Sales play a vital role in the business. Without it, your company would not survive. However, as your business grows, the demand increases for sales too. Since you have more products or services to offer, more buyers will support your company. Nevertheless, you can’t manage all this stuff on your own, which is why you need to hire sales agents. These people will handle tasks that are related to sales, from enticing customers to buy your products to processing orders.
However, sales agents are human too. They make mistakes, get tired, or even feel ill. All these effects are related to stress. Thus, it’s crucial to plan a fun activity each month. It will help them rejuvenate and improve their productivity.
However, there are times when you can’t afford to throw a party for your team for a job well done. There are several reasons for this, but the main reason is the demand. During peak seasons, it’s quite impossible to have a break, making your employees feel stressed. Fortunately, there is a tool that will make the sales process faster and easier. This program we are referring to is the sales force automation software. It has been around for many years, helping companies to be more productive.
There are many vendors of sales software, making it a bit difficult to choose the right program. This post will give you some tips for choosing the right SFA package. You will also learn the importance of sales force automation. However, you need to know what it is first.
What Is Sales Force Automation Software?
Many people think that customer relationship management and sales automation are the same. It could be true at some point since SFA is part of customer relationship management (CRM). However, they are two different programs. Customer relationship management helps customer service representatives. This tool ensures that they provide the best service to customers. Furthermore, it promotes a buyer-seller relationship. Meaning to say, it builds a connection between the client and the provider. For example, if a consumer has concerns, he can go to the company’s website to send an email. He just needs to wait for the reply of the customer service.
As for sales force automation, this program helps sales agents and all those who work in this department. With this tool, users can manage contacts, create a marketing campaign, process sales, and so on.
So how sales force automation works? It starts when a company receives leads. The user must distribute tasks to respective departments. He must also provide necessary details of the account. For example, a customer wants to get a high-end makeup brand. The user must provide this information along with the location of the buyer.
Then, the sales department will start the process. They will pack the order and deliver the item to the customer. The agent must also inform the buyer how long it will take to receive the package. That way, they don’t need to anticipate the order arrival each day.
There are two types of sales force software. The first model has a three-tiered architecture. This tool separates the database, application, and server to reduce pressure on users. The second type has a module-based design, which enables users to customize the program to fit their needs.
Between these two programs, the latter is the popular choice. Though it is more expensive than the former model, it has more benefits to give to your business.
Why Should You Use This Tool for Your Business?
Many people ask, “Why sales force automation is important if we have the best agents in our company?” Going back to our introduction, having the best employees is not enough because they get tired and feel ill. If many people are sick, it will affect the productivity of the firm. For this reason, you need to take advantage of sales automation software.
There are several benefits that you can get from this tool. First, it enables you to assign tasks to the right person or department. With the use of the territory management feature, you can designate tasks to the correct group.
For example, you want to promote your new product to your customers. To do this, you need to assign this task to the sales department. The sales agent will give your buyers a call to inform them about your latest offer.
When someone purchases your goods, you can designate this job in the order processing department. That way, they can start packing the purchased product and deliver it to the recipient.
Another benefit is that it improves the company’s productivity. This tool has features that make the whole sales process faster. Hence, you can concentrate on making sales and not on everything else.
Convenience is another great advantage. Before this software arrived, managers would need to visit each department to know the sales progress. When the SFA software came in, managing business tasks have changed. Leaders don’t need to drop by at the office to assign jobs. They just need to give their employees access to the software. That way, they can get the same details and do their tasks simultaneously.
Apart from that, you can also track the sales wherever and whenever you like, thanks to the mobile versions. You just need to download the mobile app version of your sales force solution. That way, all leads you receive will also appear on your mobile device.
Lastly, it makes the reporting task a lot easier. Let’s face it. Doing a report is your least favorite thing to do. If you could, you want to skip this part. However, you still need to do it to know the sales you’ve made this week.
Fortunately, you don’t need to record the data manually. As the software receives information, the tool automatically records it. Hence, when you need to make a report, you just need to download the data or take a screenshot. This way of recording data does not only save time but also requires less paper usage.
Tips for Buying the Right Software
There are many vendors of this tool who are claiming they offer the top sales force automation software. Thus, it’s quite hard to decide which one you should choose. To make things easier, you need to do the following tips when buying the right sales manager software.
- Know What Your Business Needs.
Outline the problems you want to solve or goals you want to achieve. You may ask the sales and order processing departments to know what they need. By doing this, it will help you find those features that you need for your business.
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Evaluate the Vendor of the SFA Package.
As mentioned earlier, there are many providers of this tool who are claiming that they have the best software for managing sales. Don’t believe in their words without doing research. Call their hotline and talk to their customer service representative. Ask them about your concerns like how it will improve sales and productivity, what features it has, etc. If you’re happy with their answers, you can put them on your list.
Furthermore, make sure you read some sales force automation software reviews. Read at least three critiques online. That would be enough to know if the brand is perfect for your company.
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Test the Tool in Your Environment.
It’s the most critical step to finding the right sales database software. Otherwise, how would you get the correct tool if you don’t test it?
Most providers offer free trials of their products. Take advantage of these demo packages. It will give you a glimpse of how it works and how it improves sales.
If you completed the trial period, you could upgrade your tool by buying the premium version. Nevertheless, if you’re not happy with its performance, you can uninstall the software and continue your research.
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Negotiate the Price.
Imagine yourself in a clothing store. While strolling around, you saw this cute outfit in the stall. However, it was a bit pricey. Nevertheless, you still wanted to get it because you liked the style. Thus, you asked the sales lady if you could get a discount. You’re lucky if she said yes, but if otherwise, you had to wait for sales to get the outfit.
This situation also happens when getting an SFA package. You found the software you’ve been looking for, but it’s way over your budget. So what should you do to get it? Simple! You just need to negotiate the price.
Yes, negotiating is never easy, but if that’s what it takes to get the software, then, you should do it! Below are the things you must do when bargaining.
- Don’t Mind the Price List. Start negotiating at a discounted amount so that if they increase the value, you can still get the lowest cost.
- Tell the Provider That the Price Is One of Your Deciding Factors. That way, they will give you a lower rate.
- Lastly, Don’t Get Free Modules or Features Unless You Need Them. Otherwise, you might end up spending more money once you’re using them.
These are the things you must do when choosing the right sales automation tool. With these tips, there’s no way that you can’t find the best SFA program on the market.
Get top SFA applications today! Go to CrowdReviews.com and read their sales force automation software reviews.
Trevor Price
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