People naturally resist change, they like to stick with what they know. If it’s not broken, then why fix it? However, sometimes, change is the only option for a business to move forward and stay ahead of their competitors. One of the biggest changes B2B commerce has seen in recent years is the high increase in using sales rep software.

Many smart businesses have realised that technology is the missing link in their sales strategy. They’re leveraging technology as a way of selling smarter – doing more with less effort. They’re using technology to be more informed about sales activities and trends, gaining a clear view of sales performance. And, they’re empowering their sales reps to provide a better experience to customers – whether those reps are in the office or out on the road.

There’s a lot that clever businesses are gaining from sales rep software. These companies are helping sales reps tackle challenges, be more productive, and sell more, faster. But let’s take a deeper look at how sales rep software is becoming the missing link that companies are relying on as part of their sales strategy.

Better visibility of customer information

Historically sales reps have kept their customer details on paper or back at the office. But as the number of customers increases, the more difficult it can be to manage it. With sales reps out in the field, they need all their information to hand quickly.

With sales rep software, reps can see all their accounts, contacts, opportunities, tasks, and events in one place, providing a convenient, organised, 360-degree view of the customer.

“Sales software provides the opportunity for sales reps to run their own reports such as accounts they haven’t visited in a while, current opportunities in the pipeline, sales order by month, best-selling product by customer and much, much more.”

Easy account management

It’s important for sales reps to know as much as possible about their customer accounts to build a good working relationship with them. With sales software, they can access each customers’ complete purchasing history, so they can develop an account strategy for each one and create a viable action plan including reminders of follow-up activities on specific dates.

Improved time management

Sales reps are your biggest sales expense. You want to make sure that you make the most of their time. Sales software enables you and the reps to prioritise their days and manage their activities in a timely and efficient manner.  You can view calendars and upcoming tasks quickly and easily and focus on current opportunities.

“Sales software enables you and the reps to prioritise their days and manage their activities in a timely and efficient manner.”

Simple report generation

With so much information to manage, it’s vital to run reports to get a consolidated, overall picture of your business. Sales software provides the opportunity for sales reps to run their own reports such as accounts they haven’t visited in a while, current opportunities in the pipeline, sales order by month, best-selling product by customer and much, much more.

Monitoring trends

Running reports will also help them keep an eye on selling trends and use this information to generate more sales. With the ability to analyse reports built into the sales rep software, they can take a look at monthly trends and can easily forecast new opportunities for the future.

Improved team communication

A great sales team is based on great team communication, both from the top down and the bottom up. With sales rep software, reps can easily share information with their team members about customers and sales managers can distribute relevant information to the whole team at the same time. Promotions and discounts need to be circulated to the whole sales team simultaneously to maximise selling opportunities.

“With sales rep software, reps can easily share information with their team members about customers and sales managers can distribute relevant information to the whole team at the same time.”

Integration eliminates manual inputting

Good customer service involves getting things right for the first time. Manual order inputting left room for plenty of mistakes. Wrong orders being delivered, or no orders showing up at all did very little to instil confidence that you were a reliable business. But with sales orders inputted electronically and synced with your back office, manual errors will be a thing of the past.

This article was posted originally on the Pepperi blog. Pepperi provides cutting-edge sales rep software that helps businesses increase their sales rep productivity through an advanced B2B mobile sales platform.

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