As a former sales manager for FMCG company Unilever, I feel uniquely qualified to write this article – because, having spent years at the coalface of sales, I know full well how bereft of useable information and technology I was, and how impressive today’s mobile sales applications are by comparison.

Back in my day...
Now while you might think I am about to start talking about repping in the 1960s, I’m not. Try the early 90s instead. Back then I was driving all over the Taupo North region, filling in for sick reps.

Taking over their calls I’d walk into supermarkets with a cardboard order card, count all the stock on hand, write that number in the card, and then approach the grocery manager to work up an order.

I either had no idea, or a very vague idea, of what our out-of-stocks were (and there were routinely many). I also had little idea of what had been successfully delivered from the preceding order.

I had a folder jammed with print outs and pricing information, but it was very difficult to even get five minutes with a buyer at a desk to shuffle through this, so we had to be ready to do our sales presentations leaning on Persil boxes out by the credit bins.

Put simply, it wasn’t sophisticated. Product and pricing knowledge was difficult to access, and as far as specific store information went – on which to propose sales specials or bonus deals – all I had to go on was that ragged sales card and the previous entries. Now while it would be nice to say that scenarios like this are all now ancient history, I am reliably informed by those in the know that the cardboard or paper order form is still the dominant piece of sales kit in the hands of our nation’s sales teams – with all the inherent productivity loses that that brings.

Mobile sales applications - the process
So how does a mobile sales application change all this? Typically it will run on some kind of portable computing device – either a laptop, Tablet PC or PDA. The complexity of the order entry will often dictate the type of device used, as screen size may be important in ease-of-ordering terms.

The device can either be ‘always on’ – permanently connected to office servers wirelessly – allowing users to dispatch their orders real-time. Or it can connect and synchronise at various times during the day – sending orders and receiving relevant sales information and emails etc. The order process will in many ways mimic what was once done with paper orders, however, instead of faxing them in or delivering them to the office by hand, the orders are sent wirelessly.

This means the order dispatch process begins almost as soon as the order is taken, and it also means office bound order entry staff don’t have to re-key orders (and potentially make mistakes while doing so) which ultimately means less credits and more satisfied customers.

The suite of tools & information available in a mobile sales application will usually include sales orders, customer sales history, corporate email, (typically synchronised with Microsoft Outlook or Lotus Notes), sales opportunities and promotions, often with the ability to record proposals and quotes, and marketing information like special trade promotions relevant to that particular customer.

Back at the office, the mobile sales application integrates with legacy ERP systems and warehousing solutions. Electronic orders are picked and dispatched without any rekeying. Sales representatives are thus given more time in the field with their customers – as opposed to sorting out paperwork in their offices (something I spent at least an hour a day on at Unilever), which makes them more productive.

Let’s talk profits
While there are many benefits in using mobile sales applications – no rekeying, enhanced order accuracy, better customer service, faster stock turns – perhaps the main one is better utilisation of a sales rep’s time, as Ian Hassell from software developers Neotek explains. “We’re looking to target at least three things when we sell sales force automation,” he says. “The first is more calls in a day. The second is actually improving the chances of getting an order – and the third is increasing the value of the orders.” So let’s do some numbers – using the hypothetical example of a team of 20 sales reps, making an average of five sales calls a day.

As a Unilever rep, it tookme around 15 minutes after a call, to transfer the card info onto an order sheet, and about 40 minutes to drive to our office and hand the days orders in (they were almost a metre across, so too large to fax).

On an average day that amounted to almost two hours wasted. For argument’s sake, let’s say we made $100 profit per sales call I made. Now, if using a mobile sales application freed up enough time to make just one extra sales call a day, then that would equate to $500 a week extra profit, or $26,000 a year. Across a team of 20 representatives and you’re talking $520,000 a year.

But that’s not all. With a comprehensive sales history of each customer, up to date stock levels and client specific promotional information at their fingertips, we can assume that a sales rep should increase the profitability of each call by at least $20. Across the entire sales team, that’s about another $500,000 a year. Suffice to say, the return on investment from a mobile sales application is significant, and occurs more quickly than you might think.

Implementation - how to
The first step of any mobile sales application implementation is to establish the need and the desired financial or process outcomes, and gain senior management commitment to the project. Then you will have to pick your technology partners.

There are three basic categories of partners.
1) Network providers (Ie: Telecom or Vodafone) who provide the wireless connection. Excellent coverage is required to ensure the system works when and where your team needs it to, so check for coverage in your rep’s most isolated call areas.

2) Hardware platform providers (for laptops, Tablets or PDAs) – and these may be conditional on what network you opt for.

3) Software application providers. You should choose the software provider first because application usability is the most important component.

Integration is not usually difficult as most apps can easily integrate with existing ERP systems. In selecting hardware, consider the mix of technology that’s going to be needed to optimise the mobile work force’s effectiveness. The sales team, for instance, might need mobile access from laptops that double as sales presentation platforms (so a laptop or Tablet-sized screen will be required).

Once all these aspects have been scoped, Neotek’s Hassell says implementation times can vary, but most businesses are typically only a few short months away from being able to empower their sales teams. “We can realistically roll out a solution in four to five weeks,” he says. “Sometimes the customer will want images of products scanned and that can take more time, or they need to tidy up their financial system, get the descriptions of products correct and so forth. So anything from five to 16 weeks would be typical.”

For more information visit the Mobile Business Research Pavilion

September 2006