A sales job has its moments to shine, but very few of us would name the proposal-writing part among the most thrilling. What’s more, it can be like a giant black hole that sucks in so much effort and makes many of the prospects disappear. Sales proposal automation, paired with a mobile solution, is a viable alternative that speeds up the process to secure more wins.
Too Much Or Not Enough Data
We all know the primary reason why: the time it takes to send a document back and forth before it contains all the information correctly and gets signed by all the parties is just too much. According to a survey commissioned by Qvidian, 75 percent of sales operations, management, and enablement professionals work with an average of four persons on a proposal, many of those are in product teams or remote locations.
The data to fill is just too many and, in the midst of circulating it, it’s quality also deteriorates. If a CRM and some templates are involved, at least the reps don’t have to fill the data manually. Still, the redundancy of registering information is usually way too high and, again, circulating that many copies take its toll on time-effectiveness. The worst part: the more time the agents spend on such rounds makes the client more likely to look elsewhere and find a better deal.
Time to Automate and Accelerate!
Automation in itself won’t solve all the problems of an organization or even a proposal-making process, but it does contribute its fair share to the acceleration and improved efficiency of a workflow.
There are several levels of automation that each adds a severe degree of life-points to both the reps and their managers:
- Digitalization of documents (templates, presentations, calculation databases): Flipping through pages is outdated, did you know? Unless you work in book sales, your clients will likely expect to get the material from you in a digital format. It’s also easier to search this way.
- Cloud storage (of documents): A central storage location for all the records cuts the searching time significantly while ensuring data safety. According to Brainshark, 41% of top-performing companies say they want seamless and fast content access in the field.
- Integration of CRM and quote calculators: No more typing and retyping client data or missing figures in a quote. Reckoning in the head is right for your brain but not always for the accuracy of a quote.
- Mobile app with electronic signature feature: The most advanced automation of proposal preparation is when the sales reps take it with them. Mobile business apps on tablets free the agents from the latest barrier of purchase: location. If completed with the option for electronic signature, the deals can be closed right on site.
Beyond the Speed
Clients and businesses are equally busy in the rat race of processing and reacting to information faster. Time is money has never been more valid but what if we concentrate too much on speed and forget about the rest of the equation?
Right automation shifts gears in creating proposals yet it remains relevant because it combines quickness with personality and transparency. Automating bids through a mobile app is one level higher: the agents sit next to the clients while showing the presentations, the client clicks through the integrated calculator, and the meeting ends with a digital quote made by the app, ready to be signed electronically.
Because the reps use the same database for the calculations, the same service will always cost the same for the client. Such process gives an impression of professionalism and trustworthiness. And are any of you, sales managers, familiar with the onboarding of new reps and how painful it can be and with what an uncertain outcome? Now a mobile app can navigate the agents through the same process every time and gives them the same documents and add-ons, making sure they check all boxes of the to-do list consistently.
Sales proposal automation has just reached its maturity with the introduction of mobile software, creating a culture of efficiency and success among the sales professionals and a rise in the almighty client engagement.
