Sales Claims are critical to your business's bottom line.
Channel Marketing programs are intended to increase the number of claims through incentive strategies and campaigns but what sort of processes and technology do you employ to manage the volume and governance required to keep your Organization financially viable?
Many organizations are not prepared to handle the sheer number of claims that will be created through in-direct channels. Do any of these challenges sound familiar?
1) No standardization
Invoices are frequently submitted in various formats, including fonts and designs. It is inconvenient to read the invoice, and it takes time to comprehend the mountain of paperwork, especially if it is dependent on manual processing.
2) Incomplete information
Claims cannot be approved when information is missing, and sales claw backs occur. That is something that no one wants, especially the representatives who rely on the SPIF’s and commissions to boost their bottom line. They expect to be appropriately rewarded, and if they aren't, they are likely to sell a competitor’s product or solution.
3) Taxation
There is a worldwide collective groan when tax season arrives. The accuracy of claims is critical when issuing tax information, which is especially important when you have many reps. When processing large volumes of claims you cannot afford to issue tax slips late, or worse, make it nearly impossible and a convoluted maze of steps for your reps to receive them.
4) Fraud
Fraud happens and some sales reps will try to take advantage of the system. Do you have the infrastructure or technology to detect duplicate invoices? Is your team overwhelmed by monthly deadlines as they check for errors manually? What safe guards do you have in place to ensure revenue loss is minimal for your Organization?
If you do not address these issues, they will worsen and harm your bottom line. The solution is simple: set up a dedicated platform for reps to submit claims. When you put a solid system in place, you unlock the power of automation and technology. Here are four reasons why you should switch to a channel incentive platform that can manage your sales claim process:
1) Control
How easy is your submission form process? Eliminate multiple steps and funnel communication, attachments and data collection through a singular point. By creating a seamless sales claim experience, your representatives will understand intuitively how to file a claim, eliminate bottlenecks and reduce the instances of missing info so that data will be standardized. Using a digital Claims Submission form allows you to enter SKUs of eligible products, quantities, custom fields, documentation attachments, and other information. Everything you want and need.
2) Efficiency
Specialized channel applications use scripts to implement rules to handle complex sales claims. This includes customized tax rules, one-of-a-kind spifs, and fraud detection. Your reps now have instant access to their sales claims and can view their history which reduces the number of support calls and paperwork.
3) Artificial intelligence and Channel Automation
Good platforms will have AI and automation built in. Claims can be processed quickly, accurately, and efficiently. With Artificial Intelligence, the system compares the scanned invoiced and referenced inputs to ensure no errors have occurred. If detected, a message is routed directly to the rep. Automation ensures the integrity of your data, and it is validated both during and after submission.
4) Auditing
Digital paperwork is easier to track. Suppose you need to access a specific claim and any actions that have been performed on it. It is automatically captured in the system and can be checked. This ensures transparency and fairness.
We've seen it all at ChannelAssist. We've helped companies reduce their sales claim processing time from weeks to days. Our robust and time-tested rewards programs technology keeps sales claims moving, allowing reps to keep selling. We unburden your team to focus on growing your channel.
Also, if you want to see how our platform works in action, click here. Schedule a demonstration with us.