Self-Driving Cars Could Boost Field Sales Teams Productivity by 50 Percent According to New Survey From MapAnything

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – MapAnything, Inc., the “Where” Company and leader in geo-productivity and intelligence for business, today released findings from a survey administered in partnership with Selling Power to more than 150 sales leaders. The data provides insights into the impact that commuting has on crucial face-to-face meetings with customers. What’s more, time spent planning routes and driving to meetings is the biggest drain on a sales rep’s ability to be productive. In order to minimize time spent driving, reps are primed to immediately benefit from the advent of driverless cars.

Sales’ Biggest Obstacle? Windshield Time

While a sales rep’s biggest priority is selling, nearly a third of sales managers estimate that their reps spend less than half of their time actively making sales. Instead, their time is forfeited to CRM updates and reporting, internal meetings, and commuting to meetings.

• 93 percent of managers expect sales reps to conduct multiple meetings a week, but in the end, the time spent commuting to these meetings is the real productivity-killer for sales reps.

• 23 percent estimate that half to three-quarters of their time is spent simply driving. Even worse, 11 percent of reps spend up to 90 percent of their time in a car.

The Need for Face-to-Face Interaction Isn’t Going Anywhere

It’s no secret: salespeople want more face time with their customers.

• According to the survey, 91 percent of sales reps felt they’d be more successful if they could get more face time with customers, and 87 percent of sales managers feel the same.

• The research additionally revealed that 70 percent of sales managers believe that ongoing face-to-face interactions are necessary to maintain and grow customer relationships.

But to get face time with customers, sales reps first have to get there.

Driverless Cars = More Time Spent Selling

Time is the most valuable resource for reps, and selling time is always under pressure from other demands. According to the survey data from MapAnything and Selling Power, sales reps are still prioritizing client visits manually.

Following the joint announcement between GM and MapAnything, we’re not as far away as you’d think.  While the initial partnership focuses on leveraging vehicle location to automate a lot of non-sales tasks(like logging sales calls, reporting mileage and stops), there’s boundless potential when integrating CRM into the driverless car experience.

MapAnything’s geo-productivity software uses real-time Salesforce data and advanced algorithms to determine the best cadence and order of client visits, enabling reps to meet the same number of clients in up to 35 percent less time. MapAnything also optimizes sales routes based on traffic, time of day, road closures, and the like, while its Nearby feature allows any sales rep using the software to view an opportunity record in Salesforce and easily locate nearby accounts or leads.

Driverless cars will turn sales teams’ windshield time into an opportunity for productivity rather than an enemy of it -- according to data from MapAnything, foregoing driving could boost sales teams’ productivity from anywhere between 50 and 90 percent. Instead of trying to lower cost of sales by moving to Inside Sales, Field Sales orgs can leverage enormous efficiency gains while maintaining that face to face relationship their clients expect.    

Driverless cars would enable sales reps to optimize the time otherwise wasted behind the wheel to prepare for meetings, organize their workload, and take care of any required business processes during the commute. For those sales reps who are wasting valuable selling time behind the wheel, this could be a game changer.

And with more than ten million self-driving cars predicted to hit the road in the next three years, it’s safe to say that driverless cars could be a massive boon to sales teams sooner rather than later.

For more information about MapAnything, please visit www.mapanything.com. To download the complete e-book detailing the findings of the survey, please do so here.

Methodology

MapAnything and Selling Power surveyed field sales leaders and reps in Spring 2017 to determine how field sales organizations are dealing with geographically dispersed customers and prospects, management of time and resources when selling, keeping CRM and systems of record up to date, and ensuring sales growth and bottom line performance. Responses were gathered from over 100 sales leaders, and 50 sales reps.

About MapAnything

Combine today’s global economy with a mobile workforce, and you get a lot of moving parts. CRM alone can’t help you answer the critical business questions: Where is my business? Where do I need to go? Founded in 2009, MapAnything is an innovator and pioneer in Geo-Productivity Software. With more than 1,400 customers globally, ranging from Large Enterprises to Small Business, we believe that “Where Matters.”

MapAnything is a Salesforce Gold App Innovation Partner, and a ServiceNow Technology Partner. They have received Ventana Research’s 2016 Technology Innovation Award for Location Analytics and been named a Customer’s Choice – Highly Reviewed App by users of Salesforce. To learn more, visit www.mapanything.com.

Contact Information

Kayla Abbassi

Senior Account Executive

VSC for MapAnything

kayla@vscpr.com