An overview of sales force automation (SFA) and its benefits for sales teams.
Sales teams can use sales force automation tools to take care of some repetitive tasks and help them become more productive and better at closing deals. In this article, we explore what sales force automation is and look at how it can benefit sales teams.
What is sales force automation?
The purpose of sales force automation
Components of sales force automation
Sales force automation vs CRM
Sales force automation (SFA) is when parts of the sales process are automated by software tools. The automation usually focuses on repetitive, administrative tasks that, while important, can be time-consuming for sales teams to perform. Reports suggests that, on average, two-thirds of a sales rep’s time is spen on non-revenue generating tasks. By letting a sales force automation software take care of these tasks, sales reps can spend their time on more productive parts of their job: selling.
The SFA software will usually automate tasks based on certain inputs. For example, leads can be sent follow up emails based on a pre-designated template if they don’t respond to an initial email after a certain number of days.
Alternatively, the software can be set up so one action taken by a sales team member results in numerous tasks being completed. An example of this is tasks being automatically assigned to team members whenever a manager moves a prospect in the sales team pipeline.
Sales force automation software can also include reporting and analytics tools. This makes it easier for sales managers to see metrics such as the performance of sales team members or predicted revenue over a certain time period.
Sales force automation tools are meant to assist sales teams in the selling process. Ultimately, the purpose of sales force automation is to allow companies to sell more of their products. It does this in three main ways:
Sales force automation software isn’t used to replace the sales department. Instead, it can be an essential tool to complement the work of good sales teams and help them implement effective strategies.
Different sales force automation tools perform different tasks. Some tools even allow users to set up their own inputs and outputs to customise which tasks are automated. Here are some components of sales force automation software.
A CRM isn’t the same as sales force automation. However, sales force automation features are often built into a CRM.
Put simply, a CRM helps businesses manage customer relationships. Business can store all their interactions with customers, alongside customer details in the CRM. This will usually include contact information, emails, documents, and activities sales reps have taken with the client.
By having all this data in one place, sales reps can manage relationships better while ensuring they have the information required to make a sale.
Although many CRMs do a lot to automate many of these processes, a CRM is still a CRM without these automated features. To learn more about CRM check our What is CRM guide.
Sales force automation can also happen outside a CRM. Marketing automation tools, for example, often contain sales automation features such as automated e-mail replies. Additionally, there are sales force automation tools that focus on tasks such as prospecting, scheduling, and organising sales activities. These are all tasks that fall outside the remit of a CRM.
Act! is a powerful sales and marketing automation platform designed to provide businesses with everything they need to run and grow their business. Here are some of the features that will benefit sales teams: