Way back when organizations started adopting computers to support business, many observers predicted that the 21st century would see the dawn of the “paperless office.” Yet, as anyone who works in an office can testify, the flood of paperwork persists.
In this era of digital business, information at all levels can be captured, delivered, processed and represented electronically. Nowhere has this impact been seen in a more profound way than for the documents that are the backbones of sales organizations—quotes, contracts, statements of work and proposals—which, for the most part, are all digitized and electronically stored, capable of being indexed, searched and widely distributed at the click of a button.
However, sales processes still tend to feel slower than they should. Sealing the deal often involves delays, including waiting for emails, phone calls, visits and signed documents. Agreements and contracts may need to be sent back and forth for review, and ensuing delays mean they may sit for days or weeks until all the i’s are dotted and t’s crossed.
A recent Forbes Insights report, sponsored by Adobe, “Accelerate Your Sales Performance: Believe It, e-Signatures Can Transform Your Business,” addresses the heart of this problem.
Movement of electronic documents stops short at its most critical point—getting sign-offs from involved parties. Often, a sale or project may require multiple executive approvals on complex internal approval forms. Add to that the time and cost involved in printing and stamping the documents, obtaining physical signatures, scanning and routing the document to all parties. In today’s hectic and highly distributed work environments, getting through this process could take days or even weeks.
Electronic, or e-signature, technology enables customers to sign off on agreements or contracts right from the device on which they are viewing the document, without the need to print, scan or transfer it.
There are real costs and risks to organizations that still rely on manual, paper-based document transactions. Paper is fragile and destructible; it can easily be misplaced, human errors may occur while entering info, or parts of documents may be rendered illegible or damaged. The electronic document revolution of the past two decades promised to remove these risks. However, electronic documents still need to be converted to paper to allow for review and sign-offs.
Risks entailed in paper-based signature processes include:
Slowing revenue and productivity. The need to print out and re-scan documents as part of a sales process or agreement slows down both sales representatives and the staff members who support them. Following up on emailed documents is time-consuming, and often various teams and stakeholders are scattered geographically. Delays may even end up scrubbing an agreement.
Legal and compliance issues from inaccurate or incomplete documents. The company is exposed to legal and business risk because it’s too easy for reps to send out an out- dated version of a contract, use the wrong terms, or have incorrect or missing information in the sales contract. In addition, an inability to confirm that
documents have been signed off by appropriate parties may lead to auditing or compliance issues.
Lack of visibility/inaccurate forecasting. Even though most, if not all, documents are digitized and stored in both personal computers as well as enterprise systems, it’s difficult for people to track the course of those documents, to find the latest copy or to ascertain its current status.
Poor customer experiences. The interrupted processes resulting from the need for manual reviews and sign-offs on documents create headaches for customers as well as sales teams. One source of customers’ dissatisfaction may be potential misunderstandings or miscommunication due to errors or misfiled or unsigned documents. Lack of signed authorizations may even crop up during the course of the contract engagement, creating friction between an enterprise and a key customer.
The sales department is likely to benefit the most from e-signature solutions. The need for sales staff to deal with paper adversely impacts revenue, customer engagement and sales department productivity. Moving to e-signatures enables sales representatives to eliminate potential lag time in new sales opportunities, close deals faster and manage multiple accounts remotely, without needing to be physically present.
