6 Steps to Winning Big with Your Mobile Sales App Pilot

1. buy into the idea,
2. adopt the app, and
3. use it optimally.

Here are a few tips from our own experiences in rolling out mobile sales enablement solutions in organizations. Happily, they’ve always been successful.

1. Start small

It’s best to start with a small group of people. Sales managers can pick out employees they know are more open to trying new things, good at sharing feedback and spreading the word – typically fitting the “early adopter” persona. Or you can invite participation from the team. The most enthusiastic jump in first.

2. Involve stakeholders from the start

A critical benefit of mobile sales solutions is the alignment of marketing and sales teams. Get in a few people from your marketing team as well and other stakeholders who are part of the sales process in your organization. This way, the pilot aligns with existing salesforce workflows to a T.

3. Make Sales Managers Change Agents

Sales managers play a critical role in driving change in teams. Have them understand the value of the mobile sales app and the difference it can make to the team’s performance. Also, help them see how the app fits in with the overall business plan. Their job as change agent will be to

1. Use the app themselves
2. Encourage participation in the team
3. Share best practices and tips
4. Provide feedback
5. Coach teams or request coaching where necessary

4. Provide training and sharing a vision

Product training should be simple, practical and timely. For a mobile sales app that rides on communication, most training modules can be sent out on the app itself, encouraging exploration and familiarization of the app.

Participants should be shown the bigger picture to understand the purpose and utility of the app. Case studies and reports can be shared. Once they see the impact the app can have on their performances (quota achievements, closures, etc.), incentives, and bonuses, they’ll be more committed to the pilot program.

5. Celebrate Champions

Recognize and award teams and team members who use the sales app actively and effectively. Showcase their performance and share across the department. Have the champions talk about their experience, document tips and feedback. Use the office intranet and the app to spread the success stories.

6. Make it fun

Most of all, make the pilot enjoyable. Your participants are working hard and taking extra time and effort in adapting to change. Make it a game with social awards, weekly surprises, competitions, and random events. Not only will that make their responsibility more fun, but you’ll also grab eyeballs from other departments as well!

The good news is that the more intuitive, relevant, and usable your app is, the easier it is to get salespeople to adopt. Some of our clients at DronaHQ report 100% adoption of their no-code apps for the sales reps, in a fairly short period.

Do share your experience with Mobile and Web Apps for Sales. We’d love to know!