Data lovers, meet location intelligence. Location intelligence is one of the hottest trends in machine learning—and it’s a match made in heaven for outside sales professionals.
From opportunity visualization to sales territory management to route optimization — location intelligence is your ticket to moving past spreadsheets and toward geospatial visualizations. Like any good analytics tool, location intelligence delivers valuable insights into exactly how you can increase your team’s efficiency, maximize revenue, and unlock unrealized potential.
In this post, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about location intelligence, including exactly what it is, the benefits of it, and some of the top options for sales location intelligence software.
What is Location Intelligence Exactly?
Simply put, location intelligence (or LI) uses people and technology to map out data in order to find trends and actionable insights. In a sales context, this falls under the umbrella of “sales mapping” and is done by cross-referencing line item sales data with geography (or “geospatial information,” if you’re feeling techy).
A study by Pitney Bowes revealed that about 80% of all data owned by organizations has a location component—the only thing that’s left to do is use it. Location intelligence is about not only pulling out that information but making it actionable.
In its simplest form, geographically mapping out sales data points helps identify patterns and trends. However, location intelligence takes this type of information a step further by referencing other critical data points. When we talk about sales location intelligence as a machine-learning tool, it deals with much more complex numbers and much more specific location information.
The Power of Sales Location Intelligence Software
Artificial intelligence tools are capable of juggling much more information than we can on our own. Location intelligence software uses this ability to stack multiple types of data on top of each other geographically.
Instead of just looking at a simple map with closed deals pinpointed, with automated sales location intelligence, you can create a map that analyzes the market by capturing dozens of other data points at once, including things like:
- Sales win rates
- Average income levels
- Market saturation
- Demographics
- Commodity locations
- Etc.
It is possible to have several layers of information mapped out geographically, giving you insight like you’ve never had access to before. For example, just by glancing at a location intelligence-optimized map, you could easily spot business hubs around the city centers, separate different sales territories, identify places of activity correlated with major transportation lines, etc.
Now, imagine trying to navigate all of this data in a list. It would take much, much longer to make heads or tails of the information.
In general, sales location intelligence software is helpful because it gets data out of linear spreadsheets and into physical space. It enables sales teams to see trends they may not have otherwise known to look for and can help teams figure out what new questions to ask.
The Valuable Benefits of Location Intelligence Software for Field Sales Teams
We’ve already loosely touched on the power of the visualized data that location intelligence can offer. But, for sales professionals, there are some specific and very valuable benefits of utilizing sales location intelligence software.
Broadly speaking, a lot of the benefits of using sales location intelligence correlate with the benefits of data visualization in general—which largely hinge on the fact that the human brain processes visuals about 60,000 times faster than raw words and numbers.
One tactic involved in sales location intelligence is known as “sales mapping.” In the past, sales mapping has simply meant visually representing your data geospatially. But with today’s technology, there are some finer points that make location intelligence uniquely helpful for sales teams. These benefits include:
Identifying Actionable Trends
This is one of the most powerful use cases for sales location intelligence for an outside sales team. Like with any sales analytics tool, the whole point of using it is to find insights and trends to act upon.
When looking at maps created using location intelligence, your reps can use them to accomplish things like:
- Identifying pockets of untapped potential within the market/territory.
- Uncovering unexpected trends (like how weather, traffic, and similar components relate to sales rates, etc.)
- Pinpointing how your market saturation compares to that of your competitors.
- Evaluating if specific sales strategies work best in specific areas
Sales location intelligence software enables your team to visualize and create more opportunities for themselves—a strategy known as opportunity visualization.
Evaluating Current Sales Efforts
As salespeople, we’re constantly trying new things with the intent to optimize our actions. We want to double down on what’s effective and cut what’s not. But, if you’re only looking at data in a spreadsheet, some trends may slip under the radar.
Location intelligence helps prevent that problem from happening and makes evaluating current sales efforts easy. For example, with sales location intelligence, reps can pinpoint if a specific upsell works better in the city center than in the suburbs. Then, this type of information can be used to optimize current sales efforts for specific places.
On a more technical level, location intelligence software also allows you to do a deep dive into sales territory management. For example, not only can you see how one territory compares to another, but you can also break down territories into subsections within them.
Streamlining Sales Processes
With a deeper understanding of your data, your team’s efficiency will be optimized. Reps can save time and headaches while hyper-focusing their efforts on the most effective sales activities.
Unlike any other type of data analysis, location intelligence can help outside sales teams optimize how they move through physical space—that is, reps can:
- Optimize driving routes to save both time and fuel.
- Build smart daily schedules to help you determine which clients to visit and when.
- Easily fill in gaps in their day with customers or prospects that are in the nearby vicinity.
- Map out more efficient sales territory boundaries—and manage them more effectively.
Sharing Compelling Data with Prospects
Lastly, just like sales reps do, prospects respond better to easy-to-understand visuals than they do to numbers in a spreadsheet. According to an Experian report on data management, 98% of businesses agreed that data visualization helps create a better customer experience.
So, when you’re trying to win over a new client (or upsell a current one), compelling graphics generated through the use of location intelligence software are a great way to bring relevant data to life.
For example, reps could show a prospect how a particular offering is extremely effective for other businesses in regions with similar demographics.
12 Top Tools for Sales Location Intelligence
As you can see, sales location intelligence is a must-have for today’s sales teams and offers some powerful benefits to help optimize your team’s success. But at this point, you may be wondering exactly which one you need to be using. This section will help you decipher the answer to that question for your team.
Here are 12 of the top software options to take advantage of sales location intelligence capabilities, separated by the category of main use case:
Sales Data/Customer Mapping:
Mapline is a basic, web-based sales mapping solution built for small to medium-sized sales and distribution teams. Users can easily import data from Excel spreadsheets and create a map in seconds, providing customizable ways to visualize and deeper understand your data.
Maplytics is a highly-rated geo-analytical mapping app that offers seamless integration between Bing Maps and Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM. The platform offers features like territory Management, radius search, and more.
BatchGeo is a geographic information system (GIS) empowering organizations with sales location capabilities. Users can easily create visual maps by uploading information from databases, spreadsheets, and web pages using a drag-and-drop interface. With BatchGeo, sales teams can streamline sales mapping efforts by mapping prospects, customers, assets, and suppliers, analyzing trends, and reviewing hot or cold sales spots.
Routing:
Road Warrior is a routing software, compatible with both Apple and Android devices, that allows sales teams to create, assign, and manage customized sales routes. The software also factors in real-time traffic data, as well as hundreds of other possible variables, to ensure users can avoid road closures, accidents, and other delays.
Also compatible with both Apple and Android devices, Circuit is an easy-to-use route planning app for sales teams and delivery teams. Users or managers simply input the necessary addresses and Circuit will create an optimized route. You can also utilize the option to send your customers or leads alerts when you’re about to arrive and get proof of deliveries for customer orders.
Repsly is a retail execution platform that enables field sales and merchandising teams to optimize their effectiveness. The platform helps streamline scheduling efforts, route planning, data collection, order entry, and more. Thus, enabling users to work every customer account smarter and more efficiently.
Territory Management:
A web-based sales territory mapping solution, EasyTerritory was built for integration with Microsoft Dynamics 365, Power BI, Excel, and SQL Azure. The software is designed to assist field sales and service teams with territory management, location intelligence, and capacity planning.
Anaplan enables sales teams to leverage data and AI to optimize market coverage and maximize potential revenue. Users can easily design, optimize, and manage sales territories across multiple dimensions, including geography, hierarchy, industry, product, division, and more. You can also seamlessly push changes to your team’s sales CRM.
Fullcast enables sales teams to optimize productivity through agile territory management. The platform supports both phases of sales territory management – territory carving and runtime management. Territory carving builds the foundation of your go-to-market plan, while runtime territory management keeps the territory structure fresh and responsive to unplanned changes.
All-in-One Sales Location Intelligence Software:
Purpose-built for outside sales teams, Map My Customers is the leading all-in-one sales location intelligence software, offering a variety of sales mapping capabilities, optimized multi-stop route planning, in-depth reporting, team management, lead generation, and more, no matter where users are! The mobile-friendly Map My Customers platform can stand alone as your team’s main CRM or integrate seamlessly with some of the top sales CRMs.
Maptive is a cloud and web-based mapping and location intelligence software, built on a Google Maps foundation, that provides a functional solution for field sales teams, especially ones that are looking to improve their routing and territory management efforts. Users can also take advantage of valuable opportunity visualization capabilities to help optimize revenue potential.
The eSpatial mapping, routing, and territory management program offers an all-in-one solution for use across the sales, marketing, service, and logistics teams. For sales teams, users can geographically visualize and analyze sales data to discover actionable insights, improve understanding and decision-making, and streamline sales processes. This is possible through advanced styling and analysis options, heat maps, sales territory optimization, optimized routing, and more.
The Best Use of Location Intelligence Requires Team Collaboration
The number one thing to keep in mind with the use of sales location intelligence is that, as of yet, no artificial intelligence capability can completely replace your team’s creative and critical thinking. It’s a learning process in which insights beget more insights.
As such, it’s important to foster an environment in which your team feels excited to share their successes and work collaboratively.
For example, if one salesperson discovers that there’s a major correlation between sales and proximity to the city center, it’s advantageous that they share this information with the team rather than keep it to themselves. That way, everybody can benefit from and even build on that knowledge!
Start Utilizing the Power of Sales Location Intelligence Today!
Location intelligence software can truly bring sales data to life and open the doors for a new level of success for your team. Arm your team with the ability to geographically visualize data like never before, boost their sales efforts, find valuable new opportunities, and optimize their travel plans.
From laser-focusing sales efforts to maximizing productivity, with sales location intelligence, reps will be empowered to increase revenue and continue to help grow your company.
Try out a couple of the location intelligence software options above to find the best fit for your team and start fully utilizing the power of your data today!
