Badger Blog

Badger Maps is the best source for sales mapping stories, how-to articles, and industry news.

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Sales Force Effectiveness

By Wyatt Houghton

Time can be your best friend or your worst enemy. It depends on how well you can manage it. Even though route planning can be a laborious aspect of a salesperson’s day, we all know how important it is. Having your customers and prospects clearly organized can make a huge difference in how productive you are when selling. Although one could take the time to physically draw and label each one of his or customers on a map, this is not time efficient in this day and age.

  Even if you are a salesperson mapping each one of your customers manually, not only would you lose valuable time in doing this but also if you want new leads you will have to manually research companies or people in your territory and then add them to your map. Imagine if you could spend your time actually talking with new leads rather than going through the tiresome process of finding new leads to talk to.  

  What if I told you that there is a sales rep map software that could link up with your CRM, optimize your routes between customers, and help you find new leads all on top of Google Maps. The benefit of having Google Maps is that key information is updated in  real time right at your fingertips. If there is a traffic delay you will know about it and your route will be optimized to find the quickest way to your next customer.

Sales force efficiency depends on how prepared you are for your day. When you have the ability of reaching out to more people in one day, your chances of making more sales increases. It is not too complicated: the more people that you can reach out to that have a need for your product, the more sales you will make.

  This route optimization app can do exactly this right from your fingertips. Having the ability to make slight adjustments throughout your day from your iPhone or iPad can be essential in maximizing sales force effectiveness.

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Sales Mapping: Route Your Way to Success

By Håkon Lunde

It has been said that a goal without a plan is just a wish. For an outside sales rep, this means that route mapping is crucial for his ability to succeed. However, mapping the route to success is not an easy task – some say sales route optimization actually requires more of you than an average game of chess.

The best thing about sales map apps is that the best sales reps are already using them today, and continue to do so. These reps have one thing in mind, and that is sales. Everything they do is to increase their sales, so it will be safe to assume that the software is helping them succeed.

Investing in the best sales lead software is an investment in the route to success. It is a great tool not only for sales reps, but also for anybody going from door to door. Everyone can benefit from the software, and the bigger your company the more value can be created.

Therefore, the question you have to ask yourself is if you want to invest in the route to success or if you'd rather have it the old way. Personally, I prefer success.

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The Next Generation Note Cards: iPad CRM

By Ian McColl

A company’s Customer Relations Management tool, or CRM, has become one of the most important tools available on the market. It allows sales people to easily keep track of all the data they need and be able to pull it out on a whim. The days of note card piles stacked atop the desk are long gone; shuffling through hundreds of 3x5 cards was made extinct by a computerized version of the same data plus dozens of other useful categories and notes that are made available through this system.

But as the computerized CRM made a leap from a note card system in the early 2000’s, the CRM has already made another incredible leap in the usefulness of the product: the mobile iPad CRM. With this tool sales people no longer have to be sitting at their desk in their office to view their clients; they can be in the field between meetings and go over everything they need to know about who they are about to meet with. It improves the effectiveness of the CRM as well as allowing it to be used much more frequently. In this way, salespeople always have up to date information on their clients. Because mobile devices are so popular, this is something that is very easy to implement. The only step that needs to be taken in order to do this is finding a good program to transfer a desktop only CRM to a mobile device.

One such system that works very well and has a great user interface is Badger Maps. Through Badger you can use your CRM directly on your iPad and iPhone, giving you access to your all important CRM in the field. This means salespeople have to spend less time memorizing information at the beginning of the day before they leave their desk and can brush up on everything they need to know right before a meeting. Badger even has additional features such as sales route planning which allows you to find the optimal route between sales calls and even helps you find new leads in your territory that you didn’t know existed. With all of these uses packed into one easy to maneuver app, Badger is a must have for all outside salespeople in order to improve sales productivity.

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Putting Your Customers On the Map with CRM Mapping

By Rohan Moradian

"The purpose of business is to create and keep a customer." -Peter Drucker 

In today’s world, how you collect, manage and use information determines whether you win or lose. Customer relationship management (CRM) is a system designed to manage a company’s interactions with current and future customers. CRMs use technology to organize, automate and synchronize sales, marketing, customer service, and technical support.

In other words, a CRM system is a tool that helps automate processes that in turn help you manage your customers better. There are a multitude of options available if you are considering a CRM solution - Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics, act!, SAP, Sage, Oracle, NetSuite, SugarCRM, Zoho and many others. Each one of them have unique advantages. On close inspection, you'll realize which option suits your organization best.

The Badger Map is a unique sales map software app that helps sales reps visually plan and effectively manage their sales territories. Badger’s sales route planning and mapping software is capable of integrating with a salespersons calendar on their iPhone or iPad and the company’s CRM system, making it an essential add on. What you get is a visual overview of where your clients are located, visualization of new leads and accurate sales route optimization. Better results and greater productivity in lesser time is what the Badger Map is all about.

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Discontinuation of Microsoft’s MapPoint and Microsoft's Streets and Trips

By Wyatt Houghton

“It’s not so important who starts the game but who finishes it.” - John Wooden

It is all coming to an end. Microsoft announced on their news website yesterday that they would be discontinuing both MapPoint and Microsoft Streets and Trips as of December 31st, 2014. Streets and Trips and MapPoint have been competitors of Badger Maps in recent history. To see some of the similarities and differences between Badger and Streets and Trips click here. But now, if you used either of these tools it is time to find an alternative product. Keep in mind, there are many options out there; but there is only one all inclusive product.

Lets say you need help with something simple, such as point to point directions. The proper choice to help you solve this problem would be Google Maps. This product can offer route guidance for foot, car, bicycle, or public transportation. This is a simple but extremely effective tool that many people use on a daily basis.

But, a lot of people need a tool that can do more than just give them turn by turn directions. What if you are a salesperson who needs a mapping system that can help keep you organized and efficient. Then the Badger Map would be the appropriate sales force productivity tool for this need. This sales map app can link up with your CRM system and let you build, optimize, and save as many routes as you need. To go even further, the maps in this sales territory planning app actually link up and update constantly with Google Maps. 

Besides the state of the art mapping features, this route planning software also comes equipped with the ability to generate leads from internet sources. So, not only will this sales mapping software offer you turn by turn directions to each one of your customers, but it will also tell you where new potential customers are located.

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How a Sales Map App Can Help You Get Your Bearings in a Busy World

by Sasha Kasas

In today’s hyper-connected world, maps are becoming increasingly important. More and more of us use smartphones and tablets to help us navigate through our day, organizing our social interactions and our schedules, and map apps are now the essential tool to let us navigate through the physical world around us. Google Maps is leading the way with not only extraordinary amounts of detail shown on the map, but also advanced adaptive route-finding, and a well designed user experience enabling effortless navigation by car and many other forms of transportation.

Of course, being able to see the world around us on a map can be extremely valuable in our jobs as well. For outside salespeople who spend much of their day on the road and meeting leads, a sales map app is a vital tool to improve productivity. It lets sales reps see all the leads in their territory, and syncs with their CRM system to update information in real time. It also allows reps to filter their leads by a wide range of criteria, such as industry, date last seen, level of interest and so on. Nor is it confined to viewing existing leads - users can use the map to target particularly suitable new areas and find leads matching that sales rep’s ideal criteria.

In fact, this kind of information is incredibly valuable to any profession that spends their day traveling between appointments. Repair specialists, personal tutors, piano tuners, traveling medical professionals - all benefit from being able to see their customers laid out on a map. Once you add calendar integration, as well as route optimization via Google Maps, this sales routing app becomes indispensable.

In short, a sales mapping app can bring your CRM system to life, allowing you to respond quickly and effectively to new customer developments, and maximize your efficiency each day. By getting you more and better appointments, with less time spent traveling, sales map software will bring your business into the next generation and help you reach your optimal productivity.

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Plan Better With Sales Territory Maps

By Rohan Moradian

“A goal without a plan is just a wish”.

- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

A salesperson who plans and executes accordingly is almost always successful in achieving his/her goals. Apart from the targets, the numbers and the results, successful sales reps plan and manage their territories as if they are managing a business.

A sales territory may be defined by geography, industry or product. If a sales rep treats his territory as a business, it cultivates an attitude of leadership and accountability. A sales representative must create a vision, strategies and objectives for his/her territory. Strategically targeting clients based on their needs and location, leads to the optimum use of a sales rep’s time and resources. Using cutting edge technology that assists in planning, generating leads and mapping out clients within a territory are known to help boost sales productivity.

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Get the Most Out of Your Day: The Importance of Sales Mapping

By Håkon Lunde

Every sales rep knows how important it is to get the most out of their day. In this business, it is just the way it works. In sales route optimization, it is all in the details. The best reps use sales rep map software or even a sales map app. They are all planning sales routes and their sales force productivity will often depend on their sales lead software.

Sales territory mapping can be confusing at times, even when using sales map software. Because of this, it will be beneficial to use software you are comfortable with that works well on all platforms. This gives you the opportunity to plan your routes on your desktop before going out in the field, while being able to make changes later from your smartphone while on the move.

Being without sales map software today is the equivalent of being without a map in the 90s. It is like not having a cell phone or email. For sales reps, having great map software is that important.

In addition to optimizing your route, some software can also provide useful insights on the go, such as suggestions to visit a client you haven’t seen for some time, or alerting you if you are passing nearby one of your most valuable customers.

By making use of the advantages created by the newest technology you will be able to get the most out of your day, making that one last sale you otherwise would have to make another day.

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A Whole New Way to Find Leads

By Ian McColl

Finding leads can be a hard job for a salesperson.  Lets say you sell your product to veterinarians. Twenty years ago, the only way to find completely new leads was to get out your phone book and look up “veterinarian” to find all of the vets in your area. You would then have to call them and check their hours over the phone to see when they could set up a sales meeting. This process is tedious and it is hard to know exactly if stores are located in your sales territory.

However, with the technology available today, there are much better ways of finding new leads.  Badger’s sales routing software is powered by Google Maps to help with this.  This app for the iPhone and iPad syncs with your computer to know where all the mattress shops are in your sales territory and can tell you their phone numbers, hours of operation and even their websites in a heartbeat.  All of these tools housed in one, easy to use app makes the process of finding new leads much easier for the salesperson, so they can get to the important job of securing those sales.  It will even map you from business to business when you get these leads going using its optimized route planning software.  These two functions alone will save you time and stress, not to mention the other tools that Badger’s software has to offer including utilizing CRM on the fly right from your iPhone or iPad.

Badger’s lead finding function opens up an entirely new world of leads for a salesperson.  With the enormous amount of information presented through this software, you will be finding leads you never knew existed in no time, saving you time which you can now spend contacting these new points of sales and developing the connections you need in order to be successful.  The new leads and potential clients are there for the taking; all that you need to do is reach out and grab them.

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Comparison: Badger Maps vs. Microsoft Streets and Trips

By Wyatt Houghton

Salespeople have a tough job, and if their technology is outdated, they can’t keep up with the competition. In the 1990s (and even 5 years ago), Microsoft Streets and Trips was a suitable tool for outside reps to organize their sales route. A sales rep could load up the Streets and Trips software from a CD onto their desktop or laptop, and upload a spreadsheet to build their routes, organize their territory, and optimize their schedule.

But today, salespeople have mobile devices like iPads and iPhones with them in the field. So, if they have the right tools, they can access their customer data on a map when they are on the move.

Badger is a mobile device-enabled, internet-enabled version of Streets and Trips. With Streets and Trips you can use your desktop computer to upload a spreadsheet of data and display it on a map. But with Badger Maps, you can do this or take it a step further and link up your CRM system, so you can do less busy work and update your information on the go. Badger gives sales reps new leads, integrates with the Calendar on the iPhone and iPad, has up to the minute traffic data, and automatically organizes your day. Another key difference between Badger Map and Streets and Trips is that Badger is powered by Google Maps which is far more powerful than the maps in Streets and Trips.

Sales reps can change the game by mapping their territory with the Badger sales mapping app because they can interact with their business information in real time - on a mobile device like an iPad or iPhone - while they are out of the office. Badger is the modern alternative to Streets and Trips that you can download in the Apple App Store.

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Badger Regarded as One of the Best Mobile Apps to Streamline Sales Operations.

By Wyatt Houghton

  It was a big day for Badger as this sales mapping software was voted one of the best sales tools in All Things Productivity on Docurated.com. We are greatly appreciative of this honor here at Badger and are glad to see that our efforts are helping salespeople in all different parts of the globe.

More and more people are finding Badger to be an extremely powerful and efficient sales territory mapping app. Badger is being recognized by Cóbhan Phillipson, author of “43 Mobile Sales Apps: Tools to Streamline Your Sales Enablement Processes & Operations.” Phillipson recognizes this CRM mapping software as a great way to take away the monotonous aspect of sales. Not only can this sales lead software find new sales opportunities around you, but it is also available at the touch of your fingertips. It is also important to note that although Badger lands at 41 on the list, these apps are ranked in no particular order.

Some of the general qualifications to make this list are sales intelligence mobility, having the ability to import your own data, and one of the best available mobile sales app in the market. And the reasons why Badger is on this list are:

See when new sales opportunities are near you and fit into your schedule.

Add new leads to your CRM.

Full compatibility on cloud with Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics.

Ability to map spreadsheets.

Available on app store for iPhone and iPads.

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Make the Most of Microsoft Dynamics CRM

By Rohan Moradian

Dynamics CRM is Microsoft’s customer relationship management (CRM) business solution that drives sales productivity and marketing effectiveness through business intelligence, social insights and campaign management in the cloud, on-premises, or with a hybrid combination.

Customer relationship management (CRM) can help reduce costs and increase profitability by organizing and automating business processes that nurture customer satisfaction and loyalty in the sales, marketing, and customer service fields. CRM solutions can deliver ROI through marketing automation, customer service, and sales force automation.

This is where the Badger Map comes into play. This app provides you with a map of your sales territory identifying all your leads, which are fully integrated with your CRM system (CRM Mapping). The Badger Map can also provide route planning to minimize the time spent traveling between meetings. If time slots open up in your day because of cancellations or missed appointments, you can quickly and easily schedule additional meetings using the Badger Map interface and calendar integration.

One more thing that makes the Badger Map app awesome is that it is a fully optimized experience for iPad and iPhone. With the mobile app, you can view and amend information on CRM solutions like Microsoft Dynamics and Salesforce right in the app itself reducing redundant work and maximizing your sales force productivity.

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Cut Costs with Better Sales Route Planning

by Håkon Lunde

Optimizing your sales route with a sales map app can cut costs and increase income for all of your sales reps out in the field. By minimizing windshield time while improving productivity through more efficient sales routes, sales map software has the potential to make a significant difference to the amount of sales for your company.

The Badger Map’s sales mapping software is optimized for both iPhone and iPad as well as your computer and designed to build and adjust routes on the go. This functionality is perfect for sales reps in the field, and the software even lets your sales reps share their planned routes in real time. To make the most of your time it is essential to plan your sales route - by using this sales mapping app, you can spend a couple of minutes each day and save yourself hours of wasted time.

  How this software increases your profitability:

Save on gas with sales route optimization

See the bigger picture with sales territory maps

Save time with intelligent sales route planning

Collaborate better with other sales reps by sharing routes

Finds new leads near you

The app is a convenient way of keeping you up to date in the field. Badger’s mobile CRM tool assists both the sales reps and management in sales mapping and route planning. Users report an increase in CRM usage after starting to use Badger because of the integration of CRM into the software. When you have an opening in your schedule, the map displays opportunities near you while also finding new leads in your territory.

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Sales Prospecting Software: The Secret Behind Being an Efficient Salesperson

By Wyatt Houghton

Work smarter, not harder. Too many salespeople are not adjusting to rejection. If something is not working for you as a salesperson, a change must be made. One of the most difficult parts about being a salesperson is targeting who you want to sell to. If you have the wrong prospects, you are going to get the wrong results. Luckily, a sales map app exists that contains sales prospecting software allowing you to find new leads. From these leads you can create contact with potential clients while in the field, all from your iPhone or iPad.

Sales route optimization is an essential aspect of every sales rep’s day. But no matter how meticulously you plan your route, things always come up. And as a sales rep you have to have the ability to adjust to your clients and prospects.  What this sales territory mapping software allows you to do is find prospects within your area at any given time. This is valuable to sales reps because a cancellation by one client can give you the opportunity to meet with a new potential client and forge a new business relationship. Without this sales rep map software, you would instead be stuck burning time at Starbucks until your next appointment. 

Not only will you get new leads from this sales route planning software, but also you can perform sales prospecting on a mobile solution. This allows for adjustments to be made from your car, restaurant, or pretty much wherever. On top of this, Badger’s route mapping software integrates with salespeople’s calendars, and their company’s CRM system, getting rid of hours of busy work every week.

Although every salesman is accustomed to rejection at least in a slight manner there is a way to cut down rejection and boost sales productivity. And working smarter involves selling to people who have an interest in your product. With this sales lead software you will never be left at Starbucks cold calling looking for that end of the quarter sale. Instead, you can view cancellations from one client as an opportunity to capitalize on another lead. The best part about it is that you don’t even need to be in the office, all you need is your iPhone or iPad.

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How Sales Route Mapping Makes a Good Salesperson a Great Salesperson

by Ian McColl

Good salespeople have a lot of clients.  That’s just how it works;  the more customers you have the more product you’re selling.  But having a large number of clients creates a dilemma.  You have so many people that you need to meet with that it becomes impossible to plan your day effectively.  Given the challenge of visiting all these customers, how do you manage your time optimally to see the maximum number of customers in a single day?

As a salesperson, you probably don’t have clients coming directly to you; you have to go to them.  This means that you will be creating routes from customer to customer. But planning these routes as efficiently as possible is not easy.  It takes time out of your day that could otherwise be used in making sales calls.

Through building these optimized routes, not only will you be able to use the time you otherwise would have spent crafting your routes on selling to your clients, but you will also cut down on your time spent driving. This gives you that much more time in your day to make the sales that matter just by making better use of the time you are already spending.  

Efficiency is what can make the difference between a good salesperson and a great one.  By using Badger’s sales route mapping software, a salesperson can gain the extra advantage they need to be able to make that one last sale in a day.

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How to Double Sales Force Productivity Through Better Prioritization

by Sasha Kasas

How do I prioritize my sales meetings? How do I plan an efficient schedule? How do I avoid wasting valuable selling time when a meeting is canceled?

  These are questions which every salesperson deals with on a daily basis. And for every salesperson, not having answers to these questions means more wasted time - and that means fewer sales.

  In order to prioritize effectively and get meetings in your calendar which will ultimately maximize your sales, you need to be able to pick and choose the most appropriate meetings to schedule on any given day. Which meetings are most appropriate will depend on three main categories:

Timing

Leads whom you haven’t seen for a long time and would appreciate an update or another visit

Leads who are coming up to the next step in the selling process

  Potential Value

Value of potential sale

Historical sales

  Lead Quality / Level of Interest

Interest level as gauged in previous meetings

Quality of lead source

  By scheduling meetings based on the above criteria, you can improve your sales effectiveness and get the most out of the hours in your day.

  But how do you combine optimizing for the factors above, while ensuring you also achieve the best route planning to see all your leads? And what happens if one of your appointments cancels and you are left with an empty time slot?

  This is where a sales mapping app comes into play. An app such as the Badger Map can not only provide you with a map of your sales territory showing all your leads, which are fully integrated with your CRM system to display information on all the above criteria and more, but it can also help you visualize and plan out the optimal route to minimize the time spent traveling between meetings. Furthermore, if time slots open up in your day because of cancellations or missed appointments, you can quickly and easily schedule additional meetings using the Badger Map interface and calendar integration, and its route planning software can re-optimize your meetings to ensure you are hitting as many valuable leads as possible.

  The best part about this sales route mapping app is that it is a fully mobile-optimized experience for iPad and iPhone. You can see and update information about your leads and plan routes on-the-fly right in the app itself, keeping you productive and working at your best the entire day.