What is Sales Force Automation?
Salespeople are always looking for tools and techniques that will help them tell their story to more prospects and close more sales. Software for salespeople has evolved from simple contact managers to full-fledged applications that are typically called sales force automation systems, or SFA for short.
This is a common question asked by family business owners. It isnt as if these family business entrepreneurs dont have a basic or manual system for planning and managing their sales, but the concept of “using automation to manage your sale force” can be so broad that many people are left scratching their head wondering what IS sales force automation really? Sales force technology, also called CRM or Customer relationship management, is a broad term for the technologies that facilitate the role of a sales person. Sales force automation is actually a misnomer in many ways. The technology doesnt actually automate much of anything. Dont expect the software to start closing deals – we are few years away from that! Just as Outlook could be called E-Mail automation, a growing list of software and web based systems, facilitate and automate some of the processes that are required of a sales person. These range from huge CRM systems like Siebel to small distinct Applications like Account Plan. I
The use of computer software to automate the tasks in business of information exchange, monitoring and controlling inventory, sales, order tracking, analyzing sales forecasts, evaluating the performance of employees, and customer management, is known as sales force automation. The term is often used interchangeably with CRM–customer relationship management–though this term does not necessarily imply any kind of automation in business. It is really when a sales force automated system is combined with a marketing information system that it becomes a CRM. Sales force automation systems are claimed to have the ability to improve the levels of productivity and efficiency within sales personnel. There are many reason for this. Some are as follows: Sales force automation systems are claimed to have the ability to improve the levels of productivity and efficiency within sales personnel. There are many reason for this. Some are as follows: * They no longer need to write out reports; these can
