The benefits of keeping information centralised and up to date are obvious for all parts of your business. ZDNet Australia looks at software packages designed to help your sales force stay on track.
What is sales force automation (SFA)? To be honest, when you take a look at many definitions, the distinction between SFA and customer relationship management (CRM) is very blurred.
There is no denying that SFA is a subset of CRM, but while one vendor or client may define a sales tool that links to their accounts and invoicing system as SFA, others may say it has overstepped its mark and these extended features are more in the full blown CRM territory.
At the other end of the scale there are SFA tools that barely have more features than basic contact management software such as Outlook. Properly configured and with the right discipline, Outlook can quite happily mimic an SFA and encompass a good deal of the functionality one would expect.
You can reasonably expect SFA software to be more than just a pretty and functional wrapper around a client database. In a nutshell, an SFA package should help you manage your customer information, track your sales closely and in detail, and provide detailed reporting. A quick list of desirable features includes:
- In-depth client contact information including addressing, phone numbers and the like but also status--for example, new lead or long term client, and when they were last contacted. This can also extend to the client's previous sales history and last purchase date. Links to all e-mail, letters, and memos related to the client are also desirable.
- A comprehensive calendar that has the ability to apply priorities to client meetings, and to automate prospecting, follow-up, and sales activities. It should be able to synchronise with various applications such as Outlook.
- Integration with various applications such as your fax software or word processor, with standard and customisable templates for faxes, memos, and letters.
- The ability to synchronise with handheld PCs and PDAs.
- Share databases over the network for a multi-user environment with record locking and password protection.
- Account management with tools for forecasting, and graphical reports to allow tracking sales cycles and performance.
We reviewed four major sales force automation software packages, and one Web-based service. Here's how they went.
