SALES FORCE AUTOMATION

The Sales Force Automation, abbreviated as SFA, refers to the technique wherein
the software are used to automate the business tasks such as inventory control
system, account management, process management, contact management,
customer tracking, sales funnel management, sales forecasting analysis, product
knowledge, sales lead tracking system, sales team performance evaluation, etc.

Sales force automation (SFA) software is a programming that streamlines the collection,
analysis and distribution of data in a sales pipeline. The goal of SFA software is to get the
right data to the right people at the right time, and reduce the number of administrative
tasks that sales representatives and their managers have to perform manually. For example,
sales reps can use SFA software to set up push notifications when a qualified sales lead visits
the company's website and an email nurturing campaign to move the lead through the sales
funnel.

Managers can use SFA software to monitor sales people's activity and productivity, and use
that information to produce marketing plans and sales forecasts. Depending upon the size
and needs of the sales team in question, SFA software may be purchased as a stand-alone
app, a cloud service, or a component of a larger customer relationship management (CRM)
software suite. Enterprise-level software is usually designed to integrate with core financial
applications and includes sales functions such as contact management, territory
management and opportunity management.

SFA software can be developed specifically for a vertical industry's needs, or it can be
selected from among the increasing number of sales automation software products, such as
Zendesk Sell or Shuttle, a lead collection, tracking and distribution software designed by
Lunar. No matter what the delivery model, SFA packages usually include a Web-ready
database, an e-mail package and customizable templates. A three-tiered architecture is
typically used to separate the database, server, and application to reduce programming
demands on clients. A module-based design is generally used, to allow users to customize
the package to suit their needs.
 The Sales Force Automation software can be customized according to the business needs or
can be purchased from the market that suits the business requirements. Some of the
software available in the market are:

 Salesforce.com
 Infusionsoft
 Microsoft Dynamics CRM
 Prophet
 PlanPlus offline, etc.

Advantages of Sales Force Automation

1. Increased Productivity
2. Competitive Advantage in terms of cost, revenue, and market share.
3. Timely information regarding the sales.
4. Increased customer satisfaction with the reduced response time.
5. Keeping proper records of the customer that can be tracked down easily.
6. The sales forecast can be done accurately with the help of past sales data.
7. Efficient utilization of scarce resources.
8. Less time required by the sales manager to prepare the daily, quarterly, monthly or annual
reports.
9. Optimum utilization of time by the staff members
10. Create simple and fast sales reports
11. Avoid Incorrect Deployment
12. Easily and centrally track customer information.
13. Allow sales teams to focus on the most important tasks
14. Streamline the sales process so the most effective strategy is always used
15. Allow managers to get insight into the effectiveness of the sales process

Functionalities of SFA Software

An SFA software can provide the following functionalities −

 Account management − under this, the salespersons and managers get a complete
overview of customer relationship. It includes customer’s personal details, contact, past
contacts, past orders delivered, current orders, transactions, etc.
  Contact management − It refers customers’ contact numbers, Email ID, address, contact
preferences, etc., for maintaining contacts by creation, updating, tracking appointments
and contacts, etc.
 Contract management − It helps users to manage contracts with the customers by
offering the functions of tracking, monitoring, progressing, and terminating the contracts.
 Document management − It helps the users maintain product lists, brochures, product
specification manuals, price lists, and quotation templates.
 Event management − It enables to plan the events such as conference, trade show,
webinars, seminars, meetings, etc. with customers or other partners. It features event
calendar, event reports, etc.
 Incentives management − The sales managers use this function to appraise and reward
the salesperson’s efforts. It can be linked to payroll application for automatic payment.
 Lead management − It enables the business to create, assign leads to various
salespersons for equal task distribution, and track sales leads.
 Opportunities management − It enables users to create opportunity, administer its
progress, and estimate users’ bonus.
 Order management − Once the customers agree to purchase a product, this facility turns
quotation into accurately priced orders. It is composed of price lists and product
configurator.
 Pipeline management − It helps to maintain entire sales cycle right from identification of
prospects to order delivery and closure.
 Product Encyclopaedia − It is an electronic encyclopaedia of products with their names,
model numbers, picture, and specifications. It is made accessible to the customer online.
 Product Configuration − It enables users or customers to design and price the product
by selecting the specifications of their choice.
 Product Visualization − It enables the users or customers to create a realistic 3D model
of the product. It is created by referring to the technical diagrams.
 Quotation management − It allows the salespersons and managers to create, edit, and
deliver customized proposal.
 Sales prediction − It helps the salespersons and managers to forecast sales figures.

Sales Force Automation in different perspectives

Vendors, salespersons, and managers claim myriad benefits of implementing and using SFA.
Some important benefits are as listed −

 Vendor’s perspective − Improved customer relationship, staff productivity, and business

revenue.
 Salesperson’s perspective − More closing opportunities, short sale cycles, ease of
tracking sales cycle.
 Manager’s perspective − Increase in salesforce productivity and accurate reporting.
  Business perspective − Improved customer relationships, Increase in sales revenue,
improved market share, increase in profitability.

Example 1

Keap

Keap is a web-based platform designed for small businesses that need to manage
prospective and current customers. It offers lead management and nurturing, customer
information management, appointment scheduling, billing and invoicing, quoting, and
more.

Keap integrates directly with Gmail and Outlook inboxes, so that emails sent to and received
from prospects and clients are automatically recorded within the system.

Keap's customer information management module offers tags for organization, complete
contact information storage including social media, and supports attachments for shared
documents, folders, images, contracts, and proposals.

Users can send invoices, process credit card transactions, and track payments all within the
system. It also supports recurring payments, sends automated reminders, and integrates
with accounting tools like Xero and QuickBooks.

Advantages of KEAP SFA software

 Make time management manageable

 Access important information from anywhere at any time
 Lead management
 Improved customer service and relationships
 Organize all information
 Use templated messages, reminders, and automatic emails to quickly follow up with
leads.
 Create a repeatable sales process, from appointments to quotes, to win more
business.
 Automate daily work
 Create and send invoices and reminders from your CRM and get paid faster.
Some companies which use Keap software:-

910 WEST

Affinigent

Author’s academy

Backbone

Beachbody,etc.

Example 2

Prophet

Prophet is a leading enterprise-wide actuarial modelling system that helps insurance and
financial services companies meet reporting responsibilities, improve risk management, and
develop more profitable products faster. Insurance's Prophet uses customizable actuarial
libraries for all major product types, including regional variations. It provides the
transparency, performance and control required by today's actuaries and risk managers
through integrated financial modelling and data management capabilities. Over 10,000
users, across more than 850 customer sites, in more than 65 countries, rely on Prophet to
model their firm's financial business.

Prophet Professional is an integrated suite of actuarial systems used primarily by insurance

companies to perform actuarial calculations including profit testing, projections, reserving,
asset liability modelling, stochastic modelling and risk management.