Mobile devices, like smartphones or tablets, in regards to sales teams, are the most transformational technologies available today. Laptops have given some business productivity advantages to sales teams in the field, but mobile devices increase productivity to a new level for sales teams.
People come to us all the time trying to decide if mobile will help their sales operations. The answer, in our opinion, is a resounding yes. There are many benefits to talk about in the discussion of leveraging mobile devices for sales. But in this article, we’re going to focus on 5 of the most desired after benefits from a sales operations standpoint.
5 Ways Mobile Apps Improve Sales Teams
1. Improve Sales Productivity
We’re becoming programmed to check our mobile devices for information updates at any point we find ourselves idle. When sales teams are mobile-enabled, nearly every spare moment is spent invariably checking their phone and doing important work.
This work could be as simple as updating activities or checking the sales pipeline for opportunities. Those companies who deploy their own sales mobile apps find personnel working in gas stations, while in line at Starbucks, from restaurants, and pretty much anywhere else.
When salespeople have been completely mobile-enabled, companies find, from the time they wake up, until they go back to bed, anytime they have a few spare seconds, they are doing some kind of work on their mobile devices. The increases in productivity and information exchanges from these moments make a substantial impact over time.
Read More: The Best Way Mobile Apps Can Empower Your Sales Team
2. Instant Access to Important Information
Sales teams are increasingly out of the office. To be competitive, they can no longer afford to be tethered to a desk or a workstation. Relying on laptops and WiFi access is becoming a liability as well. They simply need access to all critical information at all times, wherever they are.
Information is powerful, and the more they have at their fingertips in the field, the more direct impact they can make to the top line.
3. Reduced Sales Cycles
Carrying on from benefit number two, the byproduct of real-time access to critical information in the field, is a reduction in lengthy sales cycles. In the past, salespeople would leave meetings with several questions to be answered as their action items. They must find the answers to these questions, and setup a follow-up meeting to discuss those answers.
When they have access to information on the go, answers can be given at the point of contact. This results in a reduction of the need to lengthen the sales cycles by more meetings, follow-ups, and downtimes. As a result, they can move to the next step faster, more efficiently, and reduce the overall length of sales cycles.
Read More: How to Accelerate Sales Cycles With Enterprise Mobility
4. Better Visibility
Salespeople are not the only ones who enjoy better visibility of their sales pipeline from leveraging mobility. Managers also get a better picture of the pipeline and sales forecasts.
Sales employees are no longer manually entering data into the CRM. Their mobile apps are automating most of these processes, and updating relevant systems (CRM, Order Management, etc.) in the background automatically, reducing common errors. Critical personnel can receive automated updates and notifications of information changes and data updates as well, removing delays sharing of data.
5. Better Sales and Operations Alignment
Mobile-enables sales employees not only benefit the sales teams themselves, but it also helps Sales Operations and increases the efficiency of back office processes. Being able to instantly, and automatically pass relevant, real-time information streamlines business processes and better equips operations.
As a result, sales and operations are better aligned, and have complete visibility of sales forecasts and follow-on operational processes.
Competition Makes Mobility a Must-Have
Mobile-enabling sales is no longer a fancy, nice-to-have. It has become a necessity to remain competitive in the marketplace. One way or another, mobility will have an impact on your business.
With today’s advanced technologies, mobile-enabling sales is no longer a daunting task. Mobile App Platforms, such as appsFreedom, empowers Sales Operations to mobile-enable their sales teams, and build their mobile apps without the need to write code, or to have programming skills at all. In fact, Citizen Developers (non-programmers) are increasing in demand for this very reason.
You can try out the appsFreedom code-less mobile app development platform, and build integrated mobile apps for your sales teams in just a few days.