Who Wins the Battle of The Apps?
Posted by Tom Rothrock on Tue, Nov 24, 2009 @ 03:53 PM
It seems that every day in the Sales 2.0 universe brings new applications directly intended for sales professionals. They promote sales efficiency and effectiveness by offering personal productivity improvements and expanded data retrieval capabilities.
In many respects, it is an embarrassment of riches - solutions with powerful features, speed and functionalities that promise a jolt to your sales rep's performance better than a can of Red Bull.
However appealing all of those applications are there is a danger lurking: will your reps use them to their intended level of effectiveness or will they be a distraction from their sales productivity?
Within sales organizations of all sizes, there are internal struggles going on between IT departments, sales management and senior management about which applications have priority and which do not.
Often, those discussions take place at the upper reaches of the organizational chart without the input of the sales team - in whose hands the success or failure of the application ultimately rests.
One sales organization's recent experience bears this out when senior management mandated the use of a very clunky in-house CRM. The software was dated, requiring reps to repeatedly enter duplicate data and was little more than a post-activity record keeping tool which served management's ends but was of little benefit to the sales team.
Unfortunately the mandate went over the protests of the sales manager, who had successfully engaged the reps in using a SaaS tool which improved call effectiveness and performance. The sales manager had argued for the replacement of the in-house CRM with a more up-to-date and user-friendly tool but was overruled.
The outcome was predictable: the reps spent more time on the CRM - because they "had" to - and less on the SaaS tool. As a result, they became documenters of after-the-fact "accident reports" instead taking the steps to lead their sales cycle. Morale and performance declined, eventually leading to the departure of the sales manager as well as the top performers of the sales team.
What can you do to prevent this from happening and avoid being a casualty in "The Battle of the Apps?"
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When in the field with your sales team, pay close attention to the applications they're using and the ones they're not. With that input, you'll know which are candidates for replacement or upgrade.
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Before proceeding with any new application, have your top performers' field test and evaluate it. Select those on your team who will give you an honest appraisal of the application's strengths and weaknesses. Later on, this will aid "buy-in" from your reps if you decide to implement the application.
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Early on, apprise your senior management of the direction you're going and keep them in the loop. It's important for them to understand what you're seeking to accomplish. Always express your outcomes in terms of expected R.O.I. benefits, increased sales or cost/time savings.
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When enterprise wide applications are being considered, be sure you're positioned to give a "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" from the sales perspective. If you don't, your team could get stuck with a "clunker" that's suited for procurement and not sales.
You don't want to be stuck with a ‘clunker' application that doesn't meet your sales team's needs. Your careful attention to those needs will assure your reps end up winning the battle!
Photo Credit: Craig Hatfield