve managing current accounts while seeking new opportunities. This grows the territory, strengthens client relationships, and drives long-term results.

      How to Build a Successful Sales Territory Plan?

      Repeating past practices won’t always deliver results. A structured approach to sales territory planning, targets, and incentives is essential.

      Target Prospects Systematically

      Understand your market and company. Stable markets reduce costs, increase revenue, and provide a strong foundation for defining effective field sales territories.

      Evaluate Account Value

      Assess each account’s value based on your products or services. This helps prioritize your sales territory planning efforts and focus on high-impact opportunities.

      Assign the Right Reps to the Right Accounts

      Match reps to accounts where they can deliver the most impact. Strategic assignment strengthens team performance and ensures excellent customer service.

      Review and Finalize Your Plan

      Review costs and potential returns for each territory. Consolidate the plan to balance workload, client growth, and revenue objectives. A strong build up method in sales territory separates efficient sales activity from wasted effort.

      What’s Next?

      With a field force automation system like Happisales, all your data is automatically gathered into easy-to-use reports. This helps develop and refine your sales territory strategy while freeing your team to focus on building stronger, long-term relationships.

      Take control of your sales territories today. Try Happisales to boost productivity, improve client relationships, and grow revenue. Start your 14-day free trial now, no credit card required.


      Frequently Asked Questions

      1. What is Sales Territory Management?

      Sales territory management is the process of dividing a market into segments and assigning them to sales reps. It balances workloads, improves coverage, and aligns sales efforts with business goals. Assignments depend on geography, account potential, and product lines.

      2. How Should I Divide Sales Territories?

      Consider customer location, account value, and market potential. Analyze buyer profiles and demographics. Assign territories based on team strengths and expertise to get the best results.

      3. What Role Does Field Force Automation Play in Territory Management?

      Field force automation handles tasks like route planning, order management, and real-time tracking. It reduces errors, provides insights, and supports better decision making.

      4. How Often Should Sales Territories Be Reviewed?

      Review sales territories at least once a year or when major market changes occur. Regular reviews keep territories aligned with goals, uncover new opportunities, and maintain balanced workloads.

      5. What Are the Common Challenges in Sales Territory Management?

      Challenges include balancing territories, managing quotas, and keeping compensation fair. Outdated systems and rigid processes make planning harder. Overcoming these issues requires careful planning, regular reviews, and modern tools.

    • Top 6 sales skills to master in 2022: Understand your buyer, craft meaningful value propositions and earn customer loyalty

      Top 6 sales skills to master in 2022: Understand your buyer, craft meaningful value propositions and earn customer loyalty

      Communication

      Needless to say, effective communication is the lifeblood of a strong sales pitch. Your ultimate goal as a salesperson is to help customers realize that they actually wanted or needed your product all along.

      To achieve such a feat, you need to be a master of communication. You should communicate the features and benefits that your product can offer to customers in a clear and convincing manner, and help them understand how it can improve their lives.

      You also want your buyer to have a personal stake in the sale: using compelling narratives and weaving stories into your presentations is a fantastic way to achieve this purpose. 

      Study existing case studies thoroughly and leverage those stories to help your prospect imagine how they can use your product or service. Ensure you incorporate elements like character, conflict, context, and resolution to enrich your presentations. 

      Buyer Research

      You can’t capture the attention of a buyer if you have no idea who they are, what they do, and what their business needs might be. The average human attention span today is 8 seconds – less than that of a goldfish. 

      Add to that the fact that people are being increasingly bombarded with a flurry of promotional messages on a daily basis via digital media, which makes it even harder to connect with prospective customers. 

      To really understand your prospect, you need to conduct extensive buyer research. Pore through your prospect’s company website and learn everything you can about what their business does.

      Try to find insight into how their organization is performing. Familiarize yourself with its industry, so you can better understand its place in its competitive landscape. See if you can find out which solutions it is currently leveraging.

      Do some research on the specific contact you’ll be speaking with. What’s their background like? What do they do at their company? Can you identify any interests they might have to help you build rapport?

      Put together a holistic picture of your prospect and their business, and customize your conversations to tap into their feelings and needs. Make them feel that you really get them to spark their interest in your product or service and earn their trust.

      Objection Handling

      The reality of sales is not all sunshine and rainbows: most conversations aren’t going to go as planned and you will likely face rejection more often than you think. Your leads are bound to object and you need to know how to handle that to become a competent salesperson.

      One way to deal with objections is to prepare for them in advance by coming up with responses to the most common ones. These include objections like:

      • It is too expensive.
      • How is it any different from your competitor’s offering?
      • We don’t really need what you’re offering. Our current product works just fine.

      While planning responses in advance can empower you to better manage objections, it isn’t a magic pill. Sometimes, you’ll have to think on your toes and concoct a response right on the spot. Although presence of mind comes with experience, it is important that you build this skill as early as possible. 

      Active Listening

      Your buyers know when you’re really listening to them and when you’re simply waiting for your turn to speak. Too many salespeople focus on talking rather than listening, even though the latter is more crucial to making a sale.

      Active listening is the ability to focus on what someone is saying and make them feel understood and valued. It is vital to build rapport with your customer.

      When you’re actively listening, you’re giving your customer your undivided attention and trying to understand their point of view. This helps you understand their pain points better, and it is also a sign of respect.

      Product Knowledge

      You can’t sell a product unless you know what it is. If a customer catches you off guard with a question you don’t understand, they may question your knowledge or abilities—even worse, they may question the integrity of the product. 

      You should know your company’s products inside and out before having your first conversation with any prospect or customer. Take the time to thoroughly study your product or service. Know what makes it an exceptional option and where it might lag behind competitors. Know who stands to gain the most from it. Know what it costs and why it costs that much.

      Once you know all this, you’re in a position to craft more meaningful value propositions that will strike a chord with the customer. Your sales efforts will naturally prove much more effective. 

      Account Management

      Give sufficient attention to account management and maintain existing client relationships well. Many sales representatives are overtly focused on generating new leads and winning new clients at the cost of their existing ones. 

      By implementing regular and ongoing business reviews you can strengthen the overall customer relationship with your existing clients. New sales opportunities will inevitably crop up and prevent unexpected customer churn.

      In a nutshell

      These are just some of the skills you need to become a successful salesperson. The 6 foundational skills listed in this blog can help kickstart your journey towards sales mastery.

      However, keep in mind that sales mastery is a long and arduous journey. It takes years, if not decades of self-improvement and hard work to become a veritable sales master. Be patient, put in the necessary effort, and seize opportunities to improve when you come across them. 

      If you’re looking for a robust field service management software to turbocharge your growth, you’ve come to the right place!

      Happisales is a neat and elegant field force engagement platform that allows you to perform sales, collection, order, and service in a synchronized way. Using Happisales, you can log customer data effectively, avail push notifications based on tasks performed in the field, and track the journey of your field executives in real-time.

      It is a progressive solution that automatically plans the best travel route based on the location of meetings and generates actionable customer insights, enabling your field reps to create meaningful customer experiences. 

      Designed to enhance collaboration between managers and field reps, Happisales allows managers to assess and maximize the performance of field executives. In addition, it simplifies attendance tracking as well as order management enabling you to optimize field force activities. 

      So, what are you waiting for? Talk to our experts and schedule a free demo today!

    • All you need to know about sales management

      All you need to know about sales management

      Without a doubt, sales management is one of the most difficult business domains to master and implement. However, your sales staff will be inspired and motivated if you have a robust sales management system.

      The top field force managers can comprehend the most up-to-date sales strategies and apply their best practices to help their staff close more transactions and increase sales revenue.

      It is sometimes harder to manage sales than make a sale on the field. You must, after all, manage your employees, customers, and processes. The stakes are high. However, the results are satisfying because you can watch your company expand rapidly.

      Therefore, to ace those sales, here’s a coherent explanation of sales management.

      What Is Sales Management?

      The practice of planning, managing, and managing the salesforce to achieve company objectives is known as sales management. It entails putting together a team, allowing the sales team, and inspiring team members to accomplish their responsibilities well.

      While the specific definition of sales management varies by organization, the following duties frequently come under the sales management umbrella:

      Hiring and training new personnel: You can’t manage a sales force if there isn’t one to manage. Development agents, salespeople, business development managers, and other employees work in sales teams. Sales managers are in charge of hiring and training these sales representatives.

      Setting sales targets and limits: The sales manager is in charge of establishing the sales targets that the sales staff aims to meet. These quotas must make sense to each team member and find the right balance between challenging and achievable.

      Controlling and adjusting the sales process: Sales managers must also decide on the sales processes that the sales force will follow. Again, these protocols must be well-planned and empirical support to guide the team in the proper route.

      Motivating co-workers: Sales may be a demanding profession. As a result, Field Sales teams require the correct kind and motivation to succeed. As a result, effective sales management must determine what works and what doesn’t.

      Preparing sales reports: Sales teams must employ a varied, precise range of data to drive their decision-making and attain results. As a result, sales managers must be able to compile reliable reports of their Field Sales Reporting that detail performance and highlight areas for development.

      What are the Objectives of Sales Management?

      Sales managers should ensure that their teams are appropriately engaged. Then your company will be able to meet these key goals.

      Achieve the sales volume that you want

      Salespeople worldwide are working hard to ensure that their companies achieve their sales targets. This concept is crucial since a bigger volume indicates appropriate penetration in a specific market. Therefore, the more clients you have, the more secure your firm will be.

      Contribute to the company’s profits

      Sales managers’ responsibilities should be carried out as efficiently as feasible. Then your sales department will be able to close more deals and increase your company’s turnover rate. In addition, you should sell each product at the correct pricing and employ the necessary tactics to maximize sales.

      Contribute to the growth of the company

      To satisfy shareholders and have a greater impact, businesses must expand. It’s critical for a sales department to contribute to this expansion. Handling the costs involved with sales is critical for the sales manager has to make sure that a business is financially profitable.

      What Is the Process of Sales Management?

      If you aim to succeed as a sales manager, you have to figure out what works and keep improving on it. You can’t switch from one strategy to the next at breakneck speed.

      This predictability will provide your team the confidence to work together and the capacity to iterate your strategy. Then you’ll be able to achieve the best results imaginably.

      A performant sales management process includes the following:

      • Assembling the ideal team
      • Creating a sales funnel
      • Working with marketing to find new leads
      • Improving prospecting skills
      • Making use of precise sales forecasts and reports

      Sales management strategies

      Great sales teams don’t just happen to form without some guidance. Instead, gifted minds purposefully construct them. Here are some techniques for building a high-performing team.

      Invest in your salespeople’s training and growth:

      Because selling behaviors and methods evolve, it’s critical to engage in learning and development programs to keep your staff sharp and current on current sales best practices.

      Create a culture that is both engaging and motivating:

      You want to show your salespeople that their efforts are recognized and appreciated when they pay off. Create a culture where victories are celebrated frequently and publicly.

      To create a positive workplace, use positive reinforcement:

      You have to bring positive vibes & support into your sales organization through upscale reinforcement because sales can be a cutthroat and demanding atmosphere.

      Sales management in the digital age

      The face of sales management is changing rapidly due to technological advancements. Sales managers in the digital age have a precise outline of their sales process. Leading indicators are used to track progress along the path. These modern-day managers make these actions visible to the entire team and encourage them to meet their goals. 

      They make victory visible and foster a winning culture. This new breed of sales managers leverages field force automation technologies and employs data analysis and technology to deliver intelligent coaching in real-time. In addition, they include science in the selling process.

      Final Thoughts:

      Field Sales Mobile App and other Field Force Manager can help you streamline your work, accomplish tasks and duties more quickly, have a greater impact on your team, and become a stronger leader. 
      Happisales is a one-stop solution for managing field force activities in real-time, allowing salespeople to focus on more critical responsibilities by automating sales tracking, reporting, and administration. So do look at what Happisales has to offer & reach out to us!

    • Why is Route Optimization Important in Field Sales Management?

      Why is Route Optimization Important in Field Sales Management?

      Field sales are still relevant in every industry segment and are thought to be the most successful in generating fantastic business opportunities. Managing field trips, tracking salespeople’s routes, measuring the number of time salespeople spend on the road, keeping track of meetings, prioritizing client obligations, and optimizing routes are some of the basic statistics that field force management requires.

      It necessitates using a route planner/sales route management tool to effectively manage the complete sales path. The traditional system involved manually plotting maps and routes, which resulted in longer hours and mismanaged timetables. 

      Now comes the automation of route planning and scheduling visits, thanks to an efficient system that can help field force managers optimize routes to their maximum potential. Sales route planning has proven extremely effective in linking sales reps with significant business possibilities at the proper time and location. 

      Start with explaining sales route optimization and then look at why a key route planner is so important for field sales teams.

      What is Route Optimization?

      Identifying the most efficient route for a given number of waypoints is known as route optimization. It is an extremely sophisticated procedure, and the number of alternative routes grows exponentially as the number of waypoints grows. Building the shortest route for the provided waypoints based on time or distance must also consider other parameters such as the number of intersections.

      Route planning and optimization can help you determine the quickest and most efficient routes, lowering fuel expenses and reducing the amount of time field salespeople spend driving.

      The Significant Impact in Field Sales using Route Optimization:

      People who work in sales need to go from one area to another swiftly and efficiently. Many salespeople have to drive 30 to 45 minutes to and from their sales zone. With this in mind, your sales force must have access to the necessary planning tools to stay productive when on the road. 

      Field Force Automation Tools will assist them in planning routes that they are confident will get them to and from their destinations in the shortest time possible. It can help them cut down on travel time, allowing them to be on time at work and increasing their chances of selling more. Appointments are an important aspect of a company’s sales process. 

      The Sales Representatives must travel to visit clients at various locations, and the number of appointments they can complete is determined by the routes they take. The following are some of the advantages of route optimization for businesses:

      1. To Save Money, Time & Fuel Efficiency:

      The total distance and average miles driven between waypoints are minimized when Sales Reps design and optimize their itineraries. Gasoline efficiency improves as the distance is reduced. When the total money spent on fuel by an organization is added together, route optimization alone saves money.

      1. Improve Client Satisfaction:

      Sales reps can spend more time serving clients and enhance overall customer satisfaction by planning and optimizing their routes ahead of time. Furthermore, addressing spontaneous meetings becomes simple because the route may easily be modified to incorporate extra waypoints.

      1. Aim for a higher On-Time Performance Rate:

      One of the most vital benefits of Route Optimization is that Sales Representatives can boost their on-time performance rate. Because the routes have been adjusted, Sales Representatives may reach customers on time and avoid keeping them waiting. 

      Even if your field sales representatives are unavailable in the office, you can view real-time updates on customer data and the newest deals as a manager with route optimization. In addition, you can see your sales team’s performance by stacking sales reps according to how many check-ins are made, closed sales, and their income with a sales employee tracking app.

      Are Route Planners much needed for Optimizing Field Sales?

      Using route planning software for your sales staff has numerous advantages. First, your salespeople will appreciate the increased efficiency. 

      They will be more effective and in a better mood if they have a route planner that resolves various issues in organizing their journeys. A route planner offers much more than just a list of destinations to visit and the best routes to take to get there. 

      It provides you the optimum period to go, hold back, traffic, and environmental factors. Knowing these elements will enable your sales team to make more accurate and timely judgments, allowing them to achieve more.

      1. Advanced Sales Force Activity Planning:

      A route planner assists field salespeople in arranging their sales activities ahead of time, resulting in a well-organized framework that can be managed and monitored. For example, a route map can be developed to display the distances to be traveled, the client list, and other options available. Sales managers can use this information to optimize and successfully organize the entire schedule.

      1. Complete visibility:

      Implementing a route planning module keeps managers up to date on the most up-to-date real-time data, allowing them to conveniently monitor and manage the field force. In addition, more coordination and interaction between the road teams and the managers provide a complete view of the situation.

      1. Relief from Inefficient Expenditure:

      A strong software solution for route planning and management like Happisales can save the sales force money and time by preventing them from making unnecessary journeys. Furthermore, it aids in the extraction of the finest feasible paths by which sales agents can save money and time.

      Final Words:

      A strong sales force management solution is built upon intelligent and effective route planning. Therefore, a few vital aspects of a Field service management software & must be prioritized from the beginning to the end.
      A comprehensive sales route management module, such as Happisales, can aid salespeople and managers in various ways, including increasing sales and ensuring a seamless operating flow between routes. As a result, when adopting any Field Force Help, good sales route planners are necessary and must be given proper consideration.

    • Field Force Automation Software Benefits for Businesses

      Field Force Automation Software Benefits for Businesses

      Field force management is a highly challenging task: it can be especially gruelling since you are not physically present with your field force executives. Many industries have a large deskless workforce deployed across the globe to perform a wide variety of tasks. After all, you cannot run a business with the help of desk jockeys alone!

      That being said, there are several things that you need to ensure to streamline field force management:

      • frontline workers maintain excellent standards of operational execution and compliance
      • data is accurately captured in the field and used effectively by the head office to drive continuous process improvements
      • workers in the field are provided with an enriching experience that nurtures and brings forth their full potential

      Field Force Automation is a fantastic tool that can help organizations achieve the objectives mentioned above. It ensures greater efficiency and compliance. In addition, it optimizes employee performance and establishes real-time communication between the head office and operational frontline.

      Let’s dive deeper, understand what is FFA and the benefits that it offers to your business.

      What is Field Force Automation

      Field Force Automation is an aspect of field service software that leverages mobile technology such as mobile devices, wearables, and IoT sensors to facilitate bi-directional communication between technicians in the field and the head office. Data is instantly recorded in the back-end, eliminating the time spent on manual data entry and the risk of errors associated with it.

      By implementing FFA, organizations allow field force executives to capture and share data in real-time, enabling managers to evaluate, provide feedback and boost performance. 

      Advantages of Field Force Automation 

      Increase efficiency

      By leveraging analytics, you can process the abundant amount of data generated in the field and gain valuable insights into locations having plenty of business opportunities. Route optimization empowers field workers to navigate their territory in the most efficient way, reducing the time and cost of traveling. 

      Assign leads automatically

      When a lead is captured, the FFA software automatically assigns that lead to the relevant salesperson based on certain criteria like zip code, product, or proximity. This reduces response time drastically. The sales rep receives instant mobile notifications and can access the available lead details with just a tap.

      Achieve greater visibility

      Operational directors can use FFA to gain greater visibility over performance in the field which helps to eliminate inefficiencies and reward top performers.

      Field Service Management Software allows you to see what is happening on the field from a distance with real-time geo-tracking, spontaneous updates on sales activities with customers, or requests for assistance from the manager. 

      It makes it easier to track the performance of your sales team members without breathing down their necks. A simple dashboard on the web app provides you with a clear report of all sales reps, which includes what they’re currently working on, their location at the moment, the client they’re meeting, the distance they’ve travelled, etc. 

      Build meaningful and personalized customer relationships

      FFA allows you to forge longstanding trust-based relationships with customers and deliver an engaging customer experience. It provides customer information and history to your field force executives, enabling smooth interactions with customers. 

      The automation tools are often identity-driven: they can identify past track records, touchpoints, and communication history, helping your field force executives to better plan their approach to customer service.

      FFA software can provide notifications to the customer about shipping status, delays, etc. to make sure the customer is informed throughout the entire process. To put it simply, it helps customers identify and relay their requirements accurately, allowing you to better serve your customers.

      This kind of directive and administrative software improves communication and shows both the customer and the home office more about what is needed and what the company can do to serve a particular client well.

      Nurture the well-being of your employees

      A seed does not grow into a tree, simply because of your desire to eat its fruit. It needs healthy soil, manure, sunlight, water, and active nourishment from your side to blossom into a full-fledged tree.

      The same holds true for your field force employees. You need to create a positive, uplifting atmosphere in which your field force employees can thrive. FFA technology enhances employee engagement in several ways.

      It allows organizations to create a knowledge repository of field workers’ expertise and enables employees to upskill quickly. If any of your frontline workers leave the workforce, their expertise can be preserved and used by newcomers in the organization.

      Field force automation solution also empowers frontline workers to execute tasks, communicate and collaborate with greater effectiveness, saving them valuable time and providing them with a frictionless experience.

      Using FFA software, organizations can transform frontline operations into a fun-filled process and enhance employee involvement. You can recognize and celebrate individual achievements, offer personalized feedback, and set performance incentives to bolster employee spirit. 

      In a nutshell

      Looking for robust FFA software to turbocharge your field force operations? We’ve got the perfect solution for your needs.

      Happisales is a neat and elegant field force engagement platform that allows you to perform sales, collection, order, and service in a synchronized way. Using Happisales, you can log customer data effectively, avail push notifications based on tasks performed in the field, and track the journey of your field executives in real-time.

      It is a progressive solution that automatically plans the best travel route based on the location of meetings and generates actionable customer insights, enabling your field reps to create meaningful customer experiences. 

      Designed to enhance collaboration between managers and field reps, Happisales allows managers to assess and maximize the performance of field executives. In addition, it simplifies attendance tracking as well as order management enabling you to optimize field force activities. 

      So, what are you waiting for? Talk to our experts and schedule a free demo today!

    • Important metrics to measure your sales performance in 2022

      Important metrics to measure your sales performance in 2022

      Marketing and sales teams are under much pressure regarding working performance. They must not only generate revenue but also demonstrate it. If you don’t have the correct data, you’ll have difficulty proving your direct (and indirect) effect on new leads and sales.

      Only 23% of marketers are convinced that they are tracking the proper KPIs, indicating that this is a problem that many marketers are dealing with. Everything you do at work has to have a measurable return on investment.

      In the sales & marketing arena, this is particularly true. Along with it, field sales tracking tools have evolved. In sales and marketing, creativity is crucial, but you also need methods and statistics to back it up.

      Thanks to robust AI-based solutions, we now have more sales data at our fingertips than ever before—but merely having access to sales metrics and analytics isn’t enough. Understanding what to assess and how to interpret the data is critical.

      What Are Sales Metrics? 

      A sales metric is a variable that indicates a business or industry. For monitoring performance and examining trends, sales metrics follow the money. In other words, they measure what you are doing well and incorrectly in your sales process. You may successfully measure how well or poorly your firm is doing by developing a good understanding of its sales KPIs and optimizing and improving performance.

      On the other hand, sales data analytics examines sales data, metrics, and trends to gain insights that can help enhance sales team performance, efficiency, and profitability, drive more accurate sales projections, and optimize the overall sales process.

      Sales analytics helps field force managers enhance performance by showing the strong points and flaws of individual sales reps and the sales team, allowing them to alter behaviors and sales strategy to assure success. 

      Problems with common ways to measure your marketing and sales performance

      Marketing and sales performance management enables businesses to plan marketing efforts strategically, measure their impact, and make more informed sales decisions. They can evaluate data, create forecasts, and optimize marketing efforts and resources by analyzing data and making predictions. 

      Businesses that employ the field assist app cite advantages such as sales performance alignment with specified targets, budget optimization, increased accountability, and data inclusion.

      Unfortunately, many companies struggle with marketing performance management and fail to reap the benefits. They cannot optimize sales efforts since their databases are insufficient and erroneous. 

      For sales and marketing reps, data is a vital resource. In an increasingly competitive global economy, 64 percent of marketing professionals feel that data-driven marketing is critical to success. But, having too much data, especially from several sources, can be troublesome, and businesses cannot gain valuable insights from multiple data sources.

      In marketing and sales performance management, non-automated reporting is also a major issue. It’s inconvenient and time-consuming, leaving space for costly errors and data integration issues.

      Six sales metrics to measure performance

      The key performance indicators you designate as critical to your business model are used to discover the crucial metrics for your organization and your team. Here are 6 of the most critical sales metrics for any revenue team:

      • Customer Acquisition Cost

      Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) is a system that compares the cost of acquiring a new client to the customer’s long-term worth. Startups and organizations use it to determine how much they’re spending on customer acquisition through marketing methods.

      • Average Revenue per Unit 

      You gain an average amount from 1 unit, to put it simply. Therefore, the important KPIs of any subscription service company can be the average revenue per user (ARPU) and average revenue per account (ARPA). The formula divides the total revenue earned in a particular time by the average number of customers to that service during that same period.

      • Customer Churn Rate

      The churn rate is the number of customers who cancel or do not renew their subscriptions during a given period. Your plan’s churn rate is an important metric. It can assist you in determining whether you should cut your rates, improve client satisfaction, change your goals, and more. In addition, it’s a popular measure that SaaS companies use to track customer retention.

      • MRR Growth Rate

      The net MRR growth rate is a widely used industry indicator for assessing a company’s financial health. This marketing metric estimates the percentage increase in your company’s monthly recurring income. In addition, you can use this scale for tracking your company’s overtime performance.

      • Conversion Rate

      For an E-commerce business, this is the most important number. The conversion rate is a percentage that indicates how many visitors to your site perform the action you desire. The conversion rate depicts the visitor’s percentage who become customers.

      • Cost per Acquisition

      CPA stands for Cost Per Action. It indicates the amount of money you spend on a non-customer, such as advertising to generate leads, new users or registrations, or transactions made during a free trial period. 

      The cost per acquisition (also known as the cost per conversion) is a metric that analyses the total marketing costs incurred due to user action that results in revenue.

      Final Words:

      Organizations require the correct metrics to assess achievement in the right business sectors, such as the right Field Force Tracking Solution. They also require leadership to recognize which metrics are most important to allocate resources better. 

      While selecting performance indicators and establishing baseline targets, sales executives must align their teams on a clear set of strategic objectives and measures.

      With real-time sales data analytics, best-in-class revenue teams utilize Happisales, a Field service software, to spot risk and act on opportunities. In addition, revenue teams may track sales activity data automatically with Happisales.

      Are you interested in understanding how real-time sales analytics from Happisales can help you provide your sales team additional visibility? To chat with one of our revenue experts, request a demo or send us a note.

    • Field Sales Automation | Manufacturing Company

      Field Sales Automation | Manufacturing Company

      Improving sales efficiency requires a well-designed automated sales procedure. The procedure aids in reducing lead times and the increase in output. The automation of the sales process also makes it easier to provide real-time data reports, ensuring strong data visibility.

      As a result, the organization can make timely and suitable business decisions, resulting in commercial success. But right now, many manufacturers rely on manual systems to carry out sales operations, which results in higher costs and lower sales volumes.

      Today, we’ll look at how we used Happisales Salesforce to empower a worldwide manufacturer by creating a tailored solution to automate their sales process.

      About the Client

      The client we dealt with is one of the country’s oldest and most famous corporate companies – India’s major maker of bathroom items. The company rebranded as the ‘Always in Fashion’ brand, emphasizing its commitment to providing clients with the most innovative and visually pleasing bathroom solutions. 

      They are a highly trusted and leading trend-setters in the market, dedicated to offering world-class bathroom solutions. It has the highest quality standards & outstanding design through best-in-class customer service.

      Objective  

      To oversee sales from the General Trade channel, the company maintains sales personnel stationed across India. The customer wanted us to create a system that would help them automate their sales process. 

      However, the lack of a solid field force automation solution proved a barrier to efficiently managing and increasing GT sales. That’s when they began searching for an SFA solution that would have all of the following features:

      • The area sales executives are in charge of capturing daily orders.
      • New outlets can be added simply from the app.
      • Following up on the ASMs’ market trips.
      • A configurable and dynamic dashboard for tracking sales and ASE productivity.

      Challenge

      • The organization has a strong secondary sales force to meet with customers daily. 
      • Advancing the cycle and updating sales data is a huge challenge for both main & other sales teams.
      • The time & money spent on paper-based communication such as reporting, manual call reports, and other sales-related task updates were excessive. 
      • It has resulted in lower employee productivity, efficiency & a longer sales cycle overall.

      The customer wanted a multi-tenant mobile application that would allow Sales Teams and Management to ‘digitally’ manage the full sales process and save time on email, paperwork, reporting, and status update meetings or calls.

      Approach

      Our client conveyed that they were looking for a top mobile application development company in India to assist their field sales executives with an Android app that would allow them to reach out to customers with ease while also allowing them to update sales data from anywhere, at any time. 

      In addition, the app should allow them to send their final report while on the go. We discussed the project’s data with the team and devised a wireframe for an Android app to automate and track sales force activity.

      Solution

      Happisales is a simple, easy-to-use, safe, and powerful mobile and web application that we designed based on discussions with the customer and wireframe approval. 

      The live monitoring Android App for sales executives allows them to digitize the entire process. In contrast, the web platform for senior executives allows them to track all of their salespeople’s daily activities and sales closures in real-time and empowers real-time Punch-In and Punch-Out for call entries with Geo Tagging and Timings for field sales executives.

      The program automates sales reporting and effortlessly interfaces with the client’s data systems. The tool also combines all major parts of everyday sales activity into one mobile app, allowing field sales executives to use it as a 24/7 personal digital assistant while out meeting with consumers. 

      The web app is highly beneficial for sales managers because it allows them to track the activity of field force members who are out on customer visits utilizing a real-time tracking tool. The Android Field Assist App may be used offline, and data is saved as cookies and updated to the backend once internet connectivity is restored.

      Outcome

      • Increased Productivity in Sales.
      • Time reduction to accomplish a manual task.
      • Improved efficiencies in order processing.
      • Sales team efficiency, order volume, retailer information, and high-selling models were visible on an interactive and intelligent dashboard.
      • It significantly improved the sales force’s discipline and process compliance.
    • Affordable Tools for Field Sales Performance Management

      Affordable Tools for Field Sales Performance Management

      Entrepreneurship is exciting, but only when it is profitable. So, it comes as no surprise that if you don’t have customers driving your sales, you won’t have much of a company, but even if you do have customers, it will be difficult if you don’t have capable field force automation tools to help you along the way. You need the right technology if you want to maximise the performance of your sales team. 

      Affordable & Necessary Tools that will enhance field sales performance:

      Here is a list of tools that you can use to improve your field sales performance.

      1. Communication/Conferencing tools

      Prior to the emergence of digital marketing, we had to meet prospective customers physically, in person to present demos, but nowadays there are many ways you can do this, without having to travel or move out of your office. Such tools are a great solution for issues due to video/web conferencing. It can also double up as an efficient field force automation solution. Sales tools that feature easy-to-use video conferencing tools make the field service management software more authentic and efficient.

      1. Navigating sales – emails, sales updates for customers and prospects 

      The best way to increase sales on the global market will be to use tools that aid in navigating the sales process. You can create a buzz about your services/products and enhance revenue when it is incorporated into the field force automation solution. You can use it to decide which products to promote in the market and what services to continue providing. Some features of such a tool include sending/receiving emails, getting personalised lead recommendations, real-time sales updates, among others.

      1. Lead management 

      With this unique queue-based prioritization of prospects and leads, you can eliminate the need to manage contacts lists manually. The lead that is most likely to be converted is routed to the agent that is available immediately for quick processing and possible closing. By automating the lead management process, you can ensure your field sales agents interact with two to three times more prospects per day, thereby increasing the efficiency of the field force automation tool.

      1. Determining opportunities

      For proper management of your sales, you need field service management software. Some additional features may include email tracking, account scoring, opportunity scoring, predictive forecast, sales communications, and lead and accounting scoring. 

      1. Forecasting sales

      By using sales forecasting software, companies can predict growth and gain deeper insights. When managers see trends in data, they can come up with effective strategies and take the appropriate steps to grow their business. The purpose of sales forecasting tools is to assist businesses in gaining better insight into their future through quantitative measures based on their past data. It evaluates historical business trends to estimate future sales and you can do this by incorporating this feature into the field force tracking solution.

      1. Proposal writing tools

      Using proposal writing tools, you can create some impressive sales proposals and differentiate yourself from companies that continue to make proposals in MS Word or other such tools. With proposal writing tools, you can create incredible proposals and store them in the cloud for access later and easy sharing, thus saving time. Some features that such tools can offer include electronic signatures, easy tracking of the sales pipeline, etc. Such features can be incorporated in a single tool or can be used separately with your field force management software. With these, you can improve how your business functions and make things highly efficient. One such tool is Happisales and you might want to schedule a demo today to check it out!