Companies not using business analytics software or incentive compensation software may want to pay attention to a recent study that found relying on sales rep feedback instead of technology is both inefficient and costly. SAVO Group, a market sales group, recently released a report that found 58 percent of companies currently base their sales insights on comments from their sales representatives rather than on real-time data.
The negative effects of this inefficient method are numerous, the study found. Relying on subjective feedback from salespeople was found to not only provide inaccurate information, but was also found to affect everything from sales coaching to overall business success.
The study revealed 82 percent of survey respondents said their companies lacked successful learning management and sales coaching programs, signaling how unreliable human-based information can be.
Rather than basing business practices on sales rep feedback, companies can benefit from automating processes, Kurt Anderson, executive vice president of sales enablement and marketing at SAVO, said.
“By automating this process with a tool that provides ongoing training and accurate, up-to-date information throughout the sales cycle, organizations can gain insight into reps’ behaviors and immediately make changes to help them be more productive without needing to scramble at the end of the quarter to correct things,” Anderson said.
Companies can improve their sales coaching and business strategies by investing in business analytics software and incentive compensation software. These powerful programs help executives make smart decisions for their companies. Everything from annual budgeting to competitive strategies and bonus plans can benefit from technological solutions that are both reliable and objective. These software programs can show supervisors sales information, analytics from each day’s performance, industry competition and more. This data can be updated as often as a business needs, whether that is daily or weekly, giving businesses the freedom to use the results however they want.