Why Sales Representatives Dislike Creating Quotes?

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How and what you sell matters. Your sales process matters but how your customers feel when they interact with you matters more!

This is the mantra adopted by most companies, sales leaders and trainers these days. It is a very effective strategy to boost sales and retain existing clients. Developing such a sales team is a tough task, however. Adapting to this policy makes the sales rep’s job even harder.

A sales rep’s job is already hard with sales targets, disgruntled clients and pressure of deadlines making their head boil. It is a high-pressure job with no time to break a sweat. For sales reps, their every second counts. Sales reps evaluate their success by the amount of revenue they generate per hour for their employer. Their time is MONEY. That is why they hate any task which is not generating sale or warming up a prospect for them. It includes preparing quotes for clients.

The nature of every business’s sales team is different. It depends on many factors like:

Sales targets and deadlines remain given for every sales team. Utilizing the working hours most effectively distinguishes a great sales rep from a good rep. Creating a quote is a very time-consuming and tedious task. The importance of a good quote that satisfies all price related queries is undeniable.

How much does it cost, is often make or break for any deal!

For preparing a quotation, a sales rep should have a complete grasp of product/service, pricing plans, company policy, and client needs.  Some of the reasons to understand why your sales reps hate preparing quotes are:

Data Mining and Compiling

The company’s resources about pricing are often scattered. Sales rep’s notes might be in a CRM or spreadsheet. To gather this data from different sources and then compile it for the client or their supervisor is time-consuming and error-prone. The error could be in calculation or missing out on a client request. If this error is spotted by their supervisor or the client, not only they risk losing the client but their reputation inside the company will also be at stake.

Add-Ons

Not only sales reps have to worry about quoting the price of the requested products, but also about quoting the prices for add-ons that are often irrelevant for the client. Some add-ons are also time-specific or associated with referrals, and their inclusion in the quote is part of the company’s policy. Adding fruitless and irrelevant add-ons is often frustrating for sales reps.

Limited Time and Promotional Offers

Ever seen a quote valid for 30 days only? Quite sure you have. Companies often use these types of quotes for their protection. For example, a food business knows the price of ingredients fluctuates weekly. Sales reps have to take into account the scope of work, offered services, timelines, promos, and discounts. That requires thorough knowledge and takes time.

Managerial Role in Sales Cycle

The process of preparing a quote often takes hours when done manually. It can even take days when the manager’s approval on the quote is required before sending it to the client. Although managerial involvement is limited in some teams it is unavoidable in high ticket and technical sales.

New and Undertrained Sales Reps

Mechanics and process of preparing a quote is more daunting for newly hired sales rep. They are more than likely to be not fully trained or have complete command while dealing with customers. Lack of job knowledge makes them incapable of trading value for time, thus badly affecting the overall customer experience.

Closing Ratio

Many employers evaluate their sales reps’ performance based on their closing ratio. The closing ratio is defined as the number of sales closed divided with no of the proposals (quotes) sent. Although, just comparing the closing ratio is not a fair indicator but most employers use this stick to beat their sales reps. The fear of hurting their closing ratio prevents some sales reps from sending out more quotes.

Preparing Quotes with Osmos Cloud

With Osmos, business life is simpler. Osmos Cloud’s Quote Management System makes the quoting process seamless and in a matter of seconds, your sales rep now has a foolproof quote ready to be sent to the client. Osmos has turned the tables upside down for your sales force and clients. Now, your sales rep can solely focus on selling the value of the product/plan and Osmos’s eQuote will prepare the quote for the client.

The client can generate a quote for himself in seconds instead of going through a tedious process of discovery call, quote email and follow-ups. Once a quote has been generated sales rep can review, modify and send it. The set-up of quoting parameters is dynamic and AI-powered. With Osmos Cloud, your sales reps will have everything at the tip of their fingers. As soon as the client likes their quote, they can turn Quote into Invoice with one click!

Time is the most valued resource for any salesperson. Osmos grants your sales reps professional quotes in seconds. It shortens the sales cycle by 95% and now your sales rep can focus on closing more sales.

Osmos takes the pain out of the quoting process, helping sales reps rapidly create quotes, invoices, and orders that look great.

Happy sales rep is a successful sales rep. A business with successful sales reps is the most successful business.

Try Osmos Cloud for free and never look back!

Osmos Cloud

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