Sales Force Automation

1. Sales Force Automation Chapter 4 The CRM Handbook

2. SFA – Sales Force Automation • Focus on cultivating customer relationships and • Improving customer satisfaction • Scenario Number One • Scenario Number Two

3. The Ever-Evolving SFA • Early 1990’s companies with field sales forces were faced with tremendous amounts of customer information. • Software vendors realized this unmet and unrecognized need. • Info about customers was kept in “little black books” that left with the sales reps.

4. The Promise of SFA • Putting account information directly in the hands of field sales staff. • Making them responsible for it with the promise of….. • Making them more productive. • Synchronize information with the corporate client/server database.

5. Sales Force Automation Tools • Sales Process/Activity Management • Include a sequence of sales activities • Guide sales reps through each discrete step in the sales process Opportunity Generated Sales process Opportunity Generated Lead allocated Prospect contacted Prospect qualified Solution identified Order placed Sales activity

6. Sales Force Automation Tools • Sales Process/Activity Management (cont) • Offer calendars to assist in the planning of key customer events • Proposal presentations • Product demonstrations • Alarm Reminders • Signal important tasks • Generate documents as they are needed • Make decisions based on the user’s input • Generate a mailing suggestions

7. Sales Force Automation Tools • Sales and Territory Management • Tools that enable sales managers and executives on-demand access to sales activities • Before, during and after the order • Enables managers to set up sales teams and link individual accounts, regions and industries. • Allows tracing of territory assignments and monitor pipelines and leads for individual territories. • Allows optimization of individual teams

8. Sales Force Automation Tools • Contact Management • Deals with organizing and managing data across and within a company’s client and prospect organizations. • See p. 84 of the types of questions that can be answered with this tool.

9. Sales Force Automation Tools • Lead Management • Also known as “opportunity management” and “pipeline management” • Track customer account history • Monitor leads • Generate next steps and • Refine selling efforts online • Allows sales management to automatically distribute client leads to a field or telemarketing rep based on the re’s product knowledge or territory

10. Sales Force Automation Tools • Configuration Support • Automatically factors in complex customer attributes and requirements to build a solution from scratch • Among the companies who may use such tools • Computer technology vendors • Appliance manufacturers • Telephone companies

11. Knowledge Management • Many CRM tools geared to SFA include functions specific to accessing and conversing on a range of corporate documentation to supplement sales efforts and provide fast data during the heat of a sale.

12. SFA and Mobile CRM • From Client/Server to the Web • SFA functionality now rests on a headquarters Web server running CRM software • Eliminates the traditional support costs of managing communications • Resource expenses are less than those needed to support the old client/server mode.

13. SFA and Mobile CRM • From Client/Server to the Web • Simplifies access by allowing a company to outsource remote access to the ISP • Laptop config and support costs are reduced • It staff now manage and protect critical customer data in a central location at headquarters • Risk of deleted files, smashed laptops, or lost sales reps are dramatically reduced.

14. SFA and Mobile CRM • SFA Goes Mobile • Support for handheld devices is the next step in the evolution. • According to the Aberdeen Group, 74 million people will have access to the Web via wireless technology by the year 2004. • PDA’s • Cell phones • Web Phones • Two-way pagers • Tablet PC, • Etc.

15. SFA and Mobile CRM • Benefits of Mobile CRM • Requires much less time than traditional fax or email • Field staff have access to info and can update making companies smarter about their customers • Real time alert about vital customer events • Just-in-time personalized messages • Provides field staff with access to vase amounts of information

16. SFA and Mobile CRM • New wireless protocols such as WAP • Bluetooth • New standard for short-range wireless communications • Research the various wireless protocols and Bluetooth

17. Sales Force Automation Tools • Field Force Automation (FFA) • Part customer service and part sales force automation • Also known as “field service management” • Field technicians receive dispatch orders via their PDAs, pagers, and cell phones • Making use of these same devices during the actual repair.

18. An SFA Checklist for Success • Understand how SFA will help, and enlist salesperson stakeholdership at the beginning • Initial requirements gathering • Rollout tool • Communicate the value to the sales force up front • Invest in-and enforce-training.

19. An SFA Checklist for Success • Beware of inherent sales processes packaged into SFA tools • Customize YOUR sales process • Understand the infrastructure necessary to support wireless technologies • Let SFA use affect sales compensation. • Change hiring practices and job role descriptions to include use of CRM

20. Case Study: Hewlett Packard