Why is a sales route planner so popular?

Road trips can be fun, but road trips for work purposes are a different story. When planning for a holiday trip you can take as long as you need, but if you’re a B2B sales rep travelling all over the country, time is of the essence.  From fuel costs, to unexpected client emergencies, to keeping track of crucial data, there are so many variables to consider, that sales route planner apps are becoming more and more popular to help B2B field reps plan their days efficiently and productively.

A sales route planner effectively combines route planning with sales and CRM information. A sales route planner app on your mobile device takes advantage of the GPS functionality of your mobile to effectively plan routes based on your sales requirements, which customers are due for a visit to place an order, business development call or sorting out a problem.All this will improve your sales reps’ productivity by ensuring they can make the maximum number of visits in the minimum amount of time

What makes it so useful for your sales reps?

It allows sales reps to get the most out of each day

According to research from Insidesales.com, only 36.6% of your sales reps’ time is spent actively selling. A sales route planner app can improve that percentage by slashing the time spent on planning routes and administration tasks. Appointments can be set in the most direct way and in the shortest time-frame by scheduling customers in close proximity on the same day.

Different customers can be represented by color-coded pins and a map view with navigation means sales reps can instantly see all their meetings and routes for the day.It can even cope with last minute changes and unforeseen circumstances, updated the route automatically, meaning less travel time wasted every day.

Sales managers always know where their sales reps are and what they’re doing

Sales route planning software not only helps your sales reps, it also makes your sales managers more productive. Through geo-tagging, managers can monitor all activities of each rep in the field and view the details of their activity, action time, and the next activity for follow up, all with just a single click.

BYOD – Bring Your Own Device

Sales route planner apps work on a variety of devices, whether mobile or tablet, and on a variety of operating systems. Your staff can use the app on their own personal devices, meaning they can use a device that’s familiar to them, learning it faster, and saving money for you in new hardware purchases.

Sales reps can manage orders efficiently

71% of sales reps say they spend too much time on data entry. But when your sales route planner also includes automated mobile order taking functionality, reps can quickly and seamlessly process customer orders, issue invoices, and even capture electronic proof of all activities. The more sophisticated apps will also have the facility to collect and record payments outin the field and then seamlessly sync with the back-office accounting system, so you have all your bases covered.

Last but certainly not least………your sales reps will sell more

One huge benefit of a sales route planner app is that sales reps have real-time access to all their customer information. They won’t need to check back and forth between apps, everything is in one place. This means they can see trend-setting products, best sellers and more, all helping them to work as sales consultants, suggesting products for up-selling or cross-selling, promoting discounted or end of season stock and ultimately, increasing your revenue.