Technology is always changing and as it evolves it offers new ways to make businesses run more efficiently, sometimes in an impressive and exponential way. New technology has the power to change business for the better by streamlining the sales process and super-charging field sales.
One of the industries that technology has impacted significantly is sales. Many field sales agencies are embracing technology as a way to revamp their sales process and get bigger and better results. So how does modern technology influence field sales and how it is performed? Let’s take a look at some of the many ways that technology is changing field sales.
Social Media
Social media has made a huge impact on field sales. It has given sales representatives a new way to reach out and engage with customers directly, which is a powerful way to get them into the sales funnel. When you build your brand through social media, you are creating a powerful image depicting what your company is all about – which can be seen by customers from all over the world.
However, social media platforms need to be used correctly. If a field sales agency is simply promoting their product they will be seen as pushy and self-serving – the crucial key is to take part in a conversation. Being friendly and relatable helps, as it will make your social media presence feel more like a real person rather than a brand.
Customer Feedback Websites
Customer feedback websites such as Tripadvisor, Yelp can be very helpful for businesses to refine and shape their sales tactics and messages. These social platforms will offer a unique advantage for sales teams because it allows them to have real time feedback from customers sharing their honest and candid opinions.
Customers will offer their honest opinion of the sales service and customer service they received, so that your company can learn from mistakes and improve – information that is very valuable to have. Also, these websites often allow companies to respond to the feedback of their customers and clarify or apologize whenever something goes wrong.
Cloud Storage
The increase in cloud storage use can be very beneficial for field sales companies, as this means that they will be able to say goodbye to having physical copies of their forms, files, information, work time clocking and other mediums. You can also use cloud-based CRM technology (Customer Relationship Management), which are systems that are designed to integrate sales, marketing and customer support.
The advantage of this is that when this type of data is stored within the cloud, this means that it can be accessed from any location at any time. When it is deployed correctly it offers a huge advantage for sales employees – allowing them to get very fast and accurate insights on what their customers are up to and what they are likely to buy. This can work very well if you have a field sales team that is spread over multiple locations.
Bringing Your Own Device
Many field sales agencies are employing a Bring Your Own Device strategy, which offers a lot of advantages for the sales force. Not only will it eliminate the substantial costs that are associated with personal mobile devices for the sales team, it will also mean that team members will be able to access resources that they need to collaborate with their customers and colleagues no matter where they are.
Bring Your Own Device, aka BYOD will help companies to provide sales training, strategy updates and field support to their team members – which results in a more productive and empowered sales force. Also, BYOD helps to encourage a certain amount of personal creativity and expression by allowing employees to bring their own devices that they prefer to use into the sales environment. Of course, if you do implement a BYOD policy it is important to ensure that the personal devices that are used for work purposes do not end up compromising the security of customer and corporate data that might be sensitive.
These are just a few of the ways that technology is changing field marketing. Technology develops so quickly that field sales will continue to grow and change in the near future – so it’s important to stay on top of trends and be adaptive in order to thrive.