Micromanagement is something many do, but few admit. It’s one of the foremost examples of good intentions with often negative consequences. Especially in field sales management, micromanaging is rarely necessary.
Despite its overwhelmingly negative press, micromanagement remains an uncomfortable reality in many organizations. Managers tend to gravitate to a micromanagement style when they’re under pressure to deliver results or to follow exact procedures. When this management style does deliver the expected results, everybody can tolerate it a bit more. After all, micromanagement gets the job done.
Why is micromanagement seen as “bad”?
For many employees, working under a micromanager often leads to stress or burnout. Ultimately, the high-pressure situations micromanagers foster can lead to employees quitting their jobs – and therefore higher company turnover rates. They often see micromanagers as distrustful and stress-inducing leaders who don’t seem to care about anything but getting their way. However, some may disagree and say that this method helps workers to drill down essential skills needed for the job.
Surprisingly, micromanagement does have some advantages working for it. These include the following:
High involvement
Whatever people may think about micromanagement, there’s no denying that these managers will have a great degree of involvement in their subordinates’ activities. While some may see it as overstepping their authority, others appreciate their managers giving them extra time and attention.
Shared experience
Managers often come loaded with experience. This experience can help new employees to learn the ropes better and faster. In addition, a manager embedded on the ground is more likely to reinforce the company’s directions.
Better support
Many workers, especially new ones, are often hesitant in asking their superiors for help or assistance. Micromanagement ensures that employees won’t need to ask twice. In some cases, they don’t even need to ask for help at all, as their proactive managers will likely already be there.
It begs the question: does micromanagement still work in this day and age? In the case of field sales management, is it still necessary for managers to tag along? Especially in remote work settings, what value can micromanagement add?
A field sales management software automates sales team workflow
Field sales management teams require agents to be all over the place. Unlike desk-bound workers, managers can’t just show up and ask for a progress report. Even if they could, it’s virtually impossible to micromanage all field sales agents. Thankfully, a better solution to ensuring employee productivity is available.
Sales are all about reaching customers at the right time with the right service. They operate on efficiency, which requires accurate, on-time data to provide customers with the information they need to make purchasing decisions. Having this information available on hand can help a salesperson close the deal better than having a manager around.
Thankfully, field sales management just became easier and more efficient with automated field sales software solutions. They provide sales representatives with the needed support without the need for micromanagement. Everything sales representatives carry can now be accessed through the smart devices they carry.
Improves team collaboration to boost performance
Automated CRM and sales management software helps everybody stay updated on the team’s progress. Instead of requiring meetings, managers can just direct team members to log into the software with their smartphones. Regardless of their position, sales team members have access to the information they need at the exact moment they need it.
Especially when integrated with enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, sales management software can display important information, such as updated pricing, stock, and delivery details in real-time. Using this data, sales representatives can provide customers with the information they need to make their purchase decisions. At the same time, real-time inventory data helps sales managers make timely decisions on which products to push, especially at the end of the month. This unprecedented collaboration between various branches of the organization leads to a better-informed and equipped sales team.
Powerful data analytics to measure productivity
Field sales management software also helps the sales team by automatically recording sales activity data. Instead of requiring sales team members to devote hours to field reports, the software automatically logs the details. This includes the number of sales calls made per day, routes taken, and time spent per call. This is in addition to data generated by the sales agent concerning customer orders and retail execution.
Having these reports available on-demand helps managers determine if they can still maximize their sales agents’ productivity. After going through the data, they can now decide if sales reps require further mentoring or additional focus on a specific sales activity.
In addition, sales analytics features found in field sales management software can help to track and measure individual sales performance to determine the top sellers. A quick analysis of sales results can determine which members of your team are sitting on top of the monthly or annual leaderboard.
At the same time, managers won’t have to ask sales team members to stay at the office to provide them with a summary of their accomplishments. The software also measures individual performance and stacks them against predetermined Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). This way, management won’t need to wait until the end of every evaluation period to get a reading of individual performances.
Get the best sales management solutions from Skynamo
In today’s digital era, where information is either on-demand or accessed too late, relying on traditional sales methods is often inadequate. Today’s customers require real-time data to make real-time decisions. Anything less can lead to inefficient sales activities and delayed sales decisions. Providing your sales team with advanced and automated sales management solutions – such as Skynamo – gives them the edge over the competition. As a bonus, you won’t have to resort to micromanaging your team in order to get the results you want.
Do you want to learn more about how Skynamo can help? Let’s chat about your company’s needs before showing you how our expert team can level up yours.
