SALES PRODUCTIVITY SYSTEM
A Sales Productivity System (SPS) allows a distributed sales force to access sales-related data through a common application or interface. Each member of the sales force uses the application to organize and manage a sales schedule for a given territory, and to maximize their time on the sales field.
1 . A system comprising:
a server;
a data store interfaced with the server;
a network; and
a mobile client device for accessing the server over the network,
wherein a user associated with a sales territory uses the mobile client device to decompose the sales territory into a plurality of sales zones,
wherein each of the sales zones is associated with at least one customer, said customer being a current customer or a prospective customer within the sales territory,
wherein each of the sales zones is associated with a different calendar day in a sales cycle, and
wherein the user uses the mobile client device to schedule an activity with each customer in each sales zone on its associated calendar day.
2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the user uses the mobile client device to assign a potential value to each customer, and
wherein the potential value is used to determine an amount of time that the user will devote to selling to the customer.
3 . The system of claim 2 , wherein a first potential value is assigned if the customer has at least one of 100+ employees and $15,000+ annual gross-profit-after-freight potential,
wherein a second potential value is assigned if the customer has at least one of 50-99 employees and $7,500-$14,850 annual gross-profit-after-freight potential,
wherein a third potential value is assigned if the customer has at least one of 25-49 employees and $3,750-$7,350 annual gross-profit-after-freight potential, and
wherein a fourth potential value is assigned if the customer has at least one of 10-24 employees and $1,500-$3,600 annual gross-profit-after-freight potential.
4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the user uses the mobile client device to assign a probability value to each customer, said probability value indicating a likelihood of success with the customer.
5 . The system of claim 4 , wherein a first probability value is assigned if a 90%+ account penetration is expected,
wherein a second probability value is assigned if a 50%+ account penetration is expected,
wherein a third probability value is assigned if a 25%+ account penetration is expected, and
wherein a fourth probability value is assigned if a 10%+ account penetration is expected.
6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the user uses the mobile client device to access information relating to each customer in the sales territory.
7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the user uses the mobile client device to access information relating to each customer associated with one of the sales zones.
8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the user uses the mobile client device to access information relating a specific customer.
9 . The system of claim 1 , wherein a second user associates an optimized customer to one of the sales zones.
10 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the user uses the mobile client device to establish a new customer in the system, said new customer being a new current customer or a new prospective customer, and
wherein the new customer is associated with one of the sales zones.
11 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the user uses the mobile client device to place an order for an item by a customer.
12 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the user uses the mobile device to initiate synchronization between data stored on the mobile device and data stored in the data store.
13 . The system of claim 1 , wherein data stored in the mobile device is synchronized with data stored in the data store according to a set schedule.
14 . The system of claim 1 , wherein data stored in the mobile device is synchronized with data stored in the data store periodically.
15 . The system of claim 14 , wherein the data stored in the mobile device is synchronized with the data stored in the data store every thirty minutes.
16 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the network is the Internet.
17 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the mobile client device communicates with the network over a cellular communications network.
18 . The system of claim 1 , wherein if communications between the mobile client device and the server are interrupted, data requests from the mobile client device to the server are placed in a queue maintained within the mobile client device until the interruption is resolved.
19 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the user uses the mobile client device to communicate with the server to request a report,
wherein the server uses data stored in the data store to generate the report, and
wherein the server sends the report in an email to the mobile client device.
20 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the activity is a visit to a facility of the customer within the sales zone associated with the customer.
21 . The system of claim 20 , wherein the user uses the mobile client device to activate a navigation function, said navigation function providing driving directions to the facility.
22 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the user uses the mobile client device to select one or more customers in the same sales zone to be visited on the same calendar day, and
wherein the system calculates a sequence for visiting the customers based on an optimal driving route.
23 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the activity is one of a telephone call and an email.
24 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the client mobile device displays a calendar with information on each sales zone and the related customers and activities indicated on the corresponding days of the sales cycle.
25 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the mobile client device is a tablet computer.
26 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the sales cycle is twenty days.
27 . A system comprising:
a server;
a data store interfaced with the server;
a network;
a mobile client device for accessing the server over the network; and
an application installed on the mobile client device, said application operable to:
decompose a sales territory into a plurality of sales zones;
associate each of the sales zones with at least one customer, said customer being a current customer or a prospective customer within the sales territory;
associate each of the sales zones with a different calendar day in a sales cycle; and
associate an activity with each customer in each of the sales zones on its associated calendar day.
28 . The system of claim 27 , wherein said application implements a plurality of modules selected from the group comprising: a customers module, a zone setup module, a zone schedule module, a daily sales plan module, an open orders module, a sales history module, an item history module, a past due invoices module, a close activity module, a cloning module, a sync module, a library module, a reports module, and a trade agreements module.
29 . The system of claim 27 , wherein said application implements a customers module, a zone setup module, a zone schedule module, a daily sales plan module, an open orders module, a price book module, a sales history module, an item history module, a past due invoices module, a close activity module, a cloning module, a sync module, a library module, a reports module, and a trade agreements module.