Sales Managers Save Gas Reduce Cost of Travel With Computerized Mapping and GPS
Sales Managers Save Gas Reduce Cost of Travel With Computerized Mapping and GPS
With today's higher costs of sales travel - planning efficient trips is more critical than ever before. Efficient travel means grouping sales calls that are close together in the same trip, calculating the most cost effective travel route, and reducing wasted miles travelled 'out of route' searching for the common business services needed while travelling on the road.
When trying to reduce the relentless increase in the cost of sales travel, it's like the old adage says: "Fail to plan, plan to fail". Today's computerized mapping software programs let sales reps import their customer and prospect lists into a detailed map right on their laptop, plotting individual accounts down to the street level. Because reps can assign unique pushpins to each class of prospect, they instantly see the quality of the prospect and it's location in relation to others in the area.
Reducing travel costs begins in the office, before the sales rep steps foot in a car or plane. With prospects plotted on a map, the rep can now make their calls and set up their sales travel so that they see as many prospects as possible in the same area. They use map analysis tools to find nearby prospects and schedule meetings that are close together, maximizing their time in front of prospects selling, instead of behind the windshield driving.
Knowing where key business services that sales reps rely on are on the road is also a cost saving benefit of laptop mapping. Reps can search for hotels, restaurants, copy centers and other sales travel oasis' that are on their route of travel between sales calls. Knowing where everything is before hand helps reduce wasted travel miles, and makes sales travel just a little bit easier.
Some mapping software applications allow for a GPS receiver to be plugged in to the laptop, providing turn by turn spoken directions that guide the rep right to their sales meeting. Having all prospects on the map, and being guided to their door helps the rep arrive on time, and relaxed - ready for the meeting.
Using laptop mapping and GPS to plan and execute more efficient trips, sales reps travel fewer miles, and may even save a return air or car trip to the sales area because they missed an opportunity while there. And of course, sales is about numbers - right? Using mapping tools to maximize the number of prospects seen on the trip means you can see more prospects - which results in more sales.
Because they reduce the cost of sales travel, and help increase sales, today's mapping software is a must have for every sales professional who covers a territory and calls on customers and prospects. There are several mapping software products available on the market today including Microsoft Streets & Trips 2008 (this is the one I train on), DeLorme's Street Atlas 2008 and ESRI's BusinessMAP 4.5. Check them out and increase your sales while reducing your cost of travel!
Sales Managers Save Gas Reduce Cost of Travel With Computerized Mapping and GPS - To learn more about this author, visit Keith O'Brien's Website.
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With the national average for a gallon of Gasoline above $4 and the cost of airfare rising, sales managers need to squeeze every bit of savings out of their travel expenses. At the same time, they must increase sales in a slower economy. Computerized mapping and GPS helps do both.
With today's higher costs of sales travel - planning efficient trips is more critical than ever before. Efficient travel means grouping sales calls that are close together in the same trip, calculating the most cost effective travel route, and reducing wasted miles travelled 'out of route' searching for the common business services needed while travelling on the road.
When trying to reduce the relentless increase in the cost of sales travel, it's like the old adage says: "Fail to plan, plan to fail". Today's computerized mapping software programs let sales reps import their customer and prospect lists into a detailed map right on their laptop, plotting individual accounts down to the street level. Because reps can assign unique pushpins to each class of prospect, they instantly see the quality of the prospect and it's location in relation to others in the area.
Reducing travel costs begins in the office, before the sales rep steps foot in a car or plane. With prospects plotted on a map, the rep can now make their calls and set up their sales travel so that they see as many prospects as possible in the same area. They use map analysis tools to find nearby prospects and schedule meetings that are close together, maximizing their time in front of prospects selling, instead of behind the windshield driving.
Knowing where key business services that sales reps rely on are on the road is also a cost saving benefit of laptop mapping. Reps can search for hotels, restaurants, copy centers and other sales travel oasis' that are on their route of travel between sales calls. Knowing where everything is before hand helps reduce wasted travel miles, and makes sales travel just a little bit easier.
Some mapping software applications allow for a GPS receiver to be plugged in to the laptop, providing turn by turn spoken directions that guide the rep right to their sales meeting. Having all prospects on the map, and being guided to their door helps the rep arrive on time, and relaxed - ready for the meeting.
Using laptop mapping and GPS to plan and execute more efficient trips, sales reps travel fewer miles, and may even save a return air or car trip to the sales area because they missed an opportunity while there. And of course, sales is about numbers - right? Using mapping tools to maximize the number of prospects seen on the trip means you can see more prospects - which results in more sales.
Because they reduce the cost of sales travel, and help increase sales, today's mapping software is a must have for every sales professional who covers a territory and calls on customers and prospects. There are several mapping software products available on the market today including Microsoft Streets & Trips 2008 (this is the one I train on), DeLorme's Street Atlas 2008 and ESRI's BusinessMAP 4.5. Check them out and increase your sales while reducing your cost of travel!
Sales Managers Save Gas Reduce Cost of Travel With Computerized Mapping and GPS - To learn more about this author, visit Keith O'Brien's Website.
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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Joe DagerJoe Dager is President of Business901, a progressive coaching company providing no-nonsense direction in areas such as Lean Six Sigma Marketing and organized referral marketing. What others say: In the past 20 years, Joe and I have collaborated on many difficult issues. Joe’s ability to combine his expertise with “out of the box” thinking is unsurpassed. He has always delivered quickly, cost effectively and with ingenuity. A brilliant mind that is always a pleasure to work with.” - James R. If you want to learn more about Business901, start a conversation with us. We can be found @ Web/Blog: Business901.com Web/Blog: FundingYourNonprofit.com LinkedIn Profile Follow me on Twitter - Visit Joe Dager's Website |
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Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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