It’s Monday and time to switch gears from chilling to selling. You’ve mentally prepared yourself for the day on your ride into work and now it’s time to review your schedule and see what appointments have been booked for the day. There’s just one problem with this very logical plan…you can’t access your appointments.
That appointment software that your company invested in a couple of years ago has done a scheduled maintenance and as per usual, it won’t let you log into it. This nuisance is something you’ve gotten used to and you could almost overlook it if this same appointment software wouldn’t consistently have various glitches throughout the year. Your mental state has now gone from ‘make a sale’ to an urge to smash something.
The vendor said this software would make everyone’s job easier. Time for another coffee.
Getting the right online appointment application in place for your company is vital. Reliability is a key factor but you also want an application that is easy to use, has a features you and your team can actually use, and can scale as your team or organization grows. If you feel you’re just getting by with the software you’re currently using, it may be time to consider a change. In order to narrow the field, here’s a list of things worth considering when researching providers for the right online appointment system.
So easy the boss’ dog gets it.
Easy-Peasey. Your sales team does not have any interest in learning a new software program. An online appointment application cannot be difficult to navigate or your salespeople will find ways to manage without it. It should not only improve your team’s current appointment-making methods but also fit seamlessly into their daily workflow. From day one, everyone should be able to understand the features after a brief training session or can figure it out on their own.
Where is everyone?
A work shift management function should be able to create more than just work schedules. The software your company chooses should be able to give you complete control over your entire workforce. Scheduling at any of your locations or at the customer location should be the least you are able to do with your appointment app. Other features like drag & drop rescheduling, room scheduling, no-show warning indicator and proximity search can give your team control over their schedules and the flexibility that customers want.
The appointment app should also include reminders and alerts. Your salespeople are focused on their quotas, they need to be reminded of different events and changes to their schedules. Another way to keep it easy-peasy while improving the workflow of the company.
But I’m in Dublin today and Atlanta tomorrow.
All this information should have the ability to be shared on mobile devices with the tap of a button. Salespeople need to be able to access their schedule any time and for some organizations, from anywhere in the world. A study conducted by Cisco found that only 11 percent of users access business applications 100 percent from their brick-and-mortar office locations.
Message? What message?
Along with the ability to use the software across all mobile devices, your new appointment application should also have calendar integration. This means that work schedules should be accessible and shareable using some of the most popular calendar applications like iCal, Google Calendar or Outlook.
Show me the numbers.
Lastly, you want an application that can prove to you it is working. The capability of an online appointment application to produce reports on everything from staff utilization, appointment volumes to no-shows as well as custom reports goes a long way in returning both valuable data and ROI in exchange for your organization’s investment.
Time to play matchmaker.
Now that you’ve considered the needs of your sales team, there’s one other party that you will need to consider as you make this decision and that’s your IT Department. All the research you’ve done into online appointment application providers and the time you took to schedule and attend a demo could be all for naught if your technical team finds the provider cannot accommodate their requirements. When you have a consultation and a demo with the provider, you want to understand not only that it is user-friendly but both technical and user support is provided for it and IT actually feels good about it.
As you sit back down at your desk and try to not think about that potential pipeline of sales appointments your current software is holding captive, consider this information when you’re ready to choose your company’s new appointment application. By understanding what works for your team and fits with your organization’s technical capabilities,you’ll have no trouble picking the right system and your sales team will also have an easy time adjusting to the new software.
