The internet has transformed the sales world, leading to new opportunities in direct sales, multi-level marketing and beyond. This has led to a sales landscape that is rapidly evolving as technology advances at a startling pace. But today’s sales teams face a number of challenges, particularly since many are separated by geographical distances—distances that make it difficult to operate effectively as a team. However, sales apps can bridge the gaps, serving as valuable tools that allow sales teams to achieve remarkable success.
So what can a custom-built sales team mobile app do for your business? Consider the following tips, and remember that each team is unique, so there’s no one-size-fits-all formula. You may find that many of these features and functionalities could be suitable for your exact requirements. An experienced developer can work with you to identify your team’s needs; then, they can craft a customized application to suit.
Sales Apps Create a Sense of Unity
It’s difficult to feel connected as a sales team when your members are scattered across the continent. This is the case for virtual sales teams or teams that travel frequently. As a result, members may never develop a true sense of unity. What’s more, they often fail to enjoy the benefits associated with being part of a team, such as being able to offer support and advice.
A mobile app can help your sales team by serving as a wonderful (and portable) social platform where team members can gather and connect. Team members can form and maintain friendships, share experiences, ask for advice and provide encouragement. The net effect is a stronger team that’s more likely to perform well.
Sales Apps Can Encourage Friendly Competition
A bit of friendly competition can go a long way, driving you to achieve your goals and objectives, and a mobile app can elevate your group by creating a sense of competitiveness. Your sales team app could include a visual chart or a gamification element that tracks each team member’s sales figures. Psychologically, this drives success because nobody wants to be the person with the fewest sales. The level of competitiveness can be ramped up by offering a special distinction or reward to the winner.
This environment of friendly competition is quite effective for increasing sales. A talented app developer can also include game-like elements (such as levels to reach or badges to earn) to make this portion of your app fun and engaging.
Sales Apps Can Provide Real-time Reporting
A sales app can be the ideal portal for enhanced, real-time goal tracking and reporting. Arming your sales team members with accurate, up-to-date information can also allow for more effective decision-making and goal-setting, particularly when individuals are out in the field or traveling.
Your mobile app developer can configure your sales app to pull information from one or more databases. That information can then be displayed in graphs, charts and other forms that are easy to understand and process. It’s also possible to integrate a predictive analytics engine, which can analyze the current data and trends, then offer recommendations or projections for the future.
Apps Provide an Easy Communications Platform
Many sales teams lack an effective, user-friendly communications platform. But once your app developer understands your unique needs, they can integrate features that will facilitate better communication, such as:
- An instant messaging system
- A forum
- A group chat/conference calling feature that allows for typing, voice and video
- A walkie-talkie functionality
- A message wall for each member, where team members can post messages that are visible to the group
These communication tools can go a long way toward cultivating a sense of camaraderie and teamwork, while also ensuring greater sales efficiency.
Sales Mobile Apps Can Host Marketing Materials
Most sales teams leverage a defined set of resources, such as product information sheets, graphics, presentation slides and forms. Without an app, each sales rep is tasked with independently securing and maintaining those critical materials.
But if you develop a sales team mobile app, you can easily stow and share sales materials, resources, presentation slides, images and anything else you may need. Accessing these items is as simple as launching an app on your mobile device. Since the resources are hosted in the app’s database, there’s no need to worry about how much storage space is available on your smartphone or tablet.
Your developer can configure your app so presentations can be launched with a finger swipe, forms can be emailed in seconds and new materials can be shared with the entire team instantaneously.
Sales Team Apps Can Distribute Information
A mobile app can be used to send updates, news and alerts to all team members in an instant. Your developer can even include a feature that allows leaders to see precisely who has viewed a given alert. This information can enable the team leader to take additional action, such as making a phone call, in cases where the information is time-sensitive.
The sky is the limit when it comes to developing a sales team or MLM mobile app. For example, if your sales team is comprised primarily of women who go door-to-door, your group may have some very real safety concerns. Therefore, your team’s app might include a panic button of sorts, something that could enable the sales professional to covertly summon help to their location. If you can conceive of a functionality or feature, there’s a good chance it can be implemented—provided you have the right developer. That’s precisely where 7T’s development team can help.
If you’re ready to build a mobile app for your sales and marketing team, you’ll need a development team that’s ready to take on the challenge by architecting features and functions to suit your precise needs. At 7T, we focus on some of the most rapidly-advancing areas of technology, such as augmented reality, artificial intelligence and predictive analytics. This puts us in the perfect position to implement one or more of these technologies in your app for a truly innovative interface.
Headquartered in Dallas, 7T also has regional offices in Austin and Houston, but our clientele extends throughout the United States. If you’re ready to start the mobile app development process, contact the team at 7T today.
