How businesses are losing their money with sales representatives?

‘Sales representatives are the lifeblood of revenue generation.’

Do you agree with it?

In the business world, sales representatives are provided significant importance for revenue generation. Yet, beneath the surface, many businesses unknowingly hemorrhage funds due to inefficiencies and mismanagement within their sales representative structure. 

In this blog, we will delve into the hidden costs and pitfalls that plague businesses reliant on traditional sales representative models. From ineffective training and high turnover rates to the huge expenses of commissions and incentives, this blog will explore various ways in which businesses squander their resources while chasing elusive sales targets. 

Who is a sales representative?

Do you also see someone requesting that you buy their product when they knock on your door wearing a black coat?

Yes, that’s a job as a sales representative but not the only job. A sales representative, also known as a sales executive, acts as the primary relationship between a company and its prospective customers converting leads into customers. Their main job is to find people who might be interested and explain how what the company sells can help them. They listen to what the person needs and suggest the best options, kind of like a personal shopper for, say, fancy gadgets or helpful software.

Sales representatives are also great at talking and building relationships. They answer questions, address concerns, and make sure the whole buying process is smooth and enjoyable. In some cases, they even negotiate deals to get the best price for the customer.

How businesses are losing their money with sales representatives?

Whenever you attend any business event, you connect with a lot of people, forming a lot of new connections. You collect contact information from potential leads, excited about the prospects of new business opportunities. 

But what happens next? 

Those paper business cards end up in a pile on your desk or stuffed into a drawer, forgotten and collecting dust. The next step involves manual data entry, transferring the information from each business card into an Excel spreadsheet or CRM system. This process is not only time-consuming but also prone to errors. Sales representatives spend valuable hours tediously inputting data instead of focusing on what really matters – closing deals and generating revenue. Leads quickly turn cold – not through any fault of the sales reps, but due to inefficient practices.

Here is how this process directly hurts your bottom line:

Wasted Time

 Sales reps spend hours upon hours manually inputting data from business cards into spreadsheets. This is time they could be devoting to engaging leads, building relationships, and making sales. With information scattered between cards and spreadsheets, it's incredibly difficult to track leads effectively. Delays in follow-up mean lost sales, as competitors likely reach warm leads faster.

Missed Opportunities

The longer it takes to follow up, the less likely a lead is to convert. Manual processes create a lag time during which potential customers lose interest or find alternate solutions. Spreadsheets don't provide the tools to easily analyze or segment leads. Without understanding lead demographics or interests, sales teams might waste effort on unqualified leads, losing out on truly valuable ones.

Inaccurate data

Typos, misspellings, and incorrect details are all too common in manual entry. This leads to bad email addresses, wrong phone numbers, and even misidentified job titles.If marketing and sales teams rely on faulty information in spreadsheets, their efforts are misdirected. This leads to campaigns that don't resonate with the right targets, wasted ad budgets, and overall poor strategies.

Opportunities Cost

Every minute spent on manual data entry is a minute that could have been allocated to more productive tasks, such as nurturing leads or conducting sales calls.

Resource allocation

Businesses invest in printing costs for business cards, as well as the purchase of software for data management. These expenses add up over time, contributing to the overall cost of lead management.

Grow your business with TapOnn

The age of paper business cards and messy spreadsheets is a model built on inefficiency.  The costs of these lost leads, wasted time, and missed opportunities add up quickly. Savvy businesses are turning to technologies that streamline and automate the lead management process from start to finish.

TapOnn is your one-stop solution for turning leads into loyal customers.  Here's how it empowers your business:

Instant Lead Capture

TapOnn digitizes business cards and more, making it simple for reps to gather lead data right at the point of contact.