Unique attributes of sales force automation
Sales force automation refers to any tool, software or program that automates all the tasks within a sale process.
Sales force automation solutions help to carry out the sales operations in a faster and more effective way. Sales force automation performs a variety of tasks including lead generation, inventory management, order processing and tracking, customer records keeping, report making, sales forecasting, and much more.
The key features of all sales force automation software are:
Sales Lead Generation
Lead generation and lead tracking are one of the most useful features of sales force automation. When all data is stored in a centralized location, employees can track lead prospects through the automated system. By using sales force automation, companies can rank their leads based on how urgent they seem to be. They can also use other indicators such as seeing the overall value, or the estimated probability that the deal will close. This type of information helps sales managers to devote their sales resources to a deal accordingly for the best results.
Contact Management
This is the most basic feature for all types of sales force automation. For sales agents who are always on the field, a sales force apps help them to better coordinate and prioritize their opportunities. A sales force automation platform keeps the up-to-date contact information of all customers and prospects, as well as a complete and thorough history of all interactions for each account they are engaged with. This saves time for the sales agents when asked about their progress on a particular lead. They can also easily access past customer records anytime making it easier for them during any customer interaction. When pitching a new sale, the older purchase records help them to know about the customer’s likes and preferences.
Schedule Management
When all the contacts of customers and clients are stored on a centralized platform, sales agents can manage their meeting schedules more efficiently by utilizing a fully-integrated electronic calendar that allows them to set appointment reminders, flag contacts for future follow up, and more. When the appointment timings are saved on the automation platform, sales managers can better monitor their sales agents. By keeping track of all the meetings that happen, they are better informed about what is happening to a particular sales lead. Being informed about an agent’s schedule helps sales managers to always be in a loop of any progress being made.
Order Tracking
With sales force automation, all the processed orders and deliveries can be tracked in real time, ensuring that customers receive their products and services in a timely manner. By keeping track of this, sales managers can identify vital purchase trends, understand customer needs and preferences, and implement more effective up-sell and cross-sell strategies.
Sales Forecasting
The sales forecasting as done by a sales force automation solution is essential for the sales and marketing team of an organization to predict future sales revenue opportunities. It helps the sales team to handle the current sales scenario and provides guidelines to the marketing team to strategize campaigns and actions as per the need of the hour.
Sales Performance Reports
A sales force automation platform keeps track of all the sales activities done in an organization. Since everything is done in an automated way, companies can generate accurate sales reports quickly and effectively. Sales managers can also divide the reports based on different sales territories, specific product lines, and more. Managers and analysts can measure actual sales against forecasts and quotas, past sales records, and other critical sales performance metrics. Salesforce automation is also useful in making performance reports for individual sales agents. The task monitoring feature helps to accurately assess every employee’s performance. Such insights will help managers to identify areas in need of improvement.
Mobile Access
In the modern day of business, mobility is a very important factor. For sales force automation, this holds even more significance because a large part of the sales force spends most of its time on the field busy in meetings with potential clients. This is why sales force automation platforms are connected to the web and built with a user interface that is compatible with working on a smartphone or tablet. This allows sales staff to access real-time account, inventory, and product data at any time, from any location, allowing them to stay fully-connected even when on the road.