Any mistakes “when in the field” lead to reduced profits and loss of clients’ loyalty. What are the most common concerns of mobile team leaders? What manipulations do field employees use? Here we are sharing B2Field’s experience and lifehacks to help you in your work.
Sales rep does not sell
A sales rep’s primary task is to sell, and while this function is obvious, many sales reps don’t perceive themselves as salespeople. They assume that the purpose of visiting retail outlets is taking an order, as if they were working for a delivery service. Only an engaged professional who understands their purpose can convince a decision maker that their outlet needs this or that volume of products by stocktaking and analyzing sales history.
B2Field helps field employees do their job better and sell more and helps managers see a real picture of what’s happening in the field.
Sales rep does not visit all the clients
One of the most global problems is a sales rep’s reluctance to visit some clients. This happens because they do not consider the retail outlet promising, do not have an established relationship with the decision maker or are irresponsible in their work.
The employee believes that if they take an order over the phone, the job is done. But without paying an actual visit, they don’t see the full picture of what’s going on in the store and don’t keep track of competitors’ activities. Live communication with the decision maker is just as important. As our clients admit, a face-to-face meeting is one of the most important tools of a salesperson, which can increase the transaction check up to 20%.
Online geolocation of a sales rep and automatic recording of time spent in a retail outlet will help to make sure the employee actually visited the client. If an employee completes a visit within 5 minutes, the supervisor will see it in the report. And thanks to the travel history function you can see the whole route of your sales rep on a given working day.
Sales rep does not comply with company standards
With the help of geolocation, the supervisor knows for sure that the sales rep has visited the client, but at this point another question arises: how did they conduct the meeting?
- Did they follow company standards and all visit steps?
- Did they check the remaining goods?
- Did they talk about promotions and new products?
- Did they sum up the results of the meeting?
To help your sales rep close deals better, introduce a sales rep program in your company. Mobile app B2Field will help your sales rep navigate the visit using a client card: it contains an up-to-date database that is available on a smartphone or tablet. The employee will be able to check at any time not only the address and name of the outlet, but also information on the percentage of discount, previous visits and agreements reached.
Lifehack: add the name and contact information of the decision maker to the client card. A lot of people work in retail outlets, and some might not know your representative personally. It may so happen that store employees don’t want to let outsiders see their management. Then the sales rep will immediately call the specified phone number and will be able to resolve the situation. Bonus: the employee won’t be able to say that the decision maker was absent and they wasted a trip.
To make the visit successful and in line with all the standards, add a checklist for the employee. This will help them follow the sales steps and not miss anything important. Be sure to include as the first item the need to say hello and introduce themselves during the visit. Employees say that “everyone knows them anyway”, but many representatives visit the location throughout the day and a greeting will help to establish contact with the decision maker and stand out against competitors.
Sales can be increased up to 40% if a sales rep conducts a visit to any outlet following the established procedure, regardless of how much profit it generates at the moment.
Sales rep cheats the employer
Sales reps must take into account many factors to do their job properly: fulfilling the sales plan, finding an approach to each decision maker, taking into account the client’s expectations. Not everyone can cope with these tasks, and some honestly admit that sometimes they cheat: sales reps deal with personal matters, sit back in the car instead of visiting outlets, attach old photos in their reports.
To avoid being cheated, monitor your employee’s location and travel history online. B2Field service will help you create an optimal route for the day, and at the end of the shift you can check it against the actual visits.
An employee uploads a photo report in the app
Lifehack: use photos to make sure the sales rep arrives at the first retail outlet scheduled for the day on time. Enable the gallery upload ban, so the employee can’t take photos for future use or attach an old photo in the report.
Sales rep drives up fuel consumption
Overcharging for gasoline is another common problem encountered when managing a team of sales reps. Employees pass off personal trips as work trips or increase mileage. As a result, small monthly amounts turn into huge losses for the company each year.
B2Field will help you pay only real costs of fuel and lubricants. The service automatically calculates compensation for each employee for any given period and provides reliable data on trips: number of trips, travel time, mileage and fuel consumption.
We work with leading companies and experts
At B2Field we’re not just developing software: we want our customers to be happy with our solution and to see the result. This is why we are truly immersed in the industry and work closely with market experts in retail at all stages of development.
