How Foodservice Distributors can drive productivity in FY24 - Part 3: Field Sales

"Magic happens out on the road." 

Remote work, zoom meetings, and collaboration tools have liberated many an office worker – in fact it’s hard to imagine how we ever coped without them.  

But when it comes to human interaction, the magic of in-person engagement with your customer venues and institutions just can’t be bottled. As the years go by and we grow more digitally savvy, my belief in this concept has only strengthened.   

Which is why Part 3 of our Foodservice Productivity series is all about your field Reps.

As the face of your foodservice business, field Reps are a critical part of the relationship you have with your customers. They connect you with your customers on a more personal level, and it’s in these connections - out on the road - where the magic happens.  

As we talk about driving productivity across foodservice in FY24, it's vital that we don’t overlook the field sales team. The role of the Rep is evolving - now is the time to equip them with the tools that can help lift their productivity to new heights. 

Foodservice in the field

What does a typical day look like for your field Reps?  

Out visiting customers, learning more about their business? Solving problems, adding value, driving growth?  

Or are they spending more time than they’d like back at the office, doing admin, logging notes, chasing order ETAs? Perhaps they're even working after hours to catch up on the overflow.

Too often, field sales teams are hindered by a lack of access to their customer's information while out on the road. Lacking adequate tools, every customer interaction can become a point of friction - and every point of friction is a blow to productivity.

One example we've seen is the Rep who is onsite with a customer, but phoning their Customer Service team back at the office to get a question answered. Not having on-the-spot access to data not only diverts that Rep away from more meaningful customer engagement, but it ties up the Customer Service team as well!  

Arming Reps with access to rich information in the field not only provides superior, personalised service in the moment, but it also elevates the value of your Rep in the eyes of your customer. The Rep is now a source of knowledge and authority, rather than a messenger.

Imagine having an extra Rep on the road - at no cost 

What if I said your Reps could reclaim 20% of their time by having the right tools at their disposal? 

An ERP-integrated, purpose-built CRM solution like Opmetrix CRM is key to unlocking your field team's efficiency. 

Imagine giving your sales team the capability to:

• create quotes and enter sales orders
• view real time metrics / customer dashboards
• access product information and contract pricing
• easily and accurately track their activities and KPIs
• cut admin and create more time to sell.  

On average, Opmetrix customers have reported a 20% reduction in admin post go-live. Which means that if you’ve got 5 Reps each reclaiming 20% of their time, you’ve effectively gained another rep on the road.  You've also freed up other staff who are often called upon to assist (customer service, finance, the warehouse).... the flow-on effects are significant.    

A purpose-built Rep solution like Opmetrix CRM not only increases productivity for your business, it removes friction for your customer as well.

More connected, responsive Reps will unlock greater access to busy customers who are seeing value. Better service soon elevates your business to the level of partner, rather than just another supplier.

Where to from here? 

If you’d like to give your field Reps more time on the road and more time for magic, we’d love to speak with you about how the right CRM can help you do exactly that.  

In the meantime, we'll be hosting a live ‘fireside chat’ on Wednesday 27 September at 1pm (AEST). We'll hear how Arlec Australia have been driving productivity across their national field sales team with Opmetrix CRM. We'd love for you to grab your seat at the webinar here.   

Our fourth and final piece in this series, due next month, will turn the spotlight onto ecommerce. I hope you'll join us as we discover ways to drive productivity in your foodservice business with the right B2B platform.