selling more with mobile solutions

7/31/2019 Selling More With Mobile Solutions

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Selling More withMobile SolutionsBuilding the right strategy,innovation agenda and salesrepresentative experience


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Page 2 | Selling More with Mobile Solutions

As consumer behaviors and preferences dictate enterprise technologytrends in unprecedented fashion, companies of all shapes and sizes arestruggling with how to effectively enable their sales teams with mobilesolutions. The challenges that must be overcome by sales leaders and CIOsalike are threefold: defining a proactive strategy before it is defined bysales representative behavior, continuously innovating by exploiting thenewest capabilities of mobile technology, and committing to developinga distinctive sales representative and customer experience. The key toaddressing these challenges lies in taking a disciplined approach to mobility.The upside for capitalizing on this opportunity is significant.


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The explosion of mobile devices,the increasingly improving wirelessnetwork capabilities, and theadoption of cloud technologiesin the enterprise have resulted ineasy-to-provision and easy-to-usemobile sales tools. In organizationseverywhere, sales professionalsare writing the mobile strategy, byself-selecting sales tools onto theircompany-owned and personal mobiledevices. While well intentioned,these sales representatives areoften making decisions based onpersonal preference, without regardfor company security, data rights,process consistency and total costof ownership. High performingorganizations will need to movequickly in defining a strategy thatkeeps pace with these trends.

Fueling the behavior is the rateat which mobile and cloud-basedCRM technologies are evolving.With smart phones getting smarter,tablets becoming ubiquitous andCRM vendors releasing quarterlyenhancements, there is an insatiabledemand for new and improvedcapabilities. The shiny objectsyndrome of mobility is here to stay,at least for the foreseeable future.High performing organizations willneed to show sales representativesa committed path to mobilityimprovements to quell the demandand they will need to keep theirpromise. At the same time, theseorganizations will need to createa deliberate and well-plannedapproach that exploits the newestinnovations in mobility to solvepressing business challenges.

Perhaps the most importantchallenge to overcome with mobile

sales solutions is the developmentof a distinctive experience for boththe sales representative and thecustomer that can be proven by

measurable business value. Simplytransitioning standard sales forceautomation functionality to mobiledevices underutilizes the technoloand by-passes the real potentialof mobility. For every basic salesautomation capabilityaccountmanagement, contact managementpipeline management, activitymanagement and forecastingsuccessful mobile solutions can heimprove the workflow of the salesprofessional.

The opportunity for the organizatio

that effectively capitalize on thisgrowing trend is important. Highperforming organizations will usemobility to increase deal size,decrease sales cycle timelines andprofitably improve sales activity.Additional benefits will include salrepresentative satisfaction andreduced attrition, improved customexperience, and unprecedented

transparency, traceability andpredictability for company executiv


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Figure 1: Sales forces are using tablets more frequently but without defined policies.

Source: CSO Insights 2012

What percentage of your sales force iscurrently using tablet devices to supporttheir sales activities?

Which of the following statements bestdescribes your companys policy towardtablet device usage in sales?

Recognizing employee preferencefor mobile devices, organizations areexploring initiatives using smart phones,and increasingly tablets, to achieve coreobjectives such as improving productivityor mobile-enabling sales representatives.The introduction of the Apple iPad in 2010further spurred this activity, adding to thequestion about how tablet devices wouldbe used for business transactions. Nowthe answer is emerging: tablets are quickly

becoming the de-facto enablement devicefor mobile workforces. Gartner corroboratesthis by predicting that by 2014 as manyas 20 percent of sales organizations willconsider tablets to be the primary mobileplatform for their sales forces.1

The Mobile-Enabled Sales Professionalis the New Normal

As further substantiation, according tothe CSO Insights 2012 Sales PerformancOptimization Study, which is sponsored Accenture, 97 percent of firms are activeusing or starting to use tablet devices intheir sales organization.2 (See Figure 1.) Tnumber has increased significantly sinceonly one year ago, when only 45 percentof survey respondents had provided theisales forces with mobile-enabled salescapabilities.3 However, nearly half of the

organizations surveyed in 2012 do notyet have a formal program around tabletusage.4 (See Figure 1.)

75%12.5%


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Innovations in SalesExploiting the CuttingEdge of Mobility

Improved representativeeffectivenessOne leading company isconsidering leveraging location-based services to notify salesrepresentative when they are nearan account where they owe afollow up. Driving more timely andconsistent follow through can lift

the performance of the sales teams,increase customer satisfaction andhelp to improve sales.

New levels of flexibilityA leading global pharmaceuticalcompany is redesigning itstraditional sales tools for tabletdevices to create new levels of role and geographic flexibility.By disaggregating the individualfunctions into smaller, bite-sizedfunctions, the company can use onecommon sales force automationplatform to deploy differentcombinations of sales forcetools to different types of salesrepresentatives across the globe.

Locating nearby opportunitiesA leading telecommunicationscompany is taking advantageof location-based services on

Apple iPads to show nearbyopportunities and unclaimedleads. With this information inhand, representatives can takeadvantage of downtime betweensales calls to prospect qualifiedleads that are in close proximity.

Remote presenceSeveral high-tech companiesare exploiting the connectivityand rich media capabilities of tablets by implementing live videoconferencing to enable their salesrepresentatives to bring remotesubject matter specialists directlyinto the customer conversation.In this case, mobility is makingit possible for the salesrepresentative to deliver answersat the point of need and minimizefollow-up work.

Richer customer dialogueA number of companies areexploring ways to make salesrepresentatives conversationsmore interactive and engagingby using a tablets touch screen

capabilities to deliver content.For example, the instant-on capabilities of the AppleiPad make it easier for sales

representatives to launch quicklinto customer presentations.In addition, tablets can deliverrich, interactive media based oncustomers preferences as theyselect content that is directlyrelevant to them. This mightinclude collaboratively buildingcustomers quote or proposal in

real time, or viewing a customerorder history to answer questionduring the meeting.

Real-time order placementAn organization is enhancingthe use of its existing enterprisesystems by building a front-faciordering application for the AppiPad. The application leverages

the 24x7 connectivity of tabletsand allows sales representativesto place a customer orderimmediately after making thesale. This makes it possible for organization to realize revenuemore quickly and allows the salrepresentative to confirm orderswith customers on the spot.


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Figure 2: The introduction of tablets is changing computing behavior.Mobile devices will be a part of a long-termsales enablement strategy. To effectivelyenable sales team with mobile solutions,sales leaders and their technology partnershave their work cut out for them.

Define a proactive strategyto meet the opportunity,and equally the challenge, of quick user adoptionHow do companies balance strategy withspeed? In the past, organizations deploying

new, application-centric technologiesto the sales team typically have beenchallenged with mediocre user adoption.Tablets, however, with their unique user-friendly nature, are bucking this trend; thehardware is promoting adoption of once-scorned CRM software, and altering howsales representatives divide their work time.As shown in Figure 2, a Gartner study of alarge sales force found that representativeswere spending 20 percent more computingtime per day when they used a tablet, asmart phone and a laptop, as opposed to asmart phone and laptop alone, to executethe same or similar activities.5

This preference for tablets bodes well fororganizations, giving them the opportunityto drive higher sales process andmethodology adoption rates for sales forcesdeploying mobile sales force automation.Higher adoption of these tools can resultin more consistent sales processes,increased sales productivity, and improvedpredictability and management insights.These are the potential benefits that salestools should drive, but today often fail todo so given low user adoption.

Rising to the Challenge

3.5 hrs./day

Laptop

Device

Laptop

Smartphone

An example:

As reported by mobiles sales force workers.

Sessions

7

26

Duration

24.0 minutes

1.5 minutes

Tablet

4.2 hrs./day

SmartphoneLaptop Smartphone

Device

Laptop

Tablet

Smartphone

Sessions

4

12

19

Duration

36.0 minutes

7.0 minutes

1.2 minutes

However, the rapid pace of adoptionalso poses a challenge for sales andsales operations leaders. According torecent research by Morgan Stanley, salesrepresentatives are increasingly using theirown tablets to access sales tools, storecustomer and account information, andmanage sales activitiesand it is happening

quickly.6

(See Figure 3.) In many cases, salesorganizations do not have line of sight orcontrol of this activity. Instead, sales teamsare defining the mobility strategy organically.

Source: Gartner, June 2011


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Figure 3: The number of employee-owned tablets used in the enterprise doubled inone year.

CIOs Surveyed on Tablet Usage

Not Allowed

n examp e:

Employee-owned Purchased for employees

33% 16% 51%

71% 8% 21%

Without an intentional and well-plannedstrategy, this Wild West approach tomobile device usage can create issues for

both the sales and technology teams toovercome. These issues include:

Adoption rates for the sales tools mightclimb, but utilization of importantaspects such as activity managementmay plummet, with sales representativescapturing and managing their activities,follow-up, and notes on their independentsmart phone or tablet applications.

With the availability and ease ofinstallation of small, independent mobilesales applications, representatives mayeven download other sales productivitytools, creating an uncontrolled plethoraof tools being used by representativesacross the organization.

With customer data being accessed andstored on mobile devices at the edgeof the network, information security

issues can put organizations at risk if unsecured devices are lost, stolen or usedimproperlygiving rise to possible legaland other risks.

To help mitigate these potential risks, salesorganizations should take control of theirmobile strategy by defining a deliberateplan, and working closely with technologyand information security counterparts.These risks are possible to overcomeand should promote, rather than stifle,

innovation. Additional device questionsto answer include: Who will own thedevicethe organization or the individualsales representative? How can companiesverify mobile devices are both accessible

and connected in emerging markets?What happens when a sales representativleaves the company? How do organizatio

deliver a consistent experience torepresentatives, regardless of their chosedevice? Should companies standardizeon a single platform or allow many? Higperforming organizations have answeredthese questions as part of an enterprisemobile technology strategy, collaboratingwith sales leadership and CIOs to lead tosuccessful path forward.

Source: Morgan Stanley, 2011


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Figure 4: CRM implementations do not always deliver desired results.Continuous innovationdefines the winnersThe rate at which tablet devices, cloudcomputing and social media are evolving

represents a new paradigm. In response,high performers commit and undertake anagenda of continuous improvement, and optfor speed and agility over completeness andperfection. The best companies recognizethat technology is stale almost from themoment it is launched, and that salesrepresentatives behaviors are changing atan unprecedented pace. These organizationschoose to embrace the challenge and focuson a promise of ongoing, rapid innovation.(See sidebar entitled Innovations in Sales

Exploiting the Cutting Edge of Mobility forexamples of how companies are pursuingmobility sales solutions.)

Organizations can help enable this newapproach to sales by maintaining arelentless focus on what is new aboutmobility for today, and by staying aheadof the curve for what the future holds. Keyaspects of this innovation agenda include:

Bring innovation for todayIt would be unproductive for organizationsto simply re-enable sales representativeswith current sales force automationfunctionality and stop there, but it istempting for companies to do this bypiloting mobile devices without exploitingany of the leading-edge features thatmobility has to offer. These efforts fallshort of expected return on investment,while burdening the sales force withadditional tasks and unwieldy tools that donot drive results.

Case in point, implementing new CRM toolswas a top priority initiative for more than40 percent of chief sales officers surveyedfor CSO Insights 2012. Unfortunately,only 17 percent of respondents indicatedthat previous CRM implementations hadimproved win rates and only slightly more

What measurable improvements in performance are you seeing as a result of implementing your CRM system?

Improved Sales Rep/Manager Communications

Improved Forecast Accuracy

Reduced Administrative Burden on Sales

Reduced New Sales Rep Ramp-up Time

Improved Support of Channels

Improved Best Practices Sharing

Improved Order Processing Accuracy

Improved Win Rates

Other

Increased Revenues

Shortened Sell Cycles

Increased Margins

57.4%

47.1%

35.3%

22.8%

19.9%

19.1%

17.6%

16.9%

15.4%

15.4%

11.8%

3.7%

than 15 percent responded that theseimplementations resulted in increasedrevenues.7 (See Figure 4.)

Investing in re-enabling sales forcefunctionality on a tablet device canbe exciting and is often justified withsofter benefits such as convenience,connectedness and portability. However,mobility technology brings some trulynew capabilities such as location-basedservices, 24x7 connectivity, richer andmore interactive media presentation, andemerging technologies like QR codes andnear-field communications. High performingcompanies will figure out ways to exploitthese capabilities in order to solve their mostimportant business challenges.

Continue innovation for tomorrowThere are many new capabilities on thehorizon for mobility that will continue todrive change in how sales organizations wuse mobile tools. For example, near-fieldcommunications will allow mobile devicto physically pass information between eaother. In the future, consumers may see aadvertisement for a product and touch it

with their phone, generating a real-time,hot lead sent immediately to the nearessales representative based on the locationdetermined by their mobile device.

Source: CSO Insights 2012


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Why Sales RepresentativesTypically Hate their SalesTools

More often than not, salesrepresentatives consider theirsales force automation toolsto be a burden. Why? Businessauthor and thought leader TammyErickson has some possibleanswers in her Harvard BusinessReview post that examines whyorganizations may fail to getemployees to adopt social mediatools: Often we are instructed to

use it by someone in authority,rather than invited by friends.

Little of what we actually getpaid to do (or believe we getpaid to do) requires informationor input from the vast majorityof other people on the network.

Participation feels like droppingpearls into a black hole. Thereis often no sense of gettingsomething in return for sharingan idea or suggestion.

We have no control over whosees our information and littleidea what they are doing with it.

The site is unattractive andrequires a manual to get started.

The software is generic andrequires a work-around to do

the specific things we wouldreally like to do.8

These adoption issues runparallel to the reasons why salesrepresentatives often do notlike to use sales tools built bythe sales organization. Whenimplementing mobile sales tools,organizations can avoid these

pitfalls by providing value directlyto sales representatives at everyinteraction with the sales tool.


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These kinds of innovations will driveappreciable new opportunities for salesorganizations. Leading organizations willnot only exploit what is new about mobilitynow, but will also build a culture and process

that encourages continuous and iterativeinnovation as the technology develops.

Commit to a distinctive, value-led experienceTo help improve sales effectiveness throughmobility, sales organizations need tofocus on creating a unique and productiveexperience for sales representatives thatdirectly improves their workflow, while alsoadding value to the customer dialogue andinteraction. Developing this distinctive,value-led experience for both sides canresult in immediate and long-term payoffsas companies will be able to sell moreprofitably in a shorter amount of time.Achieving this dual purpose with mobilityrequires sales executives to:

Ensure sales tools provide clear valuedirectly to the sales representativeMany organizations have deployed CRM

solutions with the intent to collectinformation from the sales tools, andprovide business insight to executive-level management and headquarterprocesses. Information collected from thesales force is often used to drive moreaccurate pipelines and forecasting, providebetter customer and offering insightsfor marketing, or round out activity andperformance management data.

Unfortunately, this approach has adownside: low adoption of the CRM toolsby the sales force, as they see thesetools as only data capture avenues formanagement. (See sidebar entitled Why

Sales Representatives Typically Hate theirSales Tools.) To reduce this risk, somecompanies have made sales representativeadoption metrics part of the performancemanagement process. However, using thestick instead of the carrot typically hasfailed to yield the benefit sought by eitherthe organization or an individual salesrepresentative.

High performing organizations will takea different route and focus on how their

mobile sales force automation toolscan provide direct value to the salesrepresentatives themselves. For every inputsales representatives are asked to provide,they should get a useful and tangibleoutput from the sales tool. For example, if recording a follow-up task for a customerenabled the mobile device to alert arepresentative when near an account withan overdue task, the representative wouldbe more likely to use the task functionality.Providing this distinctive sales representative

experience is an important piece of aneffective mobility sales program.

Enrich the customer experienceWe often hear that sales representativescan be accused of talking too much, andnot spending enough time understandingcustomer issues and business needs. Aninteractive mobile platform can help thesales representative follow a balancedapproach of assessing a customers needs,and presenting the features and potentialbenefits of an offering.

The rich media and real-time connectivitcapabilities of mobile devices help salesrepresentatives to use the mobile deviceas the facilitator to the conversation.Representatives can use a tablet together

with the customer to configure solutionsin real time, review pricing optionsand capture signatures to close deals.In addition, they can leverage videotechnology to include remote participantwho may offer specific experience.And with a constant connection tothe underlying CRM systems, salesrepresentatives can also answer questionabout cases or order status in real time.

For the broader sales organization, an

Internet-connected mobile device caninstantly aggregate data across multiplesales conversations to help companiesidentify best practices, refine salesprocesses and methodologies, or reviewmarketing content and overall go-to-market strategies. Organizations can alsocollect voice-of-the-customer data fromhow the customer is actually interactingwith the sales representative and themobile device, rather than gathering itanecdotally from the sales representative


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Many organizations find themselvesenamored with mobility. They want totry the shiny new object and jump intosmart phone and tablet pilots, or fullimplementations, without adequatelydefining the purpose and proceeding withdiscipline to deliver value.

Focusing on the following success factorsto plan and implement a mobility strategywill help organizations to successfullydeliver a distinctive experience withtangible business value:

Enable process withtechnology to help achievestrategic objectivesAs Gary W. Loveman of the HarvardBusiness School aptly observed: Gainscome not because of technology, butbecause it supports breakthrough ideasin business process. This axiom servestrue with mobility; deploying tabletsalone will not improve sales execution,

which Accenture defines as the planning,design and implementation of sellingmethods, sales and sales supportingprocesses,enabled with appropriate sellingtools. Determining where mobility fitsinto the overall sales execution approachis a critical component for achievingmeasurable results.

Organizations can begin their mobilityinitiative by establishing a strategy witha clear definition of the targeted benefits

and a focus on overcoming the challengesoutlined above. Sales leadership shouldhave a crisp understanding of which mobilecapabilities will be truly new, and howthese capabilities will deliver value bothacross the enterprise and to individual salesrepresentatives.

Take a Disciplined Approach to Mobility

Integrate with current CRM

toolsIf new mobile tools are deployed tothe sales force without investing inintegration with current CRM tools, thesales representative experience will fail tomeet expectations. This lack of integrationcan result in lower mobile tool utilization,which will limit the value gained and seta perception among the sales force thatcan be difficult to overcome in subsequentefforts.

Ensuring that mobile tools fit into aseamless sales representative experienceis critical to the potential success of anymobile sales enablement initiative expectedto deliver tangible outcomes. To do this,organizations will need to understand themobile strategy and roadmap of the salesforce automation vendor that will be used.In some cases, an off-the-shelf solution willmeet the core needs of the sales force andcan be fully integrated with other tools.However, there will likely be differencesin timing as well as role- or function-specific needs for which companies willhave to build custom tools. In these cases,organizations should factor integrationefforts into the solution plan.


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Page 14 |Selling More with Mobile Solutions

Mobile solutions have the potential tocreate dramatic benefits for a salesorganization. Effectively planning andthen executing a strategy that is focusedon the sales representative and customerexperience, through alignment with existprocess, methodologies and technology, critical to help drive success.

As smartphones and tablets evolve,CRM and cloud technologies becomemore powerful, and consumer behaviorscontinue to drive enterprise innovation, topportunity for defining a mobile-enablesales strategy has never been greater.

Summary


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References1 Gartner, iPads: Customer-Facing SellingWill Drive iPad Use for Sales, May 20,2011, by Robert P. Desisto, ID: G00213136.

2 CSO Insights 2012 Sales PerformanceOptimization Study



5 Gartner, Enterprise Applications forTablets, June 13, 2011, by Scott D. Nelsonand David A. Willis, ID: G00214074

6 Morgan Stanley, Tablet Demand andDisruption, February 14, 2011


8 Harvard Business Review, HBR BlogNetwork, Why We Use Social Media inOur Personal LivesBut Not for Work,February 16, 2012, by Tamara J. Erickson

Contact Us:For more information about the AccentureSales Mobility offering and how Accenturecan help your organization improve saleswith mobility, visit Accenture.com orcontact:

Yusuf TayobPartner, Accenture Sales Execution [email protected]

Ray PressburgerAccenture Sales Mobility Offering Lead [email protected]


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About the Accenture SalesMobility OfferingThe Accenture Sales Mobility offeringprovides clients with a good perspectiveon where to focus sales mobility efforts tohelp to maximize value and solve the salesorganizations challenges. We have an arrayof assets, including:

Pre-designed sales mobility solutions Mobile sales effectiveness framework Collaborations with sales force

automation providers.

The Accenture Sales Mobility offering isbacked by the CRM and sales enablementexperience of Accentures global SalesTransformation and Mobility Servicespractices.

About the Accenture SalesTransformation PracticeThe Accenture Sales TransformationPractice helps sales executives improvesales performance by realigning strategicresources, managing sales force behavior,harnessing sales talent and enhancing

operating capabilities. We help companiesimprove outcomes across a widespectrumsuch as refocusing from salesvolume to sales margin, shifting fromselling products to selling solutions, andcreating efficiencies in the sales cycle to drive change in leading indicators of improved revenue.

About Accenture MobilityServicesAccenture is focused on helping its clientsto achieve breakthrough growth throughoutthe rapidly changing mobile ecosystem. TheAccenture Mobility Services group offersfive mobility services including consulting,software servicesapplications, softwareservices devices and platforms, managedservices, and business integration services.These are designed to help organizationsembrace business to employee (B2E),business to consumer (B2C), business tobusiness (B2B) and machine to machine(M2M) business opportunities. Accentureoffers mobility and embedded softwareservices across a wide range of industries,devices and platforms, including Symbian,Microsoft Windows Mobile, WindowsPhone, Android, Blackberry, iPhone,Java, Linux and MeeGo.

About AccentureAccenture is a global managementconsulting, technology services andoutsourcing company, with more than246,000 people serving clients in morethan 120 countries. Combining unparalleledexperience, comprehensive capabilities

across all industries and business functions,and extensive research on the worldsmost successful companies, Accenturecollaborates with clients to help thembecome high-performance businesses andgovernments. The company generated netrevenues of US$25.5 billion for the fiscalyear ended Aug. 31, 2011. Its home page iswww.accenture.com.

Copyright 2012 AccentureAll rights reserved.

Accenture, its logo, andHigh Performance Deliveredare trademarks of Accenture.

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