Month-end closing is a hectic time for all involved. What with all departments sending in their invoices, manually processing, and clearing them is the stuff of nightmares.
However, the worst hit is the sales team. From chasing after leads to clinching deals, often, the sales team ignores the paperwork. It can affect their earnings, paving the path for bitter feuds with the accounts people. Also, such feuds affect productivity and hamper the company's scaling plans and prospects. But, with innovation and careful planning, organizations can ease the flaring tempers and tension during month-end closing.
Index
- Make your data machine readable
- Automate the things you can
- Merge all the inputs
- Look at a lot of data, but focus on the right one
Four carefully-curated strategies to help ease your month-end close
1. Make your data machine readable
Your data is a valuable asset. But suppose it's not in a proper database in an easily accessible format. In that case, your accounts team won't be able to use it effectively. If someone needs to figure out how much a salesperson sold last month, they must comb through dozens of different sheets. And that too assuming that the data is properly sorted, collated, and stored.
By ensuring that all data is machine-readable, you increase the accuracy and relevance of all data that reaches the team responsible for processing the payables. This way, they can expedite the processes and minimize errors.
2. Automate the things you can
While automation may not be the perfect solution to all your closing problems, it is a great way to reduce errors, speed up processes, and improve accuracy. Use automation tools like machine learning, data analytics, and artificial intelligence to optimize your operations.
For example, AI can predict which leads will convert into buyers so that you can focus on them. It can also recommend content marketing efforts based on the characteristics of past buyers or prospects with similar desired outcomes.
From sales forecasting and commission calculation to dispute resolution and shadow accounting, automation solves everything in seconds. It offsets the burden of mundane tasks, helping salespeople chase and close deals.
3. Merge all the inputs
Salespeople are notorious for forgetting to enter vital information into the CRM. Using a spreadsheet or database to keep track of such information will help them stay organized and ensure nothing slips through the cracks.
Companies must invest in building a single source of truth for all sales-related data. It will ensure that your sales team always has the correct information to complete their tasks.
4. Look at a lot of data, but focus on the right one
Sales teams often spend too much time looking at data that does not provide value. Here are some questions to consider:
- Is this the correct data?
- Does it answer your specific questions?
- Can you act based on this information?
By focusing on the correct data, sales professionals can make informed decisions on their strategies and close deals faster.
Use new-age data analysis software to aid the teams in connecting disparate sets of information from multiple sources into one source of truth. It will help everyone involved to become more efficient and faster. For example, optimizing your sales process through automation will help you save time and money.
Organizations can help the sales team improve their processes by integrating machine learning and artificial intelligence for automation. It can help the team predict the outcomes by analyzing past trends and forecasting new leads.
Companies that invest in automation offset the paperwork burden off the sales team’s shoulders. It boosts the morale of the salespeople as they know that come month-end, all their billables, and payables will be in order.
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Start automating your commission calculation processes and payments while motivating your sales teams to accomplish their goals.
Blitz is an automated platform that ensures companies with accurate and on-time payouts. It’s easy to manage and integrates seamlessly with the platforms and systems your teams already use.
Our solution caters to multiple industries and helps multiple roles and positions in your company.