How Sales Automation Wins More Customers and Boosts Revenue

According to a 2020 McKinsey report, a third of all sales tasks can be automated. That’s a game-changer when it comes to improving efficiency for your sales team and boosting ROI. Yet, the same report states, one in four companies had automated only one of their sales processes.

In this blog, we shall discuss the most common questions pertaining to sales automation and how you can automate multiple sales processes cost-effectively.

What is sales automation?

Sales automation is a software feature that automates high-frequency tasks that are essential in creating customer journeys. In most cases, sales automation is added as a feature of lead generation software, CRM software, and email marketing software.

How can sales automation software maximize lead generation?

Instead of gathering leads manually over the phone or through cold emails, automation helps in an inflow of leads and data, obviously automatically. This enables you to be proactive where you have a system in place which collects qualified leads for you to nurture, pitch and close rather than being reactive and slogging through lead gen activities every day.

What kind of sales activities can you automate?

All tasks that can be automated shall be automated only if automation does the tasks as good as humans or better. Ideally one sales type software for small businesses allows you to automate a host of tasks, here are some of them:

• Systematically nurture leads with emails
• Data entry such as product name and price with autofill.
• Report generation
• Auto-filling of lead contact information from directories
• Appointment scheduling
• Call routing to the right sales reps
• Lead prioritization
• Voicemails
• Call logging
• Calculating the cost of acquiring

What role does sales automation software play in boosting sales revenue?

Sales automation software eases the workload of your sales team, increases their productivity, and boosts your revenues. Businesses using sales software systems have reported a 10% to 15% increase in productivity and up to 10% higher sales.

What are the features of a robust sales automation system?

Here are some of the main features of sales software:

Reminders:

Sales software sends out automated reminders and notifications alert to sales teams of upcoming tasks. These timely reminders act as a personal assistant that keeps track of responsibilities and reminds team members of important tasks approaching. This translates to fewer missed opportunities on following up with leads.

Lead management:

You can automatically analyze a lead’s behavior, then organize and prioritize them before assigning them to your best salesperson. Having to manually scan all the data to score leads would be impractical. But a sales software program can do it in minutes. The result is a curated list of potent leads – allowing salespeople to attend to them on priority.

Interaction: 

Best sales automation software brings automation in all customer-facing communication channels like email, chatbots, live chat, etc. This bridges the gap between salespeople having limited amounts of time, to customers expecting rapid responsiveness. Even in absence of any staff member, leads can still engage with the business in multiple ways.

Data management:

Data entry is the most tedious for any salesperson; to enter customer data into their system. Automated data entry saves salespeople time. You can mitigate repetitive and time-consuming tasks by auto-filling data contact details and pricing models.

Creating Records:

Automatically make new profiles for leads and connect them with suitable marketing materials and contact them in your CRM for easy access to all departments.

Measuring Everything:

You can track emails sent, meetings ahead, phone calls made and even hours talked. So, it is for everyone to view how far the lead has moved in the funnel. Such visibility into what’s done and what needs to be done is great for the team. Such automatic activity logging saves a lot of time.

How to choose the right sales software for your business?

Here are some of the key factors that will enable you to choose the right sales software:

1. Understanding your needs
   It’s vital to understand the needs of your business. The type of customers, business size and industry can determine what kind of help the sales team wants.
2. Take free trials
   Let different sales members use free trials of different sales software. They can later collectively decide which one’s the best.
3. Go to comparison websites
   Here are some best comparison sites for you to pick the best sales software from. Keep an eye for reviews from profiles that appear legitimate.

How can sales software integrate with CRM software to improve customer retention rates?

Here are some ways CRM software can integrate with sales automation to improve customer retention rates:

• Enhanced customer service
  Customers want to deal with businesses that stand true to the promises made to them during sales and marketing. This means better customer service and customer success.

  CRM software allows the scheduling of follow-up calls and emails which can be used to regularly touch base with customers to know how they like using your products and services.

  Regular communication will make sure your teams are proactive to customer needs, in turn leading to deeper, lasting relationships and more sales.

• Personalization of special offers
  To improve the efficacy of marketing efforts, they should be tailored to meet the needs of the target audience. With CRM software, organizations can view the purchase history of their prospects and customers and know their preferences and determine their needs. The business can then roll out special discounts for them. This will make the customers feel special and they will be urged to stay with the business longer and buy more. To know more on the power of personalization – here’s an article from Forbes.
• Boosting engagement
  CRM software prevents you from shooting in the dark. It helps to track and measure many aspects of your operation. For instance, you can A/B test two different subject lines to view which would result in a higher open rate. It can also test the design of different CTAs to let you know which one gets better CTRs. Such information makes it easier for you to offer effective information to your customers, ensuring that they stay and offer your great CLV.

We hope this article covers some of the main questions regarding sales automation software for you. For more such blogs stay tuned to this space.

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