One of the most common questions I hear from sales managers is:
“What is one of the best ways my sales reps can manage their day more efficiently by using Salesforce.com (SFDC)?”
Pulling reports? Probably not. That’s why there are analysts and dashboards. Report pulling is helpful, but not always on a daily basis and not for the average sales rep.
Creating more more more dashboards? Sometimes less is more, especially with efficiency in database maneuvering.
Creating automation? Not directly. Administrators set up automation to run behind-the-scenes.
Learning the database structure inside and out? Well, that’s a full-time job in itself; sales should focus on selling.
Giving them administrative access? Nope.
My answer: “Creating List Views” (after basic training on how to use SFDC). Views are simple, fast and visible to any sales rep who has access to the information. We can find list views by clicking on a tab in SFDC. If you click on the accounts tab, there is a drop-down that says View where you select what set of data to display from accounts.
SFDC makes the process of creating and editing list views seamless by giving you 3 basic steps each time:
Name the view
Filter your info with criteria
Choose your displayed info
SFDC made this a winning feature with inline editing. Inline editing allows a sales rep to mass-update the same field for many records in a list view in one quick sweep. For example, if a sales rep just finished calling 50 contacts in a view and wishes to update “status” on all their contact pages to a new value, he or she mass-selects all contacts in the view and changes the status to the new value.
How does this enable salespeople to become more efficient? They:
Need not wait on the boss or administrator to pull a report.
Manage call/prospecting lists from views.
Filter call lists by marketing campaigns (if needed) all in the same place.
See touchpoints for each person quickly.
Manage and clean their info quickly because of the ability to inline edit.
Easily locate data mistakes and incorrect information.
Sort by follow-up and activity dates.
Part of sales enablement is not only utilization and understanding but ownership. Salesforce empowers sales reps when they are able to create their own views, manage their contacts (and data), and become efficient in their daily tasks. So, by changing the point of view you transfer ownership and therefore enable the sales team.
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