Technology can be a great enabler. When integrated and implemented well it can bring significant efficiencies in work flows and enhance productivity tremendously.
If you are planning a transition to a Sales Management Platform, here is how you can start…
If you are embarking the journey of looking for a sales management platform then below are few things you should not miss. Today we are spoilt for choice and it is important that we equip ourselves to select the right platform from the great lot that is out there. To begin with, looking internally might be the right place to start before reaching out for short listing of platforms.
Jot Down your Sales Workflow and Pain points
- Your workflow in sequential order &
- The pain points in current sales process
We suggest you write down the issues you are facing in the current process. It is crucial and easily said than done. Not having complete clarity on work flow and your pain points could lead to poor selection of tools. A wrong diagnosis will lead to incorrect remedy and will offer no cure. This will help you understand why, what and where you need the change. Once you have clearly identified the issues in your current sales management process it is time to hunt for solutions. Before looking outside for solution, assess if one can resolve the issues within the same process. If not, then yes moving outside for solutions is a good way. Need for a sales management solution could come from issues like existing process needs too much manual effort, it is tedious and time consuming, ad-hoc
or unstructured process, lack of visibility etc.
Identify the Output you are seeking:
Put down clearly the Outcomes you are seeking from the platform. These could be the metrics you need to assess e.g.
- No. of customers met, New Customers Added, Sales Product wise etc
This will help you and the platform team know exactly what is expected. A word of caution here, do not confuse the outcome with the solution you are seeking for the pain points we identified on top. For example, your pain point is that you don’t get sales data in certain format at desired time. And this could be because your people are mostly in the field and can share data once they are in front of the system. So, having a system that allows the team to capture and information quickly while on the go will allow data to flow at anytime. However final output you are seeking is the data in format that will allow you to take decisions quickly. So, it is important to differentiate clearly between the pain point and the output you are seeking from the platform.
Also remember you might not always get one tool giving all solutions that you are seeking. More so sometimes trying to get everything into one solution can make the solution extremely complex. So be careful when you seek many things from one platform, consult the vendor on pitfalls of having many things e.g. would it make it complex for users, would it make the platform slow etc.
Have a Champion/Owner for the Platform and the Transition Process?
It is critical to have someone who will own the platform and the transition. The Owner or champion for this can be a middle or senior management member. Having a senior member leading the initiative signals the importance of the initiative to the entire organization. It is always more helpful to have an owner who understands the work flow and has people who would be direct users under him. His ability to understand the challenges and propose solution would be a great value add.
Also, if owner is also a user, it will bring credibility to design and expectation towards compliance. However, considering the work load Sales Managers have it might not always be possible to assign them with complete responsibility of the transitioning process. He/she might not be able to give the attention the transition deserves, and the initiative will get compromised. So here we propose a structure that has more than one owner. The primary owner could be someone like a Commercial Excellence member supported by a secondary co-owner the Sales Manager. With the co-ownership model you can aim to bring the process to a steady state post which the process continues to auto run by itself.
If you are planning a transition to a Sales Management Platform, here is how you can start…
If you are embarking the journey of looking for a sales management platform then below are few things you should not miss. Today we are spoilt for choice and it is important that we equip ourselves to select the right platform from the great lot that is out there. To begin with, looking internally might be the right place to start before reaching out for short listing of platforms.
Have Clear Communication and Deadlines for Transition:
Transitioning on to a new process or platform is a big change for all members. To adopt and adapt to that change you need deep commitment from everyone. That would happen if you communicate clearly the need for the change and seek support.
- Pre-empt & acknowledge the challenges that will come along during the transition.
- Communicate your expectations and put clear deadlines for transition
Once you have decided to make the transition do not allow members to For free trial of the system, reach out to sales@outwork.ai.
fall back to old process. Remember change can be dreadful not because of change itself but because of the nature of human being that resist change. Check with your vendor if they extend support needed for the transition.
Below we are sharing tools that feel alike but serve different purposes.
| Different Platforms | Core Focus |
|---|---|
| CRM (Customer Relationship Management) | » Helps Manage, Automate interaction with customers » Brings visibility to customer engagement » Funnel Management |
| SFE (Sales Force Effectiveness) | » Helps manage and enhance effectiveness of Sales team members » Brings visibility to employee productivity » Brings visibility to customer engagement |
| TPM (Task & Project Management) | » Helps in managing multi segmented workflow in a single project » Brings visibility of entire project status and allows task allocation to multiple stakeholders |
ABOUT OUTWORK AI:
Outwork AI is a new generation sales management platform that offers a full suite of features. It allows sales teams to capture daily productivity; assist sales members with smart planner, Opportunity funnel management & Knowledge management while on the go. It uses all this data to bring business insights for team leaders to take quick decisions.
Outwork AI integrates Gamification, AI driven tools like Sales Assistant Bot in App for Field users & Business Intelligence Bot for Managers.
