Getting Real Value from Sales Force Automation
For a sales manager to be able to derive value from Sales Force Automation (SFA) the following key issues must have been addressed:
1) Clarity of the objectives for the SFA implementation. What exactly does management expect will improve / change with the adoption of a SFA solution by its sales team?
2) Make sure the SFA solution, and how you implement it, follow how your sales people work. For example – how important is remote access, and if so, what data needs to be accessible, does your sales team rely heavily upon tablets, etc.?
3) Training for the sales team on how to use it. And deliver the training in “digestible” segments. Sales people are not natural record keepers and “memorializers” of data, so show them how the system works, the shortcuts to use and how it will benefit them.
4) Management must actually use the SFA system. For example, are sales managers regularly analyzing the data in the system, either weekly or even daily? If not, sales people will rapidly catch on that management is not serious about the system and will stop using it as intended.
Brad Leggett, is CEO/Founder of The Leggett Group, Inc. His firm focuses on the issues and challenges associated with building, leading and retaining high performance sales teams.
Switching from ACT to Salesforce
I was recently asked by a client if she and her team should switch from ACT (a contact manager) to Salesforce (a cloud based CRM). I have personal experience with both products. I used ACT for over ten years. I have also implemented Salesforce for clients on five occasions and used it in my own business for the past two years. The key to determining whether to switch from ACT to Salesforce is clarifying what you are not getting from ACT and then determining if Salesforce will meet your needs. In summary here are some key pluses and minuses of Salesforce I suggested she consider before making a decision:
Upsides of Salesforce:
- Shared, integrated database that is maintained for you (I am speaking about database integrity, not inputting of data)
- Available on all major mobile devices (ACT is yet to implement an iPhone version for instance)
- No updating of the software – all done for you.
- Relatively easy to set up custom fields, reports, etc.
- Great set of stock reports
- Sales person focused in the way it works and the information available. It is more intuitive than ACT in my opinion.
- Great set of training videos for each role in the organization (sales, mgt, admin)
- Third party add-on applications (both free and for fee) – ACT does not come close in this arena.
Downsides of Salesforce:
- Potentially the software fees, depending upon the number of users. A highly attractive Salesforce version for small businesses is Group Edition. However, it only allows a maximum of 5 users. If you need 6 or more users you will have to go to Professional Edition which is considerably more expensive.
- If you decide to migrate away from Salesforce it is not easy to export your data. It is doable but not particularly intuitive for someone doing it for the first time.
- It is not integrated with any ERP system. So, if you need to share data with your accounting system you have some data manipulation to do.
