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The best business software keeps salespeople on the same page

CRM, CPQ, ERP, marketing automation solutions—heck, even Outlook and other now run-of-the-mill business software—all have the same mission: to keep a business efficient and organized through automation, information sharing and consolidation, repeatable processes, and faster everything.

So while you want reps to play to their individual strengths, you need to have them using the same tools, systems, and processes because that’s the only way to @@accurately measure what works and to drive improvements across your entire organization.@@

This doesn’t mean you want to turn your reps into “clones.” You want individual actors—but you want them reading off the same script and on the same page. And @@the right business technology is the cornerstone in bringing a team together.@@

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First, the pushback: “Another tool?”

Salespeople are the busiest people in most every enterprise, which means they typically have the least bandwidth for learning new software, no matter how much easier it will make their jobs in the long run.

Even when you introduce something like a proposal automation system—which is 100% upside for salespeople as it allows them to spend less time writing up quotes and more time selling—get ready from some pushback.

You can pre-empt the pushback by an incremental roll-out of any/all business tools. Start with your leaders and early adopters, getting them up to speed with new software and letting them set the example, and others will follow.

Because once sales rep B sees that sales rep A (your leader/early adopter) earned twice as much in commissions the previous month, they’ll ask, “How’d you do that?” It’s always better to have a rep asking “How can I do this?” than” Why should I do this?”

Rest (un)assured, a company wide roll-out of a new tool, rather than an incremental one, will generate a lot more whys than hows.

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Next, integration: where business software meets personal hardware

Find us a salesperson who only works nine to five and doesn’t take a call or send an email when a commission is on the line: they simply don’t exist. Which is why you want to ensure every bit of business software you equip your team with works easily on their own devices (their phones, laptops, etc.).

And the best business software is built to run on mobile devices, too, because @@while most deals open with a meeting, they’re often closed with a text.@@

Not only does this model (known as BYOD, bring your own device) make it easier for salespeople to adopt new tech (basically, it’s just another app in their lives), it can save your company a fortune, too, both in purchasing and managing hardware. Trust us: you don’t want to be in hardware management business. But software? Just turn it on and off from wherever you may be.

To conclude, business software—such as a quote management system—delivers the standard business benefits (increased throughput, lower costs). But we believe the greatest benefit it can deliver is in creating a sales team that’s more unified, responsive, engaged, and productive.

If you'd like to learn more about this topic or see IQX for yourself with a free demo, contact us.