The Do’s and Don’ts of Sales Automation to Help Your Sales System

The Do’s and Don’ts of Sales Automation to Help Your Sales System

Did you know that over half of the so-called leads in your current sales database are actually outdated and obsolete?

If you’re working with old, dead-end leads, you’re not going to see the kind of growth your sales system – and your company –  deserves.

And you won’t be able to accurately evaluate your employees.

Plus, there’s the fact that less than 40% of the average work day is spent on, well, really working.

But it’s not just Facebook and Instagram that are costing your business time.

It’s things like inventory ordering, delegating tasks, evaluating your contact lists and leads, sharing data with employees and clients…

The list goes on, and it can feel like it includes everything but selling.

Oh, and that inventory that you’re spending so much time on?

Between 20-30% of it is obsolete or unusable.

Additionally, another 40% of a CFO’s time is spent managing the performance of a company and its employees.

However, even with all that time spent on evaluation, it’s estimated that about 30% of the potential performance of a company is lost because of poor evaluation strategies and management.

When you look at the numbers, it’s easy to see just how much time managing your company is costing you.

We know you’ve spent a long time putting together the perfect sale pitch and package for your customers.

But the reality is, with so much to do during the workday, not as many people get to hear that pitch as you would like.

How can you streamline your sales system, hit your short and long-term goals, and use your time at work more effectively?

By looking into Salesforce Automation (SFA) software.

In this post, we’ll tell you what it is, why it works, and the do’s and don’t of using it.

What Is Salesforce Automation Software?

In a nutshell, SFA software was created to help you to streamline and get the most out of your current sales system.

As well as to shorten your overall sales cycle.

SFA software can automatically perform some parts of the sales process.

It can give you the data to predict busy times, make sure you can manage your pipeline.

And even help you to keep track of customer service tasks and conversations.

It can also help you to keep track of your inventory to prevent over-ordering, manage your contacts, assist with employee evaluation and performance reviews, and track orders.

Basically, it looks for everything in your current sales system that’s able to be tracked, analyzed, and automated, and does exactly that.

Why Sales Automation Benefits Your Sales System

Just in case you need more convincing that your sales system could use the help of SFA software, listen up.

You’ve already spent time creating the best ads and pitch packets.

Here’s how to make sure your sales team is doing them justice.

There are countless benefits to finding the right SFA software for your business.

Below, we’ve listed just a few:

• Spend more time selling
• Ensure you don’t lose leads
  • Follow-up reminders
  • Automated reminders through sales cycle
• Predict future sales
• Help with up-selling
  • Through analysis of customer demographics
  • Shows you order history
• Ranking sales tasks
  • Best leads get the most attention
• Evaluate employees
  • Sales figures
  • Customer service history
  • Productivity during day

It’s clear that SFA can do a lot for your sales system.

Now, let’s make sure you know how to get the most out of it!

The Do’s Of Sales Automation

So, what can you do to make sure you’re getting the most out of your SFA software?

Do Look At Your Process

First, you need to take a hard look at your current sales system.

Look at what’s going well, and most of all, what needs improvement.

Is there anything you could be doing better or faster?

Ask your sales team how they’re spending their days and which tasks take up the most time.

Then, figure out how many of those tasks could be completed by your SFA software.

Do Refine Your Goals

Then, it’s time to re-evaluate your current sales goals based on the implementation of this new automated software.

What do you need your SFA software to be able to accomplish?

When do you need to see improvements by?

Consider goals related to the following:

• Reduction in sales time
• Lowered cost of inventory
• More sales/higher revenue
• Better lead follow-up

Make sure your goals are specific, and both long and short-term.

For example, create a goal like “I want to have five high-quality leads in two weeks.”

Do Test Out Your SFA

We know it can be tempting to just jump right on into the wonderful world of SFA.

Still, you need to be meticulous to make sure you’re not making mistakes and that the tasks you automate really are better handled by the software.

It’s crucial that you test your SFA software within your sales system.

This is also where you’ll need to have contact with the company that sold you the software.

Ask them to generate data and an analysis of how much time the SFA software saved you during the test run, which employees used it the most, and anything else you’d like to know.

Make Sure You Get The Most Out Of SFA Software

Your SFA software is going to provide you with lots of invaluable data about your customers.

Make sure that everyone on your sales team can benefit from it!

Always email or schedule meetings to discuss the recent impact data has on the way your sale cycle and pitches will work.

Remember too, that with SFA software comes a rapid lead generation increase, as well as more selling time.

It’s crucial that you train your sales team to be able to handle this, especially if you’ve been in a sales slump for a while.

Also, take the time to ensure your employees actually know how to use the software.

Often, your software vendors will also provide employee training to ensure employees understand the way the program and dashboard works.

Now, you know what to do to make sure you’re SFA software will truly benefit your sales system.

So, what should you avoid?

Read on to find out.

The Don’ts Of Sales Automation

Of course, with everything you should do to get the most out of your SFA software, there’s also a list of things to avoid.

Some of the Don’ts include…

Don’t Forget About Your Target Audience

With leads more easily accessible than ever before, it’s easy for companies to forget to focus on the specific kind of customer they want, and just go for the numbers.

Even the best sales automation software can’t make an uninterested party buy your products or services.

Don’t get so focused on developing your prospect list that your forget to clearly evaluate your target market.

Go over with your team who your ideal customer is.

What problems will your products/services solve for this customer?

How is what you bring to the table different than your competitors?

You need to know the type of person that is most likely to buy your products and use your SFA software to ensure you don’t lose these types of leads.

Don’t Get Sloppy In Your Copy

When you can reach a larger number of prospects, it can be tempting to just send out a copy-pasted email message to a large group of them.

Look: it didn’t work when you tried it in online dating, and it’s not going to work when you’re trying to close sales.

You need to really focus on refining the kinds of marketing emails you send to prospects.

Hit the “sweet spot” in terms of length and language.

Make sure you’re presenting your ideas clearly, that you add a personal message (especially with bigger leads) and that you’re not spamming your readers with relentless calls to action.

Don’t Give Up After One Email

It’s not just the quality of these emails that is important.

Also, the number of emails you send matters. You can’t just take a “one and done” approach.

Instead, always follow up on the emails you send, at least two weeks after your initial email.

You don’t need to be afraid of sending multiple offers to prospects.

Remember, they’re already interested in what you have to offer – they just haven’t gotten the deal that’s made them bite yet.

Aim to send between 5-6 emails to a good prospect before you give up on them.

If you aren’t persistent, we can pretty much guarantee that your competitors will be.

Ready To Streamline Your Sales System?

Thanks to this post, you’re ready to take your sales system to the next level using SFA software.

There’s no reason you should lose so much valuable sales time when the solution is fast, effective, and most of all, simple.

So, where can you get the best SFA software out there?

Where can you learn about the kinds of digital marketing strategies that will increase your lead generation and build your brand?

Welp, NetSuite has an extensive course covering the fundamentals…

Great place to start!