How field sales teams can juggle meetings and demos more effectively

Field sales teams have a lot to juggle. Field sales agents and account managers are juggling meeting with new potential clients at the same time as looking after long-term accounts.

At the same time, field sales teams are usually handling inbound leads within their territory.

Speed and efficiency is everything, when you’ve got warm inbound leads coming in. According to a Harvard Business Review study, leads that were contacted within 60 minutes of an inbound enquiry were “seven times likelier to have meaningful conversations with decision makers than those who waited just an hour longer.”

Why efficiency is needed when juggling inbound leads?

Companies that require a geographic presence face more challenges juggling inbound leads and in-person meetings. Leads have more ways they can get in contact than ever. Leads can come through websites, email, social media, and every so often a potential buyer will simply pick up the phone and call. Amazingly, people still make calls on those devices we all carry around!

B2B buyers value speed and efficiency. So, when a lead gets in contact, it means they’ve looked into your company and decided that you might provide a solution to a problem they are having. Now, the last thing most potential customers want is to wait.

Imagine in this scenario that you are the customer: you need something doing. It has a deadline. You try emailing or using an online form, or even sending a Tweet, to a few different potential suppliers. Who do you go with? The firm who got back to you straight away, gave a decent price, and seemed efficient and responsive, or the one that took five days?

Efficiency and responsiveness — depending on what you are buying — will often beat price and other concerns. Value is in the eye of the buyer. Price isn’t everything. In a fast-paced business environment, service is just as important.

For buyers, being able to say that a possible supplier/vendor was quick and efficient and provided a demo is a big plus when selling a new solution in a larger company.

As you can see — to ensure field sales teams succeed — working processes and tools need to be used to juggle inbound leads and manage meetings already in the calendar.

3 simple ways field sales teams can take more inbound lead calls

#1: More effective calendaring

Time is the most precious commodity in sales.

Field sales teams have different pressures too, because calls and emails still need to be dealt with, CRMs updated, and meetings taken. They could be looking at up to 5 in-person meetings per day, depending on targets and KPIs, and field sales execs need to drive between meetings.

Within that assortment of tasks, time for another call or even quick demo can be found. To achieve this, a salespersons calendar should be in an easy-to-access online format, using a tool such as HubSpot, for example.

Time for driving between meetings can be blocked out, alongside CRM update time, leaving room to handle inbound inquiries. Whether they are responsible for their own calendar, or an SDR team books appointments, inbound leads in their territory should have easy access to this diary — making it a two-click thing to book a quick call.

#2: More ways for leads/clients to get in contact

Every single channel is a chance for leads and accounts to get in contact.

Businesses need to make this as easy as possible. Are you maximizing every opportunity?

Review your company and professional social channels: Are there clickable links to book appointments/calls? What about your email footer?

If you use other channels to communicate with clients, such as Facebook Messenger, Slack, or WhatsApp Business, can they book a call or in-person meeting in a couple clicks?

#3: Use instant online demo software

For companies that deliver demos as part of the sales process, a field team needs an easy way to do this using a smartphone. Potential buyers want the same convenience.

This way, if a potential lead in any given territory wants an instant online demo, use of an app such as CrankWheel should make this as convenient as asking for a call and getting a phone call back within minutes.

When these prospects are inbound, you can be sure that they are interested and want to know more. When these are engaged within an hour, you increase the chances of having a meaningful conversation with a decision maker by 7x compared to waiting up to two hours.

Can you really afford to waste sales opportunities?