Today’s business markets are more competitive than ever. No matter what goods or services you are selling, it’s longer enough to provide your customers with high quality products and responsive customer service, and simply hope for the best. In the high-tech climate of the global marketplace, any sales force that wants to succeed has to be able to collect, interpret and analyze data. Furthermore, they must be able to perform these tasks not just at one location, but must be able to access all their company’s information quickly and easily using a variety of mobile technologies.
Sales force automation (SFA) systems, or sales force management systems, generally fall under the umbrella of customer relationship management (CRM) systems. SFA systems are a way to record, track, analyze and disseminate data and information, not only among the members of the sales force, but also among managers, executives, marketing, and other departments in an organization. In fact, company-wide integration is the hallmark of a sales force automation system. Another important component of the SFA is its accessibility. Since automation moves sales operations into the sales cloud – an infrastructure which uses the Internet in lieu of expensive, time-consuming, and cumbersome sales software or hardware – data can be uploaded or accessed from a variety of different platforms, and from almost any location. Lotus Notes, Microsoft Outlook, Word and Excel, Google Apps and mobile devices like iPhones, BlackBerrys, and Windows mobile can all be integrated with your sales force automation and customer relationship management tools.
What can automating the sales force accomplish? First and foremost, it allows sales reps to build strong customer relationships, follow up on every lead, and close more deals, by providing an in-depth view of every customer. The sales cloud also streamlines the administrative aspect of sales reps’ job, allowing them to update information, record customer interactions, track competitors, and access presentations and collaborations.
The sales force automation platform also tabulates and presents information – including order information, activity reports, marketing research data, product acceptance, industry dynamics, trend identification and sales forecasting data – to the sales manager, in easy-to-understand formats such as charts, graphs or tables. Since it’s easy to update information more frequently, the sales manager will have greater control over the trajectory of sales and marketing initiatives, and can adjust for current trends accurately and responsively.
Sales force automation can also help marketing managers identify market segments, identify target markets, spotlight the company’s best customers, understand competitors’ products, conduct market research and develop core-customer profiles, and develop timely and effective marketing strategies.
Managers, executives and partners can also utilize sales force automation in order to keep their fingers on the pulse of day-to-day sales. Comprehensive, real-time views of sales, effortless information sharing, and collaboration between departments are all possible with a fully automated sales force. SFA keeps track of everything, so that it’s virtually impossible for data to get lost in the shuffle.
Increased productivity and competitive advantage are two of the goals of sales force automation. These effects evolve naturally from stronger connections with customers, streamlined access to information and automated processes across the board.
Gone are the days when a salesperson need only consult with the other members of the sales team in order to glean information and discover trends. Now, with global subsidiaries and a sales force that is often scattered across the globe, the ability to communicate with associates, review data, and report statistics to fellow team members can be a tricky challenge. With cloud computing and sales force automation platforms, however, your company can rise to that challenge and succeed in the modern, globalized marketplace.
