Sales force automation (also known as SFA) is the process of integrating different sales processes, automating the entire sales process, so that the same set of operational procedures are followed each time a new prospect comes through the pipeline.
It reduces operational costs, increases customer loyalty and streamlines the sales process. In this article we will be discussing what Sales Force Automation is and how it can help your company become more efficient in their sales department. Before you continue reading, let’s take a look at what exactly Sales Force Automation. Read Other Useful Service: eInvoicing Software
What is Sales Force Automation?
Sales Force Automation is the process of integrating different sales processes, automating the entire sales process, so that the same set of operational procedures are followed each time a new prospect comes through the pipeline.
It reduces operational costs, increases customer loyalty and streamlines the sales process. In addition to the above benefits, sales force automation also allows companies to track the performance of their sales team, measure customer response rates, access customer data to engage with them in more personalized and effective ways, and forecast customer behaviour to make informed decisions.
The sales force automation process begins with creating customer personas, configuring sales channels, identifying sales goals, and setting up sales activities. The sales team then follows predefined deployment procedure to integrate all the tools and processes. Once the tools are integrated, they must follow the customer onboarding process to get customer data and start engaging with the customers.
Benefits of Sales Force Automation
– Optimized sales team – Automating the sales process removes the human factor as a constraint to sales growth. The sales team can now focus solely on closing deals and gaining new customers. – Reduced operational costs – With the growth of e-commerce and online businesses, there has been a tremendous rise in the demand for customer service. This, in turn, has increased the operational costs.
Companies that have implemented sales force automation are now able to take advantage of the existing customer database, thereby reducing the operational costs.
– Improved customer experience – The sales team can now deliver a better customer experience. With automated processes, sales team members can now focus on training and coaching, which was not very common beforehand.
– Improved revenue forecasting – Automation has also enabled companies to predict revenue. For instance, a company that sells luxury products is more likely to experience a spike in revenue during specific dates. By collecting data on customer behaviour and utilising artificial intelligence, sales force automation has helped companies to forecast revenue. Read Other Useful Services: Billing Software
– Better decision-making – With automation, the sales team can make better decisions on which prospects to engage with and which to leave out.
– Improved collaboration – With the growth of the Internet and e-mail, the collaboration between sales teams has increased. However, a lot of manual processes were involved in the collaboration. With automation, the sales teams can now use their time efficiently, thereby increasing their revenue.
Steps in Sales Force Automation
Automation begins with customer personas. When companies create customer personas, they consider the detailed information about their target customers, such as their demographics, preferences, and overall buying behaviour. This information is then used to create sales processes. The sales processes are then implemented to acquire new customers.
To continue with the above example, the sales processes would include an account opening flow, closing a deal flow, managing contracts, managing customer expectations, and engaging with the customer. After the implementation of these processes, the sales team can now follow the same set of procedures for each new prospect. The sales team can also use customer data for making informed decisions.
Automation is done through the use of software. There are a number of sales force automation tools that can help businesses automate their sales processes. These tools help companies manage a diverse set of sales activities, such as lead generation, account management, and sourcing deals.
Roles of other tools in B2B sales organisation
– CRM – CRM tools help the sales team to manage the relationship with the customer. The CRM tools provide a hub where the sales team can manage their relationships and track the activity with the customers. A customer relationship management tool also helps the sales team to manage the activities related to prospecting. For example, the customer relationship management tool can help you manage the nurture campaign, which is the campaign to cultivate the relationship with the customer.
– Engineering – Engineering tools help the sales team to track their deal flow. When a customer contacts the sales team about a deal that meets the customer requirements, the sales team can track the deal. There are a number of engineering tools that can be used for this purpose.
– Marketing – Marketing tools help the sales team to manage their campaigns and track the campaign performance. The marketing tools help the sales team to manage their campaigns through automation. For example, when a campaign is created, the marketing tool can be used to schedule future campaign activities.
– Customer data – Customer data is the most important asset for any business. These are the data related to the customer behaviour, preferences, and overall buying behaviour. Customer data helps the sales team to make informed decisions. Some of the customer data sources are email marketing, customer relationship management, and web traffic.
– SaaS – Sales automation tools are available as SaaS (software as a service). The sales automation tools can be integrated with the sales process to automate the sales process. Some of the popular sales automation tools include Salesforce, Hubspot, and Marketo. SaaS helps companies to save money by reducing the cost of on-premise installation and deployment.
Roles of different software in B2B sales organisation
Customer relationship management: CRM tools help the sales team to manage the relationship with the customer. The CRM tools provide a hub where the sales team can manage their relationships and track the activity with the customers.
For example, the customer relationship management tool can help you manage the nurture campaign, which is the campaign to cultivate the relationship with the customer. Engineering tools help the sales team to track their deal flow. When a customer contacts the sales team about a deal that meets the customer requirements, the sales team can track the deal.
There are a number of engineering tools that can be used for this purpose. Marketing tools help the sales team to manage their campaigns and track the campaign performance. The marketing tools help the sales team to manage their campaigns through automation. For example, when a campaign is created, the marketing tool can be used to schedule future campaign activities. – Customer data: Customer data is the most important asset for any business. These are the data related to the customer behaviour, preferences, and overall buying behaviour.
Customer data helps the sales team to make informed decisions. Some of the customer data sources are email marketing, customer relationship management, and web traffic. – Sales automation: Sales automation tools are available as SaaS (software as a service).
The sales automation tools can be integrated with the sales process to automate the sales process. Some of the popular sales automation tools include Salesforce, Hubspot, and Marketo. SaaS helps companies to save money by reducing the cost of on-premity installation and deployment.
Conclusion
Sales force automation is becoming a more and more important part of sales strategies. It will help your company to reach the customers much quicker and with higher quality. Automation is the process of using technology to perform tasks that are carried out manually.
This means that automation is the use of technology to improve the efficiency of an organization in a way that was previously not possible. Sales force automation has been around for many years and has been proven to be an effective way for companies to increase revenue and improve their profit margins. Most importantly, it allows companies to be more efficient, saving time and money in their sales process.
