In today's fast-paced world of sales, your team must always have access to everything they need for moving a deal forward. Your team needs to be able to work from their mobile devices.
And, that comes down to having the right tools — like Cirrus Insight and our updated mobile app.
At a recent Salesforce presentation, it was revealed that sales reps are 31% more productive when they are connected to their leads and clients through a mobile device. That's the difference between your team crushing their quotas with a new annual sales record and falling short of your expectations.
By giving your team the right tools and teaching them mobile sales best practices, you can propel them (and your company) toward significant growth.
Wake Up To Reality
The first step toward embracing mobile and arming your sales force with the weapons they need out in the field is accepting that most sales are made remotely.
Each of your sales representatives is walking around with a supercomputer in their pocket. Capable of connecting with leads through various online channels, as well as a good, old-fashioned phone call, sales reps are now more capable than ever at nurturing leads and sealing deals.
Not online does a mobile device allow them to integrate their email and social media channels to connect with leads; they can also access customer relationship management software and take advantage of apps (such as Cirrus Insight) that significantly enhance the CRM’s abilities.
With the adoption of mobile to reach 75 billion devices connected online this year, nearly everyone (including your leads and clients) is part of the system.
By recognizing that the selling environment is more than putting an iPad or mobile phone in the hands of your reps, you're taking the first (and a fundamental) step toward embracing the only way forward in sales.
Employ a Sales-friendly CRM System
If you're running a CRM system that isn't mobile-friendly, you're lining your company up for a disaster. A good system will keep your sales team organized and focused — both of which are especially important as more and more sales reps work remotely.
"With features such as lead prioritization, automatic reminders, lead nurturing, and notes, you can expect to see an increase in your sales team's closing ratio and improved productivity," InsureChance CEO and Cofounder Mack Dudayev says.
The system also allows you to better monitor the progress your teams are making from how quickly leads are being contacted, to the number of attempts, and idle time.
Provide Additional, Integrated Tools
With more employers sweetening employment contracts with the option to work remotely, it has become even more vital for sales teams to have mobile access to critical customer and sales information.
Your team needs to be working with real-time data and be capable of updating prospects' information immediately. You don't want them to have to wait until they return to the office to start feeding relevant information into your CRM — which can limit management’s ability to understand where in the sale's funnel any particular client is.
"Make it easy for your salespeople to have instant access to the latest product specs and contracts from any device — laptop, tablet, or phone," Citrix Product Management Senior Director Bill Carovano says.
This is exactly what the newest iteration of Cirrus Insight's mobile app does. Through the app, you can now create new tasks and access Flight Plans.
Access to Flight Plans means that your sales team can track updates to their email drip campaigns — never forgetting to follow up. Additionally, they will be able to start new Flight Plans to get the ball rolling with recently established leads.
The increased functionality of the mobile app means that your sales reps can essentially do everything they need from their iPad or another mobile device.
The update will allow your sales team to stay in constant contact with leads through their emails and allow them to take the deep dive on any prospect's profile to get a better understanding of what steps have been taken so far in converting them.
Additionally, reps can do a power search in all fields for a contact or piece of information. They can also execute a more nuanced search through the sidebar option.
Most importantly, it's all integrated directly with your Salesforce CRM.
Create a Mobile Sales Culture
In order for your sales team to get more done on their mobile devices, you not only have to give them the right tools, but you also have to create the right culture.
Developing this remote culture starts at the hiring process — you want to attract employees who see that the advantages of working remotely on their mobile device outweigh the drawbacks.
From there, you need to be able to make structural, operational, and personnel changes that support this more optimized company culture.
On the structural side of things, you will need to be flexible in your assumptions about how and where mobile devices are used. This idea that since a company has paid for a device that it shouldn't be taken home (for fear of employees accruing overtime pay) is seriously faulty.
Once you give your sales teams the tools and training they need to optimize their efforts, you want to avoid erecting barriers to their success.
For your operations, you'll need to adjust to a mobile-friendly system. The workflow established for sales reps should be designed with the understanding that they can input vital data into the CRM with their mobile device.
If your sales team is closing deals at all times of the day and night, support them by allowing for nearly 24-hour support.
One more step toward adjusting your company culture to be mobile-friendly comes down to managing those employees who are stuck in their ways and refuse to adapt. Pushing these employees to get on board (and increase their sales by doing so) can be difficult.
However, failure to do so could drag your whole team and your company down.
Final Thoughts: How Salespeople Can Get More Done on Mobile [iPad App Update]
For established companies, fully embracing mobile can be a challenge. However, failing to do so puts your sales team at risk of failure. Even if they are able to squeeze through this year and the next with their old systems, eventually, any sales force that has failed to adapt to mobile will fall.
The first step for you to prevent this from happening is to switch to a cloud-based CRM. Then, you will need the right apps and tools to optimize this system.
Talk to the experts at Cirrus Insight to discover how our app can help you further unlock the power of Salesforce.
