Sales force automation, also referred to as field service management, is the latest trend that companies with a fairly good number of field force employees manage their staff with. Some of the ways you can use the tools include tracking and managing the field force include, field sales tracking, scheduling and dispatching workers, ensuring safety procedures are being followed, and managing the actual activity of field personnel. All of these aspects can then be incorporated with the management of other on-site aspects, such as billing, inventory control, and other employee systems. If proper field force management is not initiated, it can lead to customer disappointments, low productivity, and unnecessary fire-fighting scenarios.
Because there are so many variables in field sales tracking, many firms are turning to the cloud and sales force automation software to assist, track and guarantee that all processes are happening like clockwork. A typical sales force tracker system will comprise back-end software that may be accessed via mobile apps as well as computer devices. Cloud services provide massive volumes of data gathering and analysis, making field service management easier. Organizations can predict how long a service call will take, detect reoccurring issues, and establish the optimal route for field staff to take on their tasks by analysing data.
A cloud-based field sales tracking solution can help organizations with:
Intelligent scheduling: Using data analysis, the software can determine not only what field services are required, but also the optimal route for the field agent to take to get there. This enhances productivity and can help save time spent travelling. It can also assist in determining which staff is taking longer than planned to perform field service activities, allowing adequate training to be done to fix the issue.
Real-time tracking: Companies can use Field Assist Apps to track not just the inventory or product delivery, but also what sales staff is doing in real-time. Bill payments can be handled through the app. Any issues that recur can also be tracked and handled easily.
Improved customer satisfaction: Organizations can easily detect and rectify problems at the customer end and minimise the number of service requests with this software.
Enhanced communication: By combining back-end services with simple software for field workers, businesses and employees can communicate more readily about any concerns that arise in the field. Clients benefit from this improved communication since status updates can be sent out via push-notifications.
Reduction in time spent and costs: Organizations can reduce their capital expenditures and make it quick and easy for field employees to retrieve information by merging numerous tools and software suites into one cloud platform.
Can Whatsapp be used instead of a sales force automation tool?
WhatsApp is one of the most popular instant messaging tools available in the market. It is a free tool that can be downloaded for use. WhatsApp also launched a WhatsApp Business app, a free application which can be used by small business owners to communicate with their customers, share product updates, answer queries about their services etc. This became quite popular among small business owners. However, the question arises if it can be used to track and manage sales force personnel and offer the same experience as a sales force tracker tool. We have drawn up a comparison table between a field sales tracking tool such as Happisales and WhatsApp to find out which tool offers more benefits.
Comparison between WhatsApp and Happisales:
| Features | Happisales | ||
| Attendance tracking | |||
| Location-based | No | Yes | |
| Geo-fence restriction | No | Yes | |
| Shift-hour based | No | Yes | |
| Leave applications | Yes | Yes | |
| Approvals | Yes | Yes | |
| Leave balance | No | Yes | |
| Late attendance report | No | Yes | |
| Location Tracking | |||
| Real-time tracking | Yes | Yes | |
| Real-time route marking | No | Yes | |
| Alerts and Notifications | |||
| OTP authentication during a customer visit | Yes | Yes | |
| Real-time notifications | Yes | Yes | |
| Task management | |||
| Assigning tasks to field employees | No | Yes | |
| Ticket based task management | No | Yes | |
| Track tickets | No | Yes | |
| Location-based task management | No | Yes | |
| Users can add their own task | No | Yes | |
| Recurring tasks | No | Yes | |
| Location-based lead management | No | Yes | |
| Comprehensive Dashboard | No | Yes | |
| Invoice Management | No | Yes | |
| Cloud-based | No | Yes | |
| Expense Management | No | Yes | |
| Sales reporting | |||
| Location-based check-in/out | No | Yes | |
| Waiting time calculation | No | Yes | |
| Order management | Yes | Yes | |
| Product catalogue | Yes | Yes | |
| Reporting of device’s status of the battery, internet and, GPS | No | Yes | |
| Document attachment | Yes | Yes | |
| Photo upload | Yes | Yes | |
| Insights | |||
| Custom reports | No | Yes | |
| On-demand reports | No | Yes | |
| Downloadable reports | No | Yes | |
| Automated reports in email | No | Yes |
From this table, you can see for yourself the differences between the two tools. Happisales is clearly a superior and more complete platform that employees and management can use from anywhere. While WhatsApp is a popular messaging and communication tool, it cannot totally replace an extensive platform like Happisales. It can only be used for communication purposes and answering customer queries at the most.
WhatsApp cannot provide superior services that field force need to make their busy and tough lives simpler. It can probably be used as a support tool along with the main field force automation solution but it cannot totally replace it.
Now that you have made it till the end the post, we hope you are convinced about the multi-faceted field sales tracker tool, Happisales and would like to schedule a demo. Visit our website and get the tool customized for your organization today!