The hidden cost of inefficient field sales: what’s it really costing you?

Let’s be honest — mornings for your field sales team often start with Google Maps, scrolling through Excel sheets, and hunting through emails to find that one important customer note. Meanwhile, your competitor might already be shaking hands on their first deal of the day.

Sound familiar? You’re not alone.

Research from McKinsey and Forrester shows that sales reps spend up to 40% of their time on tasks that have nothing to do with selling — like admin, route planning, and searching for info. That’s time not spent with your customers. And every missed conversation is a missed opportunity.

In today’s fast-paced world, this isn’t just inefficient. It’s expensive. Really expensive.

You could be losing up to 20% in revenue every year due to poor planning and missed sales potential. For a mid-sized company, that could mean hundreds of thousands of euros left on the table — along with lost visibility and pressure on your long-term growth.

And yet, many field sales teams still rely on clunky, disconnected systems that slow them down instead of speeding them up. So here’s the real question: Is your sales operation helping you move forward — or holding you back?

The quiet killer: how inefficiency chips away at your sales potential

Field sales isn’t just about showing up. Your reps are doing it all — managing data, building relationships, and making strategic calls. But if they’re stuck juggling spreadsheets, outdated tools, and scattered notes, they’re losing time where it counts.

Here’s what that looks like:

• 🚗 Wasted driving time – Up to 30% of it is lost due to poor route planning.

• 🔍 Missing customer data – Only 46% of reps have the info they need while on the road.

• ❌ Lost deals – Without real-time insights, the risk of missing a sale jumps by 28%.

Each of these adds up to one thing: lost revenue — and a growing lead for your competitors.

From lost time to strategic advantage

What if your field sales team could turn these challenges into a competitive edge? What if every customer visit was perfectly timed, every interaction was driven by real-time data, and every minute on the road contributed to your revenue?

That’s exactly what Cegeka’s Field Sales app makes possible. Our platform combines territory management, route optimization, and customer relationship management into one easy-to-use solution. This allows sales teams to:

✅ Plan the most efficient routes, including live updates based on traffic data and appointments.
✅ Instantly access customer information, so they’re always prepared and ready to seize opportunities.
✅ Smartly organize their work area and prioritize based on revenue potential.

Real results: +40% customer visits, -25% travel time

The impact of smart field sales tools is massive. Take Perfetti Van Melle, for example—a company that drastically improved its field sales operations with an integrated solution.

Perfetti Van Melle is also very pleased with the additional insights the solution provides. 

The result? More insights for management and happier customers. “Thanks to all the data we collect, we learn a lot about in-store performance, sales, and customers. These insights help us better advise supermarket owners.”

Time to take action

The hidden costs of inefficient field sales are too great to ignore. Every unscheduled visit, every lost minute, and every missed opportunity adds up. Want to transform your sales team from traveling reps into strategic sales champions?

Let’s chat. Book a demo and discover how we can help your team work smarter, move faster, and close stronger.