Let’s not forget that Mobility didn’t happen just yesterday; in fact, the sales process of the notorious Avon representative were, well… 100% mobile.
In short, we’re really Back to the Future nowadays, only now the nature of the Sales Process is executed in a different way; it’s entirely mobile or almost and mostly automated, stored, secured… and green!
Just to be clear, let’s reveal the true nature of the Sales Cycle of a typical Sales Force of today!
Mobility
Today, any representative has a Smartphone to make the best of real-time Communications tools. The most avant-garde enterprises have developed BI and / or Productivity tailor-made mobile applications.
What for? To get the Right Information anytime, anywhere. So to enhance the Sales Force Performance and Clientele Satisfaction with more adequate and relevant business offers on the spot.
Documentation
Too many enterprises still don’t make the best of document digitization to lighten and accelerate their Sales Cycle by mobilizing this process; hence, they don’t benefit from real-time storing, sharing, collaborating and saving functions of Documentation available today.
And maybe they miss on opportunities… without even knowing!
Signature / Authentification
Electronic signature is certainly one of the Sales Cycle process that has imposed itself in recent years; even Adobe Reader has integrated electronic signature on pdf with your mouse or your finger / pen on your Tablet.
In the meantime, many enterprises such as DocuSign, RightSignature, Signder, etc., offer electronic signature solutions facilitating the execution of this process anytime, anywhere.
Paper
Following the last two points, although paper will not disappear from complex contractual processes tomorrow, we may extrapolate that for all commodity products and services, the contractual process will be digital and enterprises will become greener and greener!
Technology
The emergence of Tablets in the last 2 years as the key tool for the Sales Force and / or the Mobile WorkForce is probably the small revolution over the horizon that will have the most transformative effect on the Sales Cycle of enterprises from around the world because these little wonders of technologies now offer performances in terms of user-friendliness, processing and display equal or even superior to Laptops (Surface Pro2, iPad Air…) !
Thus, Tablets will eliminate very soon and once and for all the last obstacle to the Mobility of Sales Force and the Mobile WorkForce… in short, consultants / salesman / technicians / delivery man, etc., no more excuses to stick at the office!
Security
This is probably the last obstacle to the total digitization of the Sales Cycle because even if most users execute and accept the validity of real-time transactions requiring an electronic signature, and even if the law recognizes this validity and the value of these transactions, we are expecting the time when the law will set a precedent to confirm de facto this validity through a legal or litigating case.
Moreover, we are still waiting for an official legislation regarding the right / responsibility (in case of theft or loss) of the Sales Force and the Mobile WorkForce accessing, gathering, storing and carrying personal, strategic or confidential information on their digital devices and exchanging / communicating them between servers and devices.
Good weekend,
Denis Paul and Michel
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