Automating the Sales Force

Part I 

Companies have spent large amounts of time and money wrestling with the concept of sales force automation. Overall most have made little progress in an area that most agree is critical to survival in the new millennium. Why? Here are the 7 most typical reasons programs fail. 

1. Too busy right now.
Companies are too busy with the day-to-day realities to effectively address Sales Force Automation without outside help.  In most cases, there is no one within the organization that has the background or experience to automate the sales process.

2. Not including the sales force in the process.
How would you like to be 'Automated'? 
To a group of very people oriented folks like sales professionals, it has all the charm of a root canal. We have found the phrase Computer Aided Selling to be a bit more appealing. Perhaps the reason so many Sales Force Automation programs fail is that they start by focusing on hardware, software, and techies.  They fail because they don't take the actual sales people and their tasks into consideration.

3. Lack of SFA Knowledge
To many companies SFA means Oh yeah, some of our people have laptops and a couple of them use ACT!. This is a far cry from a program, which applies sales technologies throughout the system to improve efficiencies and sales effectiveness. A thorough program should include workgroup contact management, opportunity management, document automation (PC based letters, forms, proposals, literature, etc.) information management (a knowledge bank of the best ideas and business information) presentation tools (interactive presentations and value analysis spreadsheets), and communication tools (e-mail, PC based faxing, and an integrated web site).

4. Our 'computer guy' is handling that.
The project is turned over to the IT department. The IT staff is already busy trying to keep up with technology. More importantly IT professionals usually have no concept of what sales people need to be more effective (and seldom care). The IT staff should be part of the process but the sales team needs to determine program components.

5. Lack of funding.
Many companies gulp at the cost of hardware and software. If they bite this bullet, they feel the results should come immediately. When nothing happens they write the program off as a bad but necessary investment. In reality, the hardware and software is just the entry fee.

6. Inadequate training.
If training is provided at all, it is usually a day or two of general Windows or Microsoft's Office training. It goes too fast, there is no follow-up and the monies are wasted.

7. Lack of Management leadership and involvement.
Like any important sales initiative, an SFA program must be driven from the top. If the manager isn't promoting, using and developing the tools, the reps won't use it.

At this point, you may be depressed enough to toss this paper into the circular file. But wait; go back to the realities of point 1. You are not alone. Over 70% of all SFA programs fail because of the reasons above. So what should you do?

*Ignore the fact that technology changes the way we do business every minute? No.

*Or look for other ways of using technology to improve your sales and marketing processes while you wrestle with your sale force and computers. Yes!

Some good news awaits you in Part II.

Part II 

Sales and Marketing Process Automation

OK, so let's put "automating the sales force" to the side for a moment. How else can you use technology to improve your sales results?

The answer lies in the red-hot area of Sales and Marketing Process Automation. In simple terms this means using technology to do the legwork your sales force would do if they weren't spending so much time pushing papers, creating pipeline reports, and attending sales meetings.

Using this affordable technology with only two or three employees will make a major difference in your sales and marketing process. This means more sales, more $$$, more profits!  This group will create a 'sales funnel' to turn suspects in to prospects and prospects into customers. You will be able to 'nurture' your existing customers by 'touching' them more often with suggestions, information and new product solutions. You will feed a steady stream of qualified leads to your sales force. You will increase the number of sales contacts by at least 200% and reduce the cost of developing new business by at least 50%.

Sound interesting? Good! To make all of this official, we need to have a name for this department. We call it a Business Development Center (BDC). The BDC responsibility is to develop new business opportunities with existing customers and prospects.

A Business Development Center utilizes a combination of a contact management database, the Internet (your website), broadcast communication (Fax, E-mail, Postal), and telemarketing to work it's magic.

What is the role of each BDC component?

Contact Management Database.
This is the control center for your BDC. Your BDC team will share a database of contact information. They will schedule follow up calls and build a history of all activities. They will access a library of literature, letters, quotes, and proposals, which can be faxed directly, from their PC.

Your BDC will process, handle and track all leads. Suspects will be imported into your database from sources like trade show leads, D&B's, iMarket or Manufacturers Guides on disk. Prospects will visit your web site and submit information requests via e-mail. Dormant or untapped customers will be fed into the BDC funnel for development.

How can just a few people handle thousands of contacts? Your BDC will have help in the form of Automated Processes. In an automated process, a prospect is put on a 'track' where the completion of one step in the sales process automatically triggers the next step to happen or be scheduled. For example, a prospect inquires about a product on your web site. He submits an email form. Your contact manager retrieves the information and a thank you letter is automatically generated and mailed. A follow up phone call is scheduled for the next day. If the customer expresses interest during the call an appointment is scheduled for a sales rep. If more work will be required the prospect stays on the 'track' and another follow up call is scheduled automatically.

You create this automated process and determine what you want to happen at each step. During the process BDC members and management have complete access to the status of every prospect and program. Management reports can be generated to track new business, suspects, prospects, forecasted or completed sales or a even a complete history of events.

Think about a new product introduction. What is your process today? Sales meeting, literature, target account lists, contests, nagging? Using your contact manager, your BDC will be able to qualify your customers and prospects by market, products used, size, etc. Your BDC team will be able to apply a 'filter' to pick out all the contacts that meet a profile for the new product. Within minutes they are ready to call, e-mail, fax or create a mailing. You will be giving qualified leads to sales reps before they would have normally made their first cold call.

The Internet / www.yourcompany.com.
Your website will serve as your 24/7 storefront. If your site is interesting, and is perceived to offer some real solutions your customers will feel quite comfortable stopping by for the latest info.

Your site will tell visitors, who you are, why you are unique, and why they should do business with you. It should feature products or services that provide a solution to customer problems. Your site should give visitors a chance to call you, request more information and submit a request for information. These requests will be drawn directly into your contact management database.

Your marketing efforts will regularly point your customers and prospects to your web site for new information or specials. You will utilize on-line PowerPoint presentations to serve as the cold call sales rep for your offerings. Visitors can click on a 'View Presentation Button' and get the basics without having to see a sales rep. They save time, you save valuable sales rep time. You will send your sales reps in to close prospects that request more info and are ready to buy.

Broadcast Communications
Broadcast communications refers to using technology to send the same message to a targeted group of contacts. After selecting the target group of contacts, your BDC team will have an arsenal of communication options. They may use any or a combination of the following.

Phone: Schedule phone calls, over a period of several days to each BDC associate.
Postal mailing: Create and send personalized letters and flyers. The contact manager will create labels in minutes. Printing and postage are expensive, folding and stuffing are very labor intensive tasks.

Consider the next two options as labor and cost savers.
Fax: Send a personalized information fax to the target group, usually 2 minutes per contact.

E-mail: They may send a broadcast e-mail with hyperlinks directly to areas of your web site. Typically you can send 500 personalized e-mails in less than 5 minutes!

Using broadcast fax or e-mail, your unattended 'broadcast' can happen at night or on the weekend. Compare this to the time spent on mailings today.

The BDC Team will provide amazingly fast response to customer requests for information. They will have an electronic library of letters, literature, and forms available. Requested information will be faxed or e-mailed while the prospect is on the phone.

What will you need to start your BDC?
Commitment - The BDC should have a leader with experience in your company and sales. This person will serve as guide and resource to other BDC members. Because all information is captured and shared in the database, the BDC can be a great training ground for future outside reps. They will have quick access to customer and product information from the database and the practical experience of the leader to draw from.

Software: The basic software needed to accomplish all this is readily available off the shelf. For contact management, a program like GoldMine will serve you well. Typically, software will cost about $200.00 per seat. Faxing programs like FaxRush or WinFax will be required to broadcast fax. Internet access and e-mail service are needed to send e-mail.

contact:  John Ominski          phone:  610-507-9146

email:  john@ominski.com

visit:  www.ominski.com

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