Sales Force Automation

Want to wind up your sales people and get them marching in step? Sales force automation (SFA) builds those mundane tasks into a streamlined machine, ready-made to pump up the sales volume. Whether it's contact management, sales forecasting, order or inventory issues, a good sales force automation system helps keep that machine humming. While some folks confuse sales force automation with customer relationship management (CRM), there are clear differences. Nevertheless, SFA surely overlaps with CRM ...

I never had the benefit of a sales force automation system during my brief stints in sales over the years. But I sure wish I did. I had to do everything -- not only the old-fashioned way -- but all by myself. While there may be advantages to going the lone ranger route, there's more than something to be said about using an honest-to-goodness sales system.

After all, every salesperson wants to close more leads ...

A proper sales force automation system kicks in with the prospecting stage. From the initial leads through the identification of real live prospects, the goal is clear: turn those prospects into customers.

As the best prospects are identified, the sales force automation system allows the department to build up the pipeline through forecasting. Knowledge management allows the sharing of information between different functions (i.e.: direct, channel, and inside sales), as lead tracking helps the sales force keep their collective eye on the ball. And with the prospects solidified, a sales force automation system eases the cross- and up-sell.

While ACT and Goldmine rule the shrinkwrap SFA market, the high-end is a bit more crowded. Larger sales force automation developers include Airframe, Entellium, iCode, salesforce.com, Siebel, Soffront, and others.