Dear reader,

As we all know, data is the new oil.

It is fundamental across sales networks because data analysis is the essential premise for making effective and efficient decisions.

Nowadays, it is possible to analyze a huge amount of data thanks to the IT support and in this month’s newsletter we want to talk about some tools that can help you with that.

CRM: the starting point

For sales networks, the CRM is the starting point to start implementing a correct data analysis.

If implemented correctly, it allows you to better organize your data, to have greater control over business processes and to always have an updated view of the situation.

Moreover, multiple tools can be attached to the CRM in order to amplify its potential and extract value from the information it holds.

This topic has greater relevance in this post-Covid period, where the new normal requires companies to make the most of technology in order to optimize costs.

Sales networks need to introduce a strong planning activity for several reasons:

• Sales reps can no longer carry out visits to customers without first planning, since the risk of rising costs is too high;
• Sales reps need a tool that allows them to quickly replace missed and canceled appointments in order to avoid budget and time waste;
• The concept of “meeting customers” must be reviewed. Now, sales networks should take into consideration an “hybrid approach”, with physical and online meetings (if you are interested in understanding how Mapadore can help you with that, click here).

All this implies having the right tools which, once connected to the CRM, can help you prioritize leads, make appointments and plan routes.

We can divide these tools into three macro-categories:

• Business intelligence and reporting tools
• Sales enablement tools
• Sales journey tools

BI and reporting tools

Business intelligence and reporting tools support the entire analytical data management workflow and in recent years they have also achieved excellent usability.

Oftentimes, these tools use artificial intelligence, which helps and supports the decisions of the sales team by allowing them to perform a complete data analysis in real time.

These tools, in fact, allow you to analyze a large amount of information in a short time by returning a complete report that helps you better understand the situation of the sales network.

The advantages of using this type of tools are multiple:

• They support you in the preparation and management of the data present in the CRM
• They help you visually explore information
• They generate insights in real time to guide you throughout the decision-making process

If you want to know more about how Mapadore uses artificial intelligence to guide you throughout the commercial process and planning activities, watch the webinar by clicking here.

Sales enablement tools

Sales enablement tools help companies implement, scale and ground sales strategies as they make salespeople more efficient at every stage of the buyer’s journey.

The implementation of this type of tool aims at aligning the company’s sales method with the customer’s purchase method. 

In addition, these tools help shorten the sales cycle by reducing the duration of the negotiation.

In this case as well, artificial intelligence can provide valuable support to the sales team by suggesting the type of content to be used.

The main advantages that derive from the use of sales enablement tools are the following:

• They allow to efficiently and effectively manage the life cycle of Sales & Marketing contents;
• They provide support for the team training and for the onboarding of new team members;
• Thanks to the use of AI, the sales team is guided towards the choice of the most relevant content.

In a nutshell, these tools are used to most simply share with customers what the added value of the product / service is.

Sales journey tools

These tools support your salespeople through their planning activities, automating routine tasks and allowing the sales team to spend more time with customers.

The final result is the optimization of the entire commercial process, which allows you to achieve the same (or even better) results with fewer resources.

By delegating to technology all those routine activities that do not bring added value, these tools free up the sales team precious time, thus allowing professionals to focus more on customers and convey value.

In this case, artificial intelligence helps the team to analyze data in real time in order to prioritise leads, optimise routes and the number of meetings per time unit.

Sales networks need artificial intelligence to analyze the situations in real time in order to make the most efficient decisions especially now, considering the increased planning skills required by the new normal.

The sales teams must indeed manage different types of meetings (in situ and remote) and be ready to quickly replace missed / canceled appointments in order to face unexpected events.

Generally speaking, the implementation of sales enablement tools has multiple advantages:

• Improves sales effectiveness because the team is focused on the best customers and manages to make more appointments per unit of time;
• Increases the operational efficiency of the entire sales network, reducing costs and increasing revenues;
• Improves the workload based on multiple criteria and commercial structure.

How Mapadore helps you on the sales journey

Apps like Mapadore allow you to enhance the CRM by automating all those routine activities that do not bring any added value.

Specifically, Mapadore helps you in two ways:

• Online, it helps you make appointments by processing and delivering to you the most suitable time slots in real time and, through an integration with the website is able to send meeting proposals to prospects.
• Offline, it allows you optimise travel costs and planning times.

If you want to learn more about the hybrid approach and about how Mapadore can help your sales network implement it, then read this article.