Sometimes it's the small things that count. Sweeping changes to your sales team, such as modifying the script that agents use, or altering the commissions system, are some strategies businesses can take to improve productivity. At the same time, however, a number of seemingly small shifts can also add up to significantly bolster efficiency.

A recent SellingPower white paper highlights that notion, suggesting one of the leading sources of inefficiency at Fortune 500 companies is the contract management process. Unproductive sales quote and contract management  software can result in a revenue leakage of 5 percent, and the absence of these systems can impact every step of the process.

While better contract management and use of sales quote software can help boost efficiency in a number of ways, here are the two key benefits:

1. Streamlining the proposal cycle
Automation is all about making the most out of a sales team's time. By utilizing sales quote software, companies can effectively shorten the amount of time reps spend creating contracts and enable them to get back to selling.

"For instance, if payment terms are entered net 60, rather than the standard net 30, the solution automatically routes the contract to finance for review," explains SellingPower. "This approach not only forces compliance and transparency, it eliminates the problem of reps sending every contract to every department … and then spending even more time tracking it down and figuring out which version is most recent."

2. Better insight
Knowledge is power in the sales world. Just as knowing the needs and problems of potential clients enables salespeople to more effectively convert leads, greater contract management insight is also beneficial.

By utilizing contract management systems, agents can view data on past negotiations and contract terms – it gives salespeople a precedent or bar to work from. This means that they can see how specific situations were handled in the past and find answers to potential client questions without having to do comprehensive research. Intelligence enriches the operations of sales departments, and makes contract management a top priority.

Inefficiency is a key hindrance to successful sales departments. Computer software, ranging from sales performance management (SPM) systems to sales quote software, can play a pivotal role in bolstering productivity.