Are Your Reps Mobile-Ready?

Growing sales complexity and better informed customers are changing the way sales organizations go to market. Leading companies no longer focus on solution selling; instead, they build an insight generation capability—challenging customers’ established beliefs through commercial insight.

That said, the dynamic nature of customer interactions often makes it difficult for companies to equip reps with the right information at the right time. To overcome this, progressive companies are exploring mobile sales enablement to provide reps with “in-the-moment” access to information.

Here are some ways we see mobile being used by companies:

Increase Field Sales’ Efficiency: Pressed for time while on the road, field sales reps are always looking for ways to multi-task—from presentation creation to reporting. To facilitate this, companies are endorsing third-party or creating custom mobile apps for their sales force. For example, Roche, a pharmaceutical company, uses mobile to enable call preparation, e-detailing, and follow-up activities— driving both rep efficiency while also ensuring real-time information updates.
Support Sales Managers’ Activities: With reps out in the field, managers find training and coaching their teams particularly difficult. Companies are addressing this by going mobile, such as Pfizer is exploring mobile e-training alternatives for field sales reps.
Engage Mobile Customers: Customers today are looking for information on their mobile devices more than ever before. To engage mobile customers, leading companies focus on user-friendly m-sites and apps to increase customer engagement and drive sales efforts. For instance, Regus, a global supplier of temporary office space, provides an iphone app that uses augmented reality (AR) and location-based services to help users find office space near them.

Are you aware of other sales activities your sales reps and customers use mobile for? How are you using mobile for sales?

SEC Members, learn more about using iPads and tablets as sales tools or listen to the event replay. Also, read about the top iPad apps for sales and top apps for CRM.