A good salesperson has a lot of clients spread all over the city or even the country. Unfortunately, many clients mean that it’s impossible to keep up with all of them effectively. Most salespeople either drive chaotically from one customer to another depending on who is complaining or sit down every morning to plan the visits manually. Both approaches are ineffective and time-consuming, to say the least.
A sales route is sequential planning of every client on your list depending on where they are located and how often they should be visited. Unlike the manual way of planning your day or week, a sales route is automated to make your work easier and faster. Despite the death of Microsoft Street and Trips, you can still find a route planning alternative to use on your phone, iPad or even laptop.
Format of sales Route
A contact management system should be the foundation of your sales route. Come up with a spreadsheet containing a list of all your clients, their address and contact information. You should also have a column of where the client is in the sales cycle and another for the frequency of calls or visits. Make the last column a bit wider to jot down some notes on each client.
Transfer the information to mapping software which will map the locations of your clients. The mapping tool will give you the most logical route to use for every destination and cluster clients that you can visit the same day.
You still need to retain the spreadsheet to update notes and clarify information now and then.
Benefits of a Sales Route
1. Lowers your travel costs and time
When a salesperson has to drive from one side of town to the other, they use a lot of fuel and time. You will also run into traffic and sometimes even get lost on the way. Optimizing your sales route will help the salespeople save a lot of time in a day and also transport cost.
The software comes up with the quickest way possible, alerts you on other clients you can see on the way and even helps you to avoid traffic. Many salespeople are always on the run trying to do as much as possible on a stressful day. A sales route helps you to manage clients and manage your routes in a relaxed way so you don’t have to be frantic all the time.
2. Better loading
Since you know which clients you need to see, there is no need to keep backtracking to the office to get something because you are already well equipped. It will also help you to load the truck more effectively. Instead of throwing everything in, the driver can arrange stuff according to what comes out first.
3. Better service
Many clients are lost because the sales team was late for meetings or they failed to deliver something. With optimized routes, you can arrive on time with all the proper materials. You will have more time to spend with the client and know how you can improve your relationship and make more sales. There will be no more missed appointments and late deliveries because the software will serve as a reminder and a guide.
4. More sales
The goal of every salesperson is to make more sales because you get more money in terms of commission. With all the time you will save thanks to sales route optimization, you can visit more clients and make more calls. More visits will mean you get to sell more and maybe even get your current clients to increase their business with you.
5. Better organization
While sales personnel are at liberty to make their schedules, the management still needs to oversee what they are doing. A sales route is one of the best ways for management to know what is happening. The software shows which clients were visited and which ones need to be attended to most. They can then get involved if there is something the sales personnel is doing wrong or needs to improve. Having the liberty to know what happens in the field will yield more results both financially and for management purposes.
Time is money, especially for sales personnel. A sales route helps to optimize your time and energy so you can focus on what is important. A company that cares about employee and customer satisfaction invests in sales route optimization. After all, the difference between a good salesman and a great one is efficiency.
