6 Steps To Transforming Beverage Sales Route Productivity With the Right Process and Tools
1. Define Measures Of Success The first step in transforming the productivity of a salesperson is to establish what success looks like, and ensure your sales team has the right tools and technology to reach their goals. What makes a sales person successful? Is it the number of clients visited in a day, number of closed deals, or amount of revenue or profit generated? How will you measure effectiveness, and with what frequency? Where is most value derived from sales activities? Is it in nurturing clients, generating new contacts, or closing deals? Quantifiable metrics such as the number of prospects or clients visited in a given period of time or the frequency of visits are examples of success indicators. Unfortunately, these leading management indicators are difficult to capture and measure consistently. Specific, quantifiable metrics are key to gaining visibility into the productivity of a sales team. Some of these metrics include: Time spent in transit Number and duration of stops Number of meetings in person Number of proposals Number of closed deals 2012 Runzheimer International. All Rights Reserved. www.runzheimer.com Pg. 2
2. Enable Achievement Of Objectives It is a fact that whichever metric is most important to your definition of sales success, most successful salespeople must meet prospective clients face-to-face to achieve results. This requires a high degree of mobility and a high degree of productivity in the field. As a sales administrator, you will need to consider how well your company supports and enables employee mobility, and whether they have access to the tools and information they need to get things done more efficiently, regardless of where they are working. Enterprise technology enables Beverage sales managers to leverage technology for both administration in the office and also the mobile employee in the field. To accomplish accurate measurement of performance metrics for mobile sales people, the implementation of enterprise technology can help. Many mobile employees drive a vehicle, whether provided by their company or their personal vehicle, for their job. Organizations with fleets have been aware of the need to measure mobile activity for decades and many have utilized Telematics and GPS-enabled technology to measure their fleets effectiveness. However, many organizations with mobile employees who don t drive a company fleet vehicle have not quite tackled the conundrum of how to measure mobile employee s effectiveness. Enterprise technology is more than just using GPS on mobile devices. It enables beverage sales managers to leverage technology for both the administration in the office and also the drivers in the field. Enterprise technology solutions allow organizations to encompass multiple processes and procedures into a centralized function. In the case of the route sales driver, technology can help simplify and improve their productivity. Organizations need to balance employee satisfaction with the need to stay competitive in the market through 2012 Runzheimer International. All Rights Reserved. www.runzheimer.com Pg. 3
the implementation of enterprise technology. Implementing technology is only one part of the equation. Proper measurement is key to its success. According to International Data Corp (IDC), the premier global provider of market intelligence, for the IT telecom and consumer technology markets, the number of employees working remotely is projected to increase to more than three-quarters of the workforce (119.7 million) by the end of 2013. 1 The rise of the mobile workforce is pressuring many organizations to provide employees with technology which allows them to work where, when, and how they choose. How do you manage productivity when your employees are working remotely? Essentially, if you can measure it, you can manage it. Defining measurable Essentially, if you can measure it, you can manage it. Defining measurable objectives, communicating them to salespeople, and providing the right tools to achieve their goals must all happen up front. objectives, communicating them to salespeople, and providing the right tools to achieve their goals must all happen up front. Technology from mobile devices can provide you with powerful insights that can not only simplify administrative processes for organizations and mobile workers, but can also lead to transformational improvements in productivity but only if your sales force knows what is expected of them, and knows how to use the technology to help them achieve results. 3. Determine Measurement Methods Once you have determined what to measure, the next step is to determine a process for capturing the information needed. This approach can be manual or automated. 1 IDC, How to Equip Your Company for the New Mobile Workforce, http://www.gotomypc.com/remote_access/images/pdf/how_to_equip_your_company_for_the_new _Mobile_Workforce.pdf 2012 Runzheimer International. All Rights Reserved. www.runzheimer.com Pg. 4
Manual Measurement Methods Manual methods typically involve employee self-reported systems. For example, many sales personnel are required to report on number of clients visited, number of proposals submitted, and number of meetings. These types of employee-managed systems could be digital, manual, or a hybrid of the two. However, the fact remains that these systems are subjective. The sales person has the ability to enter the metrics themselves, with varying levels of accuracy. To add to the challenge of obtaining accurate metrics from employees, most organizations do not have a robust system/process to audit or verify the accuracy of the information submitted. The result is garbage in, garbage out. It is difficult to mine subjective, employee-provided data to get a clear understanding of what is truly happening in the field and to make effective management decisions. Automated Measurement Methods Automation brings improved efficiency and accuracy in reporting and the following advantages: gain greater visibility into the activities of your sales team determine if your sales team is spending the right amount of time on the road or with your clients make smarter decisions about territories, policies, and personnel based on actual behavior benchmark the activities of your most successful mobile employees and use the information to model and coach others to the same levels of success The need to gain visibility into field activities is driving organizations further use of automated to capture these insights. Time keeping, logistics, and other enterprise applications are helping organizations to gain desired visibility by capturing actual and/or real-time statistics and aggregating the information into customizable reports, robust map-views, and user-friendly dashboards. 2012 Runzheimer International. All Rights Reserved. www.runzheimer.com Pg. 5
4. Sales Force Acceptance Of course, none of the benefits associated with automation methods can be realized by an organization without the support and buy-in of its mobile employees. Early adopter organizations utilizing technology are actually able to use the output to help their employees be more successful and remove roadblocks. The essential key in driving mobile employee acceptance of these technologies is to show employees how their organization is viewing and using the data to help make their jobs easier and keep them productive. The key is ensuring any tool put into the hands of the mobile employee presents a strong set of benefits to them. The solution should make their life easier, increase their productivity, help to remove roadblocks, and culminate in greater job satisfaction. As with any change in process, organizations should anticipate that some employees will hold on to their skepticism about adapting to new processes until they are required to do so. It is key, then, that as organizations introduce changes, that a firm yet supportive stance is taken to ensure full compliance and adoption and that monitoring and communication about the time savings and benefits be onsistent throughout the launch period. Since capturing employee location and time are the metrics that may cause employees to feel as though Big Brother is watching, the product chosen should offer clear-cut benefits specifically tailored to the mobile workers needs. For example, when paired with an organizations CRM data, mobile device applications can facilitate itinerary planning, provide turn-by-turn navigation, and even consolidate expense management, essentially removing a great deal of the administrative burden from their plates. 2012 Runzheimer International. All Rights Reserved. www.runzheimer.com Pg. 6
5. Implementation The right enterprise solution must be selected to meet the needs of the ever-changing mobile employee. A solution should look to incorporate functionality that addresses the core activities each mobile employee conducts on a daily basis, such as: Automating and accurately tracking business mileage Creating and viewing an itinerary Navigating to each itinerary location Capturing expenses in the field Documenting knowledge and notes in the field Automatic integration with a CRM solution One solution that simplifies all of the processes above in a service called Runzheimer Mobile. This next-generation technology gives mobile employees time-saving tools while providing business intelligence to line managers and administrators. Runzheimer Mobile can provide the following key management insights: Amount of time spent travelling vs. amount of time spent with clients Cost of meeting clients ROI of sales person time Evaluation of territories and distribution of sales coverage Mapping Tools provide navigation and location intelligence. Features View route patterns by day, week, or month View multiple workers routes on a Benefits Identify star patterns in which the daily routes crisscross; mapping tools help to create circular, optimized routes Visually see cross-over in territory, allowing for territory management that enables the mobile employee to serve an optimal number of clients 2012 Runzheimer International. All Rights Reserved. www.runzheimer.com Pg. 7
map to find cross over View workers last known location Ensures safety and location of mobile employee in case of emergency and allows management to deploy the closest mobile employee to a client Business Intelligence Tools allow managers and decision makers to view and interact with a large amount of data in a way that is very userfriendly and intuitive. Features Benefits Measure time durations Knowing how much time your mobile workers are spending on the road ( windshield time ) and with clients ( face time ) allows you to determine if your mobile workers are spending the right time in the right place Measure mileage driven Activity reports Mobile employees using their personal vehicles have to report mileage in one form or another to receive reimbursement. Automating the collection of mileage typically provides greater efficiency by removing the manual task from mobile employee s plates, and greater accuracy by reducing guessing and estimating Activity reports indicating what client was visited on what day are a standard requirement of most mobile workers. Integration into CRM systems removes the burden of submitting manual reports and improves accuracy 6. Act on Business Intelligence Implementation of a mobile enterprise service yields improved management. The intelligence can be used to: Better manage territories Measure effectiveness of sales strategy and technique Improve administrative processes for mobile employees Ensure your mobile employee is spending the right amount of time at the right place Additionally, you can show your top clients how important they are to you by providing them with verifiable metrics displaying your commitment of people resources to their account. 2012 Runzheimer International. All Rights Reserved. www.runzheimer.com Pg. 8
One of the most common mysteries among those who manage a mobile sales force is determining if they are spending the right amount of time in the right place. GPS mobile productivity applications allow real-time visibility into trips and locations through mapping tools and management dashboards. Before this insight can be beneficial, however, organizations must define their own model of the right amount of time and the right place. This insight is critical to building a model of a successful mobile employee. The Right Time GPS applications typically include time stamps. Many back end reporting systems will calculate and aggregate the start and stop times into easy-to-use, visual tools to help management see trends in its mobile workers time. We are all familiar with the 80/20 rule (80 percent of your outcomes come from 20 percent of your inputs). This means you want your mobile workers spending 80% of their time with the top 20% of your clients. The Right Place Let s say your Southern Division is your top sales division. Through the use of enterprise technology and GPS tools, you can see mobile employees in the Southern division spend an average of one hour with each client, visit an average of 15 clients per week, and spend the least amount of time on the road (with the lowest mileage) compared to all of your other divisions. Now, through your mapping tools, you can get a snapshot of your Southern Division compared to your Northern Division. Your Southern Division s routes are circular, whereas your Northern Division s routes are more of a star pattern. Your Southern Regional Director implemented itinerary planning and route optimization which are helping the team to schedule their stops nearby each other and reduce drive time and increase number of client visits. Your next step: ensure your Northern Division is using the same tools and processes to achieve similar gains in productivity. What if your Northern Division is already optimizing client visits and travel time, but they are still not experiencing the same success as the South? When you refer to your business intelligence dashboard, you notice the Northern Division is spending more time on the road and driving more miles than your 2012 Runzheimer International. All Rights Reserved. www.runzheimer.com Pg. 9
Southern Division. According to your maps, the mobile workers in the North are driving to the nearest business location; however, they are crossing each other s paths and duplicating visits to your prospects. Your next step: conduct a territory analysis to ensure mobile employees have their own distinct (and typically smaller) territory. Not only can you determine how much time is spent in transit and with clients, but with integration into your CRM, you can determine where they are spending their time as well. We are all familiar with the 80/20 rule (80 percent of your outcomes come from 20 percent of your inputs). This means you want your mobile workers spending 80% of their time with the top 20% of clients or prospects. Business intelligence dashboards can quickly give you an at-aglance view of how often and for how long your employees are visiting your top clients. Conclusion We predict an increasing number of mobile employees will be asking for tools to increase their productivity on the road. Organizations willing to make the investment gain the advantage. An increase in productivity can drive revenue growth higher. According to Runzheimer International s most recent Total Employee Mobility Benchmarking Report, high-growth organizations, defined as growing at 10% or more year-over-year, invest more in mobility; such organizations invest on average $12,352 per mobile employee per year, compared to an average of $9,630 for all organizations 2. With these six steps, organizations can make a transformational change in measuring and ensuring their sales team is fully optimized and efficient. The result: increased employee satisfaction and revenue growth for your organization. 2 Total Employee Mobility 2011 Benchmarking Report. Runzheimer International. Page 4. 2012 2012 Runzheimer International. All Rights Reserved. www.runzheimer.com Pg. 10
Insight and Guidance Serving more than 3,200 corporate clients, Runzheimer International provides solutions to enhance productivity of mobile employees. For insight, guidance and analytical support to help you determine which employee mobility solution is best for your organization, please contact Runzheimer International and ask to speak with a representative. To learn more about how mobile workforce technology and business intelligence can help you boost your sales teams productivity, Call 1-800- 558-1702 or visit www.runzheimer.com 2012 Runzheimer International. All Rights Reserved. www.runzheimer.com Pg. 11