How much does human error cost U.S. businesses each year? $3.1 Trillion — and that figure just includes costs associated with bad data, according to IBM. While no department, company, or industry is immune to human error — some tasks are more susceptible than others, like issuing payments for commissions.
When organizations depend on manual processes and spreadsheets to conduct even simple commission calculations and payments, they could be overpaying by up to 8% on average. Not to mention, static spreadsheets lack the functionality needed in today’s fast-paced market and fail to provide the transparency expected by today’s workforce.
In today’s article, we take a look at some key ways organizations can use Sales Compensation Management Software to reduce errors, eliminate overpayments, and improve their overall sales.
Unlocking the Power of Sales Compensation Management Software
Sales Compensation Management Software can be a powerful tool to help businesses streamline their sales processes and improve overall performance. By automating sales compensation tasks and providing real-time visibility into sales data, these systems can help reduce errors and drive sales.
Let’s explore a few of the key ways in which Sales Compensation Management Software can help.
#1 Improving the Accuracy of Sales Tracking & Reporting
A critical function of Sales Compensation Management Software is that it helps businesses track and report on sales activity in real-time. This functionality helps sales reps easily see how they are performing against their goals and managers can get a clear picture of the overall sales performance of the team.
Depending on the solution you choose, you can even configure executive dashboards to provide at-a-glance reporting for key stakeholders and decision-makers. This level of reporting not only helps reduce errors but also helps identify where team members might be falling short and potential adjustments needed to improve performance.
#2 Simplifying the Commission Calculation Process
Calculating commissions manually is a tedious, time-consuming task that is ripe with the potential for errors and overpayments — by up to 8% annually, on average. Further, it’s absolutely unnecessary given the power of some of today’s solutions.
Sales Compensation Management Software simplifies this process by automating commission calculations based on predefined rules and formulas, and quality software will provide the flexibility needed to update commissions quickly and effectively — so that you can achieve change at scale.
#3 Improving Company-Wide Communication
Sales Compensation Management Software also helps improve communication between sales reps and their managers by providing a central hub for all sales-related information. This data often includes current & future sales targets, real-time performance data, employee feedback, and other critical data that can be accessed by both parties at any time.
By improving communication, businesses can foster a community of transparency, trust, and comradery, which often leads to stronger relationships and better collaboration within the sales team. The free flow of information further helps eliminate data silos and identify potentially bad data.
Best-in-class Sales Compensation Management Software, like SalesVista’s, can extend that level of reporting — and the benefits that follow it — across different teams, functions, and even organizations.
#4 Leveraging Enhanced Sales Forecasting
With access to real-time sales data, Sales Compensation Management Software can help businesses make more accurate sales forecasts. This can be especially useful for businesses that rely on long sales cycles, as it allows them to plan ahead and allocate resources more effectively.
Additionally, quality SCM Software will leverage the most sophisticated tools, like machine learning and artificial intelligence, to more accurately predict the impact of any anticipated changes to your sales compensation structure.
By improving sales forecasting, businesses can better manage their budgets and ensure that they have the resources they need to achieve their sales goals.
#5 Streamlining the Sales Processes
Sales Compensation Management Software can help streamline sales processes by automating tasks such as lead tracking and customer onboarding. This can free up sales reps to focus on selling, rather than administrative tasks, which can help to improve productivity and drive sales.
Best-in-class solutions can also fully integrate with top CRMs, like Salesforce, to provide even greater visibility into and optimization of, the sales cycle.
#6 Enhancing the Customer Experience & Lowering Churn
By streamlining sales processes and improving sales team collaboration, Sales Compensation Management Software can help businesses deliver a better customer experience.
For example, sales reps can access customer information and sales data quickly, which can help them to respond to customer inquiries more efficiently. This further builds trust and strengthens customer relationships, which will ultimately drive sales and limit churn.
If you’re looking for a best-in-class Sales Compensation Management Software solution that can help you reduce errors and improve productivity, we hope you consider SalesVista. If you’d like to learn more, request a demo today!
