Route planning for field sales reps
A rep's day is meetings, not parcels. But the problem is the same: too much time between stops. SoloRoute plans your visits in a sensible order, keeps your account notes on each stop and makes it easy to rebuild the route when a meeting moves.
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Where the day goes
Field sales reps, merchandisers, service techs and territory managers all have the same quiet problem. The work happens at the customer, but a big part of the day happens in the car. Every extra ten minutes between visits is one less call you can fit in, or one hour later you get home.
Most reps plan the day in their head or in Google Maps, which keeps whatever order you type and stops at 10 stops. That works for four visits. It does not work for twelve.
Build your territory once
The best time saver for reps is the address book.
- Import your account list from a CSV or spreadsheet export.
- Save each customer once with the name, address, phone number and a short note.
- When you plan a day, pick the accounts you want to see and SoloRoute builds the route.
Free accounts can save 100 addresses. Pro, at $7.99 a month, removes the limit, which matters if your territory has a few hundred accounts.
Plan a day of visits
- Pick today’s accounts from your address book, search new prospects or paste a list.
- Set fixed meetings as time windows. A 10:00 meeting becomes a 10:00 to 10:15 arrival window.
- Pin first and last visits. The key account you must see first thing, or the drop-in closest to home at the end of the day.
- Set start and end. Home or office to start, home to finish.
- Tap Optimize. You get an order that hits the fixed meetings and fills the gaps with the rest.
Time windows come with Pro, and they are what make this work for sales. The fixed meetings anchor the day and the drop-ins fit around them.
Notes that are there when you arrive
Each stop can carry notes and a phone number. Use the notes for what you need at the door:
- “Ask for Dana, not the front desk”
- “Park around back, loading dock”
- “Bring new price sheet”
Keep the long account history in your CRM. SoloRoute is for the practical details you need in the parking lot.
On the road
Tap Navigate and the visit opens in Google Maps, Waze or Apple Maps, whichever you use. After each visit, mark it done, or mark it failed if the buyer was out. Choose retry later and the visit moves to the end of the day.
If a meeting runs long or gets moved, edit the stop’s time window. The rest of the day re-times right away, so you can see if you need to call ahead. If the afternoon makes more sense in the other direction, Pro can reverse the route in one tap.
Look back at your week
Route history keeps every day you planned. Open a past route to see which visits you made, which helps when you write your weekly activity report.
Products in the trunk
If you carry samples, displays or merchandising stock, the delivery features help too. Use package count and package location on each stop, like “2 boxes, trunk left”, so you grab the right materials. If a customer needs proof that you dropped off stock, Pro lets you take a photo at the visit.
Free or Pro for reps
Most reps see fewer than 20 accounts a day, so the free plan covers the route itself. Reps with a large territory usually move to Pro for the unlimited address book. Pro is $7.99 a month, billed through the App Store or Google Play, so it is easy to expense or cancel.
Your routes sync across devices when you sign in with email, Google or Apple. Plan the week on one phone or tablet and drive it from another.
Try it with this week’s visits
Install SoloRoute (free for 20 stops per route) and paste this week’s addresses to see the best order. Notes and saved addresses are included. Pro adds time windows.
Questions
Can I save my accounts so I do not retype them?
Yes. Save customers and prospects in the address book and pick them when you build a route. The free plan holds 100 saved addresses. Pro makes it unlimited.
Can I plan around fixed meeting times?
Yes, with Pro. Give a stop a time window, such as 10:00 to 10:30, and the optimizer plans the rest of the visits around it.
Does SoloRoute replace my CRM?
No. SoloRoute plans the driving and keeps short notes on each stop. Keep your account history and deal notes in your CRM.
Can I call a customer from the route?
Yes. Add a phone number to the stop and tap to call from the stop card, for example to say you are running ten minutes late.
Is it free?
Free for up to 20 stops per route, which covers most sales days. Pro is $7.99 a month for up to 100 stops per route, an unlimited address book and reverse route.