A salesperson lives a dual existence: swift and agile when selling but bogged down with paperwork when closing deals.
Some of the challenges a salesperson faces toward the end of the sales process may be unavoidable. For example, delays in additional approval and sign-offs.
However, some people are known and easy to spot. The biggest of them is the delay in completing the sale-specific documentation.
With multiple opportunities in the pipeline, an experienced seller encounters much paperwork, not to mention the daily print-fill-scan routine.
Our customers tell us they spent 36 percent of their sessions on administrative tasks. If you're one of our clients, you might wonder how you can reduce the number of hours you need to devote to administrative tasks.
We've compiled everything we know into this guide for you.
10 Reasons Why Sales Leaders Are Switching to eSignature Technology
Sales teams cannot often move quickly through their pipeline.
Sales teams spend only 39 percent of their working hours selling products or services. Most of the remaining 61 percent is spent doing administrative work, including answering emails, managing meetings, and attending training sessions.
It costs companies time and effort to manage physical contracts because they take 56 days on average to complete.
eSignatures allow companies to cut down on administrative and other mundane tasks, thereby improving their overall efficiency by 45 percent versus the average company.
Here are 10 other ways companies are using electronic signature technology.
eSignatures Cut Down on Costs
According to an Adobe survey, 61 percent of business leaders say they've seen significant cost savings from implementing electronic signatures.
This is not surprising if you're thinking about the cost of processing papers. On average, an American worker spends $8,000 per year on office supplies for a 100-person business, which comes out to $80,000 per year.
Of course, digital signatures make up just a small part of the total volume of paperwork produced by companies today.
However, they represent a major step in reducing the number of copies needed for important business transactions. In addition, eSignature solution often allows for secure online file sharing without needing physical office spaces.
Increase Efficiency
A study from McKinsey found that 39% of a companys total revenue comes from just 39% of its employees' time.
A study by Harvard Business Review found that 21 percent of a salespeople's time was spent on administrative tasks.
The only way to improve productivity is to give your salespeople the tools they need to be successful.
The biggest reason that salespeople fail is that they're disorganized.
Once your sales team adopts electronic signatures, you will notice an improved workflow for your business.
Your documents become digital, making them easy to access anywhere at any time.
There is no longer any gap between your marketing strategy and execution.
Paperwork isn't necessary for digital documents. As long as they're stored online, they can be instantly available to anyone who needs them.
There's no need for traditional file cabinets, photocopiers, or printers. Everything gets stored in your secure online storage system.
Monitor Sales Contracts in Real Time
Real-time visibility isn't always possible, which can cause all kinds of delays and misunderstandings.
Automate some of your processes to easily track what has already been done and what needs to be done next. You can use free eSignature software to ensure that no one else changes these documents without your approval.
You can use this feature to keep track of the progress of contracts throughout your sales funnel. If one contract gets delayed along the way, you can see where that happened.
You can now respond immediately to ensure that the document doesn't remain stuck in the queue forever. In other words, if you can eliminate those annoying bottlenecks, then you can speed up the processing time.
Give Your Sales Team a Boost in Productivity
Salespeople who spend too much time trying to close deals may become burned out and lose motivation.
As a team leader, you must ensure your salespeople have the right tools to help them sell effectively.
You should include chasing down prospects and clients as part of signing off on contracts. They already have enough on top of their plates without dealing with you.
According to statistics, salespeople only talk to prospects for less than one-third of their time.
You could use digital signatures to sign documents electronically to save time and effort.
They won't need to spend time searching for these documents and the clients they're supposed to represent. They typically would require numerous emails and phone call attempts to reach out to them.
Since they won't have to, they can increase their productivity by focusing on growing their lead generation and developing strong relationships.
Reduce Admin and Improve Productivity
Admin is the biggest waste of company resources. With so many different names, contact numbers, meeting times, and so much other information to keep track of, its a huge burden for sales teams.
And yet, the longer salespeople spend doing mundane tasks and cleaning up databases, the less likely they are to be able to spend their valuable selling hours.
Of course, the human element is essential to any sale. Automation can only take us so far; we must also interact with our customers.
And the best way to do that is face-to-face. That means setting aside your phones and laptops and getting out into the field.
With an automated electronic signature solution, companies can eliminate the tedious administrative tasks associated with paper contracts that involve signing, typing, scanning, mailing, and waiting for their return before they can be signed by the parties involved.
You can populate contracts, send emails for signatures, schedule digital chasers, receive and store documents automatically, and voil! All in just a few simple steps.
Fewer Document Errors
Companies and individuals can use electronic signature software applications (such as eSignly) to create electronic signatures for various types of files.
They offer numerous additional benefits, including reducing the time spent signing each document and increasing the accuracy of the signatures.
Research has shown that electronic signature apps reduce the total number of errors by an average of 80%, from about 15 per document to just 3.
Writers, managers, and lawyers can use a suite of toolsautomated approvals, templates, content librariesthat work together to ensure documents get approved quickly and correctly.
Greater Customer Loyalty
Electronic signature (also known as electronic signing) doesn't just improve internal company processes; it also positively affects customer experience, increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty.
When companies implement electronic signature solutions, they typically see an increase in their net promoter score.
Electronic signatures offer a variety of benefits for both clients and lawyers.
E-signatures allow people to sign legal agreements using electronic signatures from any device. Contract management solutions can help companies deliver proposals and other legal paperwork without sending them by mail.
Additionally, the extra level of protection provided by electronic signatures reassures clients that their agreements won't get lost or misplaced.
Establish Legal, Safe and Secure Documentation
Electronic signatures in digital documents are legally binding.
With IP address, geographic location, timestamp, and email verification, you get an entire data track compared to paper records.
This is ideal for when you need accountability and verifiability.
Within your eSignly Dashboard, you can access this information at any time. You can also get notified whenever new signatures are added to your account.
All imported files are automatically saved as PDFs for added security.
Even though your docs may be stored in transit or on a server, they're always kept safe by encryption. So even if someone manages to hack into your system, they won't be able to access any sensitive info.
Digital documentation is safer and easier to manage than your old, rusted file cabinets. Period.
You can add another level of protection for your sensitive business files with different user access options.
We've ensured that our services comply with the new personal information protection laws, so you don't need to worry about anything.
Quicker Invoicing
Sales and marketing teams often complain about each other because they differ.
Firstly, sales commission and bonus payments depend on accurate reporting, and financial managers use accurate information to bill accordingly.
Somewhere along the line, a disconnect happens. Salespeople say they've made a certain number of sales for the month, but the numbers don't match when financial reports come out.
Usually, it has something to do with a mistake made by the sales team or the finance department.
You need electronic signature software for your sales team!
Salespeople sometimes get invoices from clients who haven't yet been billed.
Keep your finance team happy by making it easy for them to access their reports, and keep your sales team happy by keeping them up-to-date on
Suppose your signed digital agreements or purchase orders (POs) go straight to your finance team. In that case, theyll be able to invoice your client for them right away, eliminating any potential delay in payments.
Seamlessly Adjust the Document
As projects progress, it isn't unusual for clients to ask for contract changes. It could be because they learn more about the requirements and business processes.
You don't have to be at your desk to edit your document. You can access your document from anywhere (like during a business trip) and make changes.
You can use your computer or smartphone to view the document and edit it. After that, everyone else can add their signatures too.
Its really easy!
Things to Consider While Choosing eSignature Software
It is important to research to determine whether a particular signature services provider is suitable for your companys needs.
When choosing between different digital signatures solutions, consider these main features:
Does it Offer an Intuitive User Experience?
One of the most important things to consider when choosing electronic signature software is its ease of use. If you invest time in training your staff, we recommend using a product that makes their lives easier.
A good piece of advice for choosing a CRM system is to choose something easy to use and intuitive. For example, to create a new customer record, you shouldn't need to go through several steps before creating that record.
You should be able to do so quickly and easily.
CRM Integrations
Most companies use CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software. Some of the best CRMs integrate well with other applications, platforms, and technologiesallowing for streamlined business processes.
An effective e-signature solution will help you track everything from your customer relationship management (CRM) system, saving you much admin time.
Tamper Evidence Feature
The very first thing you must do before selecting an electronic signing provider is to make sure they offer a tamper-proof function.
This will allow you to check whether your documents were altered after one person signed them. Some vendors provide tamper-proof features. Others only offer digital signatures. Check out each company's offers to know how much protection you're getting.
You must make sure that the tampered e-signatures are recorded right away. If you wait until the end of the entire contract, there may not be any way to prove that the signatures were tampered with.
Therefore, it is best to record them immediately after they're signed.
The tamper-evident technology should be capable of showing any unwanted changes attempted on a signed piece of paper.
Moreover, you can ensure that a person who signs an agreement hasn't tampered with the paper before signing it. In addition, you can also make sure that the first signer hasn't tampered with the agreement after signing it. A modern electronic signature solution provides such facilities.
Such a solution allows you to create a tamper-free signed piece of paper. Thus, the paper cannot tamper with once it has been signed.
Access to Evidence
Next, consider which type of electronic signatures you want to use. You may choose between digital watermarking and digital signing.
Both types of electronic signatures offer some form of security against forgery. However, they differ significantly in terms of their ability to provide proof of authenticity. For instance, digital watermarking offers no proof of authenticity.
In contrast, digital signing provides both proofs of integrity and proof of authenticity.
You should look for an electronic signing solution that helps you prove the validity and integrity of a document.
This means that the proof of the digital signature should go directly into the signed NDA electronic signatures itself. Look for an electronic signature solution that uses open standards and public key infrastructures (PKIs).
With the evidence, one could access it anytime, even after years. One would not find this convenience in all e-signatures platforms, especially those bound by proprietary formats.
This vendor must visit the service providers site to get information about the signatures. This may sound plausible for a short period. But think of long-run scenarios.
For example, what happens when the vendor's servers go down? What if the vendor changes its technology after 10 years, and you must use a signature to prove it in court? In these cases, you may not be able to access the original document.
Compliance
E?signatures provide another advantage for companies conducting business across borders. They allow them to securely exchange documents online without going through the lengthy and expensive paper processes required by traditional methods.
However, they must first be validated before they become legally binding.
To help ensure the authenticity of electronic documents sent from one country to another, the European Union has established an Electronic Identification, Authentication and Trust Service (eIDAS) regulation.
If your company deals in electronic payments, it is recommended that e-signatures be used.
Flexibility with KYC
KYC regulations often require clients to provide extra identification details before signing contracts. These may include sending an SMS message or protecting documents with passwords only your clients would know.
That being said, not all document types are created equal. For example, a contract carries much more legal weight than an employee timesheet.
When looking for your digital signature solution, be sure to look at how flexible the signing options are since some vendors are restrictive with their corporate packages.
Does it Integrate with My Existing Tools?
You're probably juggling dozens of different business applications to manage day-to-day tasks. Integrating electronic signatures into these tools will help employees be more productive immediately.
If that doesn't suit your needs, see if the solution offers a powerful and flexible API that enables your company to create intuitive electronic signatures within its tools.
This will save your employees time.
What Level of Security Does the Software Offer?
One important thing to consider when selecting an electronic signature solution is making sure that your data is secure.
Some solutions provide better levels of security than others.
By default, use SSL encryption when storing sensitive data online. You should also set up an accurate system for tracking who signed which document and when they did so.
Does the e-Signature Vendor Have a Favorable Reputation in the Industry?
Researching before signing on the dotted line is strongly advised. Find out what others are doing and learn from them.
Look into the reputations of potential partners and choose one with a good track record. Online forums can help you assess vendor capabilities and determine if they're right for your needs.
Authentication Measures
Authentication factors should be your first priority when choosing an electronic signing system. Make sure your documents aren't going into the wrong hands at any moment.
The most basic example of two-factor authentication is a combination of a username/passcode with an SMS message sent to your mobile device.
The importance and sensitivity of the information vary greatly between different documents and forms. Therefore, you might also encounter the necessity for higher levels of security. You do not want your e-Signature provider to open your documents to unauthorized access!
You need to determine if the merchant has provided multiple ways to verify the identity of the person who signs up for the account.
One way is by using e-mail-based authentication. When someone clicks on a link sent via e-mail, they're directed straight to the payment page.
Knowledge-based authorization (KBA) is one of several simple but effective measures for authenticating the identity of signatories to electronic transactions.
It requires the user to answer multiple-choice questions that test their knowledge of facts about the bank account holder. If the user answers them right, they get access to the transaction.
For example, some vendors can implement "Sharing Question" technology where a customer answers a set of personal questions (for instance, name, address) that the vendor knows.
If the customer answers these correctly, they can be authenticated and allowed to complete the transaction. However, suppose the customer fails to answer any sharing questions correctly. In that case, they cannot proceed with the transaction.
Customization
To create a positive customer service impression, e-mail marketing needs to be customized. Customization includes customizing e-mails by adding images, logos, colors, fonts, etc.
Before sending out e-mails requesting people to sign documents, verify that the platform allows you to add your company logo.
Advanced tools such as eSignly offer these additional signing features and are available for use in 15+ languages, so companies operating internationally can benefit from them.
Smartphone Compatibility
As smartphones become more integrated into our daily life, making sure that websites look good on them is important.
If you're offering your clients the ability to conduct business digitally through their smartphones, consider using an app that allows them to access your company's services without downloading anything.
Some free eSignature software like eSignly allows recipients to create their signatures, add signatures, and edit existing signatures from anywhere using a smartphone or tablet.
The Key Takeaway
Electronic signatures provide additional benefits beyond reducing the sales cycle and helping close contracts.
They ultimately offer better document production and editing controls than traditional methods, avoiding tedious updates and duplicates.
- They also help companies manage their sales processes better by providing tools for notifications and digitizing every single part of the sales cycle.
- Lastly, they help managers to let their employees get away from low-value tasks and focus on what counts: the relationship with the client.
Its not just for marketing anymore.
