With such a strong industry focus on inside sales reps, it may come as a surprise to learn that outside reps make up more than 70% of the sales force.
This presents a number of challenges for sales leaders and reps alike.
For sales leaders, visibility into rep activity and accountability for their workload are difficult to manage. For field sales agents, communication becomes difficult, as do administrative burdens.
Sales rep tracking platforms can help to ease many of these challenges, and also offer a number of tangible benefits.
In this article, we'll discuss those exact benefits, and provide you with an eight-step guide on how to track sales. We'll also point out a few of the best sales rep tracking software platforms to get you started quickly.
In the sales environment, there are certain terms that mean different things to different people.
Sales rep tracking is one of those terms.
One use for the term sales rep tracking is to describe a software platform where reps can store customer information, manage pipelines, report on activities and progress, and keep deal notes up to date.
This is also known as sales tracking software, the idea is that what you're tracking is sales.
The other interpretation is where you are tracking the sales rep, and this interpretation involves some use of GPS monitoring.
This kind of sales rep tracker is used for physically tracking the location of field sales reps, so leaders have a clear understanding of where their team is at any moment and can use this data to inform insights such as improving travel routes.
For the purposes of this article, we're going to be discussing sales rep tracking software platforms that have a GPS component, designed for outside sales rep route tracking.
If you want to learn more about the other kind of sales tracker, check out our article: Best Sales Tracking App Your Team Will Thank You For.
In general, sales leaders use tracking tools that integrate directly with their CRM to ensure data is connected.
In some cases, though, a sales rep tracking app may have some form of CRM or pipeline management built-in, so a single tool could serve both purposes.
Accountability is a massive issue in sales; 91% of organizations see accountability as the number one training need for their company.
A sales rep tracker helps sales leaders hold their reps accountable as they have accurate data over their locations, journey, and time spent with each client.
If the rep's responsibility is to visit 10 clients a day, say, then the manager can monitor the rep's location throughout the day, and make sure they are accountable to this goal.
Of course, there is also an element of ensuring reps aren't skiving off during work or taking extra-long lunch breaks, but that's not your team, right?
Field sales agents typically rack up a lot more expenses than their inside sales counterparts.
For example, they may need to shell out for:
Sales leaders might use a sales rep tracker to lodge expense claims and accurately reimburse employees.
In certain industries, sales rep tracking apps can be used to route leads to nearby reps.
For example, mobile car battery sales agents mostly work in a reactive nature, in that they are routed to new customers in need of a battery immediately.
Sales rep trackers can tell dispatch teams the exact location of field sales reps, allowing them to route the most appropriate agent to each new job.
In other industries, field sales reps are responsible less for immediate sales needs and more for existing customer visits.
For example, a motor oil sales rep might have a list of existing vehicle workshop clients to visit each month.
Reps in this field would use a sales tracking system to plug in the addresses of each client they need to visit, and plan the most efficient route so they spend less time on the road and more time selling!
Without a sales rep tracking app, team leaders have no visibility of their team's activity and performance.
For example, they don't know:
At best, this data is kept manually, which is a cumbersome approach.
One of the major benefits of using sales rep tracking software is that this data is immediately available, and can easily be reported on and analyzed.
Expense reimbursements are a problem for many sales teams, with as much as 19% of expense reports containing errors.
(Source)
Sales rep trackers help to solve this problem by providing automated expense reports with all data in a central location.
For sales reps with large territories, route planning can be a major headache and a huge time-sucker.
Reps can waste hours each week with inefficient routes, which means increased costs for the business and decreased ability to sell.
Sales rep tracking software can help sales reps to identify inefficient routes, plan new journeys, and schedule new stops when they onboard new customers.
The downstream benefit of this is that reps can:
Reps without an in-field sales tracker typically need to report back to base to update their system.
In addition to being incredibly inefficient (as it takes them off the road), this is also a risk for information accuracy, as certain details inevitably get lost or forgotten.
Sales rep tracking software allows reps to keep their system up to date from the road, reducing their time in the office and significantly improving data accuracy.
The last benefit of sales rep tracking systems is that they empower reps with the data they need to sell better, improving the customer experience.
Those that are connected to CRMs (or have this functionality built-in) allow sales agents to access sales collateral, customer sales history, and other important information that can support the sales conversation.
Before you get started tracking sales deals or reps, it's important that you have a quality CRM and pipeline system set up.
If the sales rep tracking app you choose doesn't have CRM or pipeline functionality built into it, you'll need to find a platform to connect with it.
Learn about choosing a CRM here: 9 Best Free CRM Software to Improve Sales & Business Growth.
Once you have identified a suitable CRM, you'll need to create a sales pipeline with appropriate stages for your sales process.
(Source)
The typical sales pipeline stages look something like this:
|
Prospecting |
The sales rep is gathering contact details and determining the initial fit. |
|
Qualifying |
The sales rep assesses the lead or account against qualification criteria to understand whether it is viable to proceed with the sales conversation. |
|
Initial meeting |
The sales rep conducts a meeting with the client to understand needs and to present the initial benefits of working together. |
|
Define needs |
The sales rep understands the customer's needs and identifies product solutions that fit. |
|
Proposal |
Sales rep proposes a set of products or services that serve the customer's needs, with relevant pricing. |
|
Negotiation |
Often, there is a period of negotiation between the buyer and seller, which may be price or service-related. |
|
Closed/won |
Deals that have been successfully completed. |
|
Closed/won |
Deals that didn't become sales for whatever reason. |
In your CRM, it should look something like this:
(Source)
New to sales pipelines? Check out our comprehensive guide: How to Build a Sales Pipeline [Step-By-Step Guide].
With our sales CRM and pipeline set up, it's time to bring our customer data over.
The process for this will depend largely on how you've been managing customer information previously.
If you've been using another system, you may be able to import directly, or you may need to export to a CSV file.
If you've been using a spreadsheet, you should be able to import this directly into your CRM, though be sure to set up the column headers appropriately (follow your CRM's instructions).
If you've been using some other system (like a physical notebook), then you're gonna have to do this stage manually.
Next, we need to create a schedule for customer visits.
Start by determining how often you need to visit each client, and for how long. For example, you might choose to schedule 30-minute appointments with each customer once a month.
Map this out over the month, and make sure to leave space for activities such as:
A quick note on preparing your engagement cadence and scheduling activities:
Prepare to run behind (things happen) by adding space on our calendar for catch-up time.
Consider adding a couple of hours for this each week, and leave an entire day free each month as a placeholder for client meetings you've missed during the month.
With our rough plan created, we're going to plug all of these activities into our sales tracking app.
This allows us to work directly from the sales tracking system, rather than referring to a different system or planner to map our days out.
Schedule the various activities in your calendar, and assign them to the accounts in your CRM.
You'll then be able to check these activities off as you move through the month, which will enhance your ability to report on sales performance.
At each customer appointment, use your GPS sales rep tracking tool to check-in at the customer location.
This keeps your system updated with timestamped visits, and will provide accurate data to draw insights from (such as average visit length, or improved travel route insights).
One of the major benefits of a mobile sales rep tracking tool is the ability to keep your system up to date when on the road.
To take full advantage of this benefit, make sure to spend a few minutes in the car after each meeting, updating any customer data or adding notes about the conversation you've just had.
You'll be able to use this information as a recap next time you check in with the customer.
Schedule some time at the end of each month to review your performance reports and check metrics against goals.
You may be able to identify opportunities to be more efficient.
For example, you might find that you regularly spend twice as long with one client as you do on average, but this client isn't actually generating any more revenue for your company.
Sales rep tracking apps often include some form of automation functionality, which allows you to outsource mundane, repetitive tasks to the system itself.
For example, if you want to send a reminder email a day before each appointment, you can set your sales software to send this automatically based on a templated email you create.
What is Spotio?
Spotio is a sales engagement and productivity tool for field sales reps. It offers a number of features, including GPS sales rep tracking.
(Source)
Spotio top 5 features
Key features of Spotio include:
What tools does Spotio integrate with?
Spotio integrates with a number of popular CRMs and productivity tools including:
Spotio pricing and plans
Spotio offers four plans: Team, Business, Pro, and Enterprise.
Pricing for each plan is hidden behind a sales demo, so you'll have to book with a sales rep to find out.
Who is Spotio best for?
Spotio is best for distributed field sales teams with multiple territories.
What is AllGeo?
AllGeo is a suite of apps designed for field service agents.
(Source)
AllGeo top 5 features
Key features of AllGeo include:
What tools does AllGeo integrate with?
AllGeo doesn't have any native integrations with other apps. Rather, AllGeo has a Zapier integration, which allows companies to create custom integrations between AllGeo and other tools with Zapier as a middleman.
AllGeo pricing and plans
AllGeo's pricing model is quite complex.
Your monthly cost is based on the number of users/devices you have, as well as the specific features and apps you choose to add on.
(Source)
Note: Pricing as of November 21, 2021.
Who is AllGeo best for?
AllGeo is primarily designed for construction and industrial applications.
What is SalesRabbit?
SalesRabbit is an all-in-one sales enablement, mobile CRM, and GPS sales rep tracking tool for outside sales reps.
(Source)
SalesRabbit top 5 features
Key SalesRabbit features include:
What tools does SalesRabbit integrate with?
SalesRabbit has a huge integration stack.
Some of the more notable platforms they integrate with include:
SalesRabbit pricing and plans
SalesRabbit offers a number of different packages and plans.
The most comprehensive is their Essentials plan at $66 per user, per month, which gives you access to SalesRabbit Pro, DataGrid AI insights, and the Digital Contracts app.
Users can then add on products such as an outside sales team learning platform and direct lead generation.
Note: Pricing as of November 21, 2021.
Who is SalesRabbit best for?
SalesRabbit is suitable for outside sales agents of all kinds, but their sales leads product is aimed at the real estate and restoration/construction industries.
What is Outfield?
Outfield is a mobile sales app and CRM platform for field agents.
Outfield top 5 features
Key features of Outfield include:
What tools does Outfield integrate with?
Outfield integrates with 12 tools in total:
Outfield pricing and plans
Outfield has a number of different plans for companies and individuals, but you'll need to discuss pricing with them directly.
Who is Outfield best for?
Outfield is suitable for the majority of field sales applications.
|
Spotio |
AllGeo |
SalesRabbit |
Outfield |
|
|
Top 5 features |
GPS tracking, Task automation, Territory management, Sales intelligence, Drip campaigns |
Time clock, Load tracking, Mileage, Location-tracking, Custom workflows |
Lead management, Forms and contracts, Presentation tools, Sales qualification assistance, Lead generation data |
Route planning, Territory management, Account mapping, Sales gamification, Market research |
|
Integrations |
3/5 |
1/5 |
5/5 |
4/5 |
|
Pricing |
Unknown |
From $5 per user, per month |
Essentials plan $66 per user, per month, plus add-ons |
Unknown |
|
Best for |
Distributed field sales teams with multiple territories. |
Construction and industrial applications. |
Suitable for outside sales agents of all kinds, but their sales leads product is aimed at the real estate and restoration/construction industries. |
Suitable for the majority of field sales applications. |
Note: Pricing as of November 21, 2021.
For outside sales teams, sales rep tracking tools are a no-brainer.
They help leaders establish more accountability in their teams, report more effectively on sales activity, and process expense reimbursements more accurately.
Of course, the software system is only one-half of the recipe for sales success. The rest comes from a solid set of internal processes.
Get more sales tips and insights on our blog to locate the remaining ingredients.