Did you know that sales representatives spend more than 60% of their time doing mundane tasks like data entry, updating sales orders, replying to emails and making follow up calls? Only 40% of their time is used to execute crucial tasks like lead generation.
Be it startups, small, medium or large-scale enterprises, sales is the lifeblood of any organization. With growth and expansion in business operations, it tends to become difficult to keep a watch on sales order numbers. For that matter, even replying to queries from customers becomes a cumbersome process
This is when sales force automation tools come into the picture. They simplify the entire sales cycle and offer a technology-driven solutions for day-to-day problems. But how? Let us read further to understand better.
What does automation mean when it comes to sales?
Just like in every other field, automation has been crawling into the sales sector too. And, only for the good. Salesforce automation, commonly referred to as SFA, is the process of using a software to execute and undertake certain manual tasks, which can be easily automated. This type of automation offers a long list of benefits to a business.
SFA is essentially automating all sales cycle tasks such as:
- Sales order management
- Contact and client follow up
- Auto-generation and response to emails
- Call forwarding and voice response
- Interactive social media integration and marketing
- Updating information, changes to sales orders
- Complete claims and payment management
- Location tracking
- Offline services
- Report generation and predictive analysis
- Data insights
Features of a good sales force automation tool:
- Records and updates data: A good sales automation software will offer the user unprecedented benefits when it comes to data management, storage and analysis.
- Sales numbers will be recorded
- Data on targets and forecasts will be updated
- Hands-on data to help sales team make decisions
- Data can be easily synched to excel sheets
- Simplifies sales cycle: The entire sales cycle will be automated and streamlined for maximum output with minimal manual inputs.
This is done by:
- Digital processing and optimization
- Automated processing of orders
- Enhanced security features
- Facial Identity recognition: One of the unique features that SFA tools offer is the face recognition software that works on artificial intelligence principles. This offers enhanced security and also convenience.
- Order tracking and processing: This is one of the most important and crucial functions post the lead generation process. If an order is not placed and executed on time, chances are, the business will lose out on future opportunities.
SFA efficiently manages this aspect by:
- Automating the process of placing fresh orders
- Updating existing orders
- Assigning orders to respective employees
- Location tracking: Employees can be tracked and can log in from anywhere, thanks to location-based attendance tracking through mobile phones. This will help the business and management:
- Be aware of employee off-site visits and meetings
- Track attendance
- Offer sales representatives the flexibility to log in from anywhere
- Photo updates: Another interesting feature that most sales force automation tools provide is the option to upload photos when visiting a client location. This will help:
- Mark attendance of employees on client location
- Keep a track of the activities of sales representatives
- Track information for future reference
- Payment tracking: One among the other perks of having a fail-proof sales automation tool is the benefit of tracking of payments, claims and reimbursements of employees. This will help the management:
- Keep tabs on overhead and other additional expenses
- Settle claims of employees in a more organised manner
- Get a status report of pending payments
- Email and call responses: When there is a flood of messages, it is impossible for a single person to respond to each email manually. However, thanks to AI-powered systems and automated email replying, sales teams can now breathe a sigh of relief.
How this is done:
- The salesperson will receive alerts in case of important notifications
- Auto Generated emails and replies
- Offline services: One of the other popular features offered are online services. This allows access to data even when there is no network connectivity.
How will it help a salesperson?
With all of the above features, any salesperson will be empowered enough to deal with the day-to-day challenges in a much better fashion. For example, being able to log in through a mobile device from anywhere and at any time will give a salesperson more flexibility during on-site visits. The salesperson will also be able to procure information and data through a smartphone.
The GM (Go Mobile ) Sales is one among the best sales force automation tools that gives the maximum number of features at affordable prices. www.gm360.io/gm-sales is an all in one sales solution package that will be a perfect fit for any business and any scale of operation. The SFA tools offer most of the above-mentioned features such as photo upload, offline connectivity, catalog and order management, location-based attendance tracking and easy claim reimbursement and payment facility, among other popular features.
Can it solve sales-related problems?
Yes! Most sales problems can be solved by automation. For one, you can be aware and identify where you are getting your leads from. Also, you will be able to measure whether your potential leads are actually translating into customers or not.
For example, if you put out an ad campaign on a social media platform and that results in about 600 new leads, you will be able to see how many of them became customers. If the campaign has resulted in a large customer conversion pool, it means your campaign is successful. If it has resulted only in a few leads, it means that you need to work on your sales strategy and look for more innovative ways to reach out to customers.
A comprehensive solution?
On the whole, a good sales automation software can be a perfect solution. It can also be used to train sales representation and a host of other functionalities.
Points to note
- Sales automation is the way forward
- It can help optimise cost and maximise profits
- It can help save time and resources
