Increasing size of employees in an organisation is most often an indication of a healthy and growing business. Selling organisations increase the size of their team either to be able to service existing customers more effectively, to be able to penetrate new markets, or to be able to promote new products, driving deep into the depths of the markets and smoking competition our from a near view.
Increasing the sales force is expected to result into higher productivity in all directions – more sales revenue from increasing sales, more production and supply chain activities to meet the increasing demand from the sales activities, and so on. More products getting into the hands of the consumers translate to better fortunes for the company.
There are many organisations that have found themselves in a situations where they feel the honeymoon is over; sales returns are no longer making sense vis-à-vis the investments in terms of human resources. Declining productivity is setting-in and it is no longer fun boasting of the sales force strength on the field. Many factors could be responsible for this – I will categorise them as either external or internal factors. The internal factors are usually the ones under the control of the organisation, issues ranging from management, production/product, and personnel. I will limit my discussions to management issues.
Having a large sales team is no tea party, the cliché of the more the merrier becomes a real sting in the ear when the numbers are no longer adding up. Fatigue usually sets in when the Senior Management has many characters to deal wit. The size of the team always provides some cover for the slackers in the team, once the overall results is fine..we are safe!- so they say. Effective monitoring of daily activities of sales team is usually a hard nut to crack…I mean dealing with a set of guys who have mastered the art of making the top management believe their stories. Regular physical on-the-ground supervision by Managers and Supervisors helps a mile but not without creating further dent on the bottom line.
Many organisations have devised more efficient ways of carrying out field supervision, simply by the adoption of relevant technology. The Field Force Automation solutions provide such a formidable tool that will not only help the management in supervising field operations, but will also equip the field force with modern tools to conquer the market. Instant and 24/7 access to business information by both the field force and the management removes unnecessary friction and improves the turn-around time. Accurate and timely information provide the needed intelligence for strategic business decisions. Company can on a live basis, measure the tone of the market and keep in constant touch with their customers.
Information from the technology-enabled field force provides valuable inputs for the entire value chain of the organisation. The ROI for this technology is guaranteed especially when you sign-up with an organisation that has a robust user support system. Please write to me via gbenga.johnson@autusbridge.com if you are interested in adopting this technology.
