New ways to sell in the midmarket world are happening all around us. What used to be a one-way road – a sales person “telling” potential buyers what to buy, is now a two-way, busy street where buyers find their own information and need us in sales to offer specific insights and stories - and paint a vision of the future - to help them know if the information they have is right for their scenario.
Bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies are growing at mid-sized companies with many organizations giving new sales reps a tablet rather than a desktop or laptop now.
Most of us read our email on our mobile phone (put stat here) and we give out our mobile number like never before.
Sales organizations need to take advantage of this scenario and leverage it in 2015. One issue is that websites are not viewing well on mobile devices despite technology that can make this happen. It is called “responsive”- and to see the basics about making your website a responsive one, check out Copyblogger’s post from last year.
What is viewable on a potential buyer’s mobile device should be the most important things to them right now in terms of reaching you or finding what they need from you and your company.
Example: If I am looking up a restaurant from my mobile device and am on the road, having a phone number right on the main page is critical because I may want to call for a reservation. Having a menu (with current pricing) to view is critical, so are the updated hours.
Did you hear about the Chinese restaurant snafu where they did not have their latest prices on the website and a customer, Harvard professor Ben Edelman, made a big stink about it?
This is a B-to-C example but it illustrates the point that you need to think about what is important for your buyers to see on their mobile device when they pull up your website.
Software Advice, a company that evaluates CRM software, surveyed nearly 2000 sales professionals who use a mobile version of a CRM tool and found the following:
- Nearly all salespeople using mobile CRM (82 percent) say that accessing their system on smartphones and tablets greatly or moderately improves the quality of their CRM data
- Reps using both smartphones and tablets to access their CRM were much more likely to realize specific benefits, with 50 percent saying this improved efficiency and productivity
- Sales content management was most-cited as a regularly used feature (37 percent), even ahead of reviewing and inputting contact information (31 percent)
See their whole study here.
We've only talked about phones, tablets, and CRM here. This conversation continues with more about other mobile tools in a future post.
If it is true that sales reps do a better job with their CRM using a mobile app, then they should be encouraged by you and your company to do so.
How are you helping your reps in 2015 with tools and systems that allow them to do their job better?
What is your plan to help increase their (and your) productivity in the new year?
Here is another post written this year about how mobile helps sales reps sell.
This post was written as part of the IBM for Midsize Business program, which provides midsize businesses with the tools, expertise and solutions they need to become engines of a smarter planet. I've been compensated to contribute to this program, but the opinions expressed in this post are my own and don't necessarily represent IBM's positions, strategies or opinions.
Lori Richardson is recognized as one of "50 Most Influential in Sales Leads Management" and on Forbes as one of the "Top 30 Social Sales Influencers" worldwide. Lori speaks, writes, trains, and consults with inside sales teams in mid-sized companies. Subscribe to the award-winning blog and the “Sales Ideas In A Minute” newsletter for sales strategies, tactics, and tips. Increase Opportunities. Expand Your Pipeline. Close More Deals.
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