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What is Sales Process Automation? Tools, CRM Systems & Processes to Scale Revenue

  Admin  ·  5 minute read
Sales is essentially the backbone of any business that does not just generate revenue but keeps the business thriving by acquiring retainer clients, fostering the brand image, and helping the expansion of business. Most of the sales team, however, are left grasping at straws with repetitive tasks like data entry, sending follow-up mails, and finding prospective clients.  Automating these tasks will save up their time leaving room for more strategic tasks like relationship building and deal closing. This is exactly where sales process automation comes into play. This blog will discuss what sales automation is, its benefits for a business and the different tools and software one can leverage to make the most out of automation in sales.

What is Sales Process Automation?

Sales Process Automation refers to the automation of sales workflows and processes using software and automation tools. It includes automating processes in sales like lead capture, follow-ups, and data entry, etc. by utilising software like the CRM and other sales intelligence and sales engagement platforms.  Sales automation allows efficient functioning of the sales team by reducing manual efforts. It boosts their productivity by freeing up time for relationship building and deal closing. It also aids better movement of sales prospects through the sales funnels and retains customers. 

Why Sales Automation is Crucial for Modern Sales Teams

Contrary to popular belief that AI and machine learning will take over human jobs, they have actually aided sales teams a lot by automating tedious tasks like sending out follow-up emails, data entry, and assessing the lead quality. According to a HubSpot report "Sales professionals estimate they save around 2 hours and 15 minutes daily using AI or automation tools to automate manual tasks such as data entry, note-taking, scheduling, and so on”.  This digitisation of the sales processes through sales process automation is creating diverse growth opportunities for the modern-day sales industry. As the time thus saved can be utilised for building better client relationships to close more deals and retain clients.  It also promotes data-driven decision making by analysing what is working and what is not through real-time insights about customer behavior, sales pipeline status, and sales performance. 

Core Benefits of Sales Process Automation

Sales Process Automation Tool - Key Benefits   An in-depth analysis of the benefits of the sales process automation reveals that it aids businesses in several crucial ways and enhances their ROI. These core benefits of sales process automation include: 

  • Increased Efficiency and Productivity

Automating sales processes will standardise them and save the employee’s time, increasing their productivity and efficiency of working. It will aid the employee by moving leads more quickly through the sales pipeline leading to faster deal closures. Automation tools also help in tracking and prioritising the leads, ensuring that the best opportunities are addressed promptly. 

  • Enhanced Data Quality and Insights

Automated sales processes will minimise human error, leading to more accurate data. Moreover, integration of data from various sources will allow a comprehensive view of the customer journey. This real-time insight into the sales process will help in making data-driven decisions.

  • Improved Customer Experience

Automating sales will enhance the customer experience through personalised interactions, quick response to any queries, and timely customer support. These processes will increase the customer satisfaction and loyalty as the customer won’t be left stranded with any doubts or questions. 

  • Cost Reduction

Sales process automation will ultimately reduce the cost to the company with regards to hiring multiple candidates for the same task. It will also reduce operational costs by reducing errors and making processes more efficient. It will boost the ROI by targeting only the most promising leads, and optimising the marketing automation budget.  

  • Enhanced Scalability 

Automated sales processes enable scalability, as the business grows and the number of leads increases too, automation allows efficient handling of these increased leads without compromising responsiveness. Automation tools can be customised to accommodate the evolving needs of a scaling business and its sales processes. 

Types of Sales Automation Software & Tools

When it comes to automating the sales processes, a hybrid approach works best, i.e. certain tasks should be completely automated while leaving some tasks like closing the deal to the human sales reps. The tasks that can be automated include lead management, lead research, follow up communication, sales analytics, scheduling sales call, and lead qualification, etc.  The software and tools that can be used for sales automation include:

  • CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software

CRM softwares like HubSpot, Zoho, Pipedrive etc. help in lead management (via lead capture, lead scoring & routing, and lead nurturing, etc.) and automating workflows. They also aid data-driven decision making through tracking and analysis of sales processes. 

  • Analytics Tools 

Data analytics is a very important aspect of sales automation, the tracking and analysis of sales processes helps to identify the areas for further improvement. This helps in making data-driven decisions. The software tools useful for this include: Google analytics, Tableau, and Looker.

  • Email Automation tools 

Customer outreach via emails or texts is a very cost-effective sales tool that enhances customer experience through personalised communication. It helps to nurture the  leads and boosts customer conversions. These email automation tools include HubSpot, Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, etc.

  • Lead Generation Tools 

Lead generation is another important aspect of the sales process that can take hours if not days for the team manually. Automating this will make it easy to search and refine the sales prospects. Automation tools for the same include CRMs like HubSpot, Pipedrive, and Salesforce, etc.

How Sales Automation Works: Step-by-Step Process

Visual breakdown (can use infographic later) Sales Automation includes the automation of sales tasks/processes like lead capture, qualification, nurturing etc. The step-by-step process of how a sales automation system works includes the following:

  • Lead Capture 

The first step in sales automation is automating lead capture. it  automatically adds the leads generated via website, emails, social media, forms, etc. to the CRM for a centralised storage. 

  • Follow-Up

Automated follow-ups are then ensured for personalised outreach to each lead via emails, texts, etc. This consistent communication keeps the leads engaged and promotes further movement through the sales funnel.

  • Lead Qualification 

The leads are then scored automatically based on certain pre-defined criteria like demographics, user behaviour, etc. This ensures the sales team reaches out to the hottest/most promising leads. 

  • Closing the Deal

The last step is to send proposals or quotes based on pre-defined templates, certain platforms also offer integration of payment gateways to close the deal.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Implementing Sales Automation

Although sales automation is a boon for business growth but without a clear strategy and expertise of the software, it can turn into a sales nightmare. The common mistakes that should be avoided while implementing sales automation include: 

  • Not defining the sales process

One of the first steps of sales automation is to define the sales process of the organisation and identify the areas that can benefit from automation. This mapping will also help in defining clear goals and aid in their tracking. 

  • Lack of personalization/ Over automation 

Over automation is another sales automation pitfall, it is crucial to automate only those tasks that do not need human input. Human interaction at certain parts of the sales process is important for building relationships with the user for conversion and loyalty. 

  • Using bad data

    Access to high quality data is another factor that contributes to the success of sales automation. Bada data like duplicate records, or outdated contact information is detrimental for the sales efforts and thus data should be consistently refined.

  • Choosing the wrong automation software

Implementation of the right software that offers the required features with good functionality is important. It should also integrate seamlessly with the existing technology stack, and offer scalability. 

FAQs 

1.What is the best sales automation tool?

The best sales automation tool is subjective to the business’ needs and goals but the popular sales automation tools are HubSpot’s Sales Hub, and Salesforce. They offer customised solutions for lead management (including lead generation, tracking, and nurturing), sales process automation, and tracking for data-driven decision making.

2.Can small businesses use sales automation?

Sales automation is a great investment for small  businesses as they can gain a lot by streamlining their sales processes, it allows them to improve sales and scale without the hassle of hiring too many professionals. 

Final Thoughts

Sales Process Automation is a powerful tool for any business. Automated sales processes improve efficiency and productivity of the team by freeing up their time for strategic tasks like relationship building and deal closing. Choosing the right software for sales automation is however very important to leverage the many benefits automating sales has to offer. 

Need help with sales automation in CRM?

At wesimplifi, we offer sales automation solutions in HubSpot’s Sales Hub. A powerful tool that streamlines and tracks all sales processes, enhancing ROI with better sales. Our sales automation experts offer customized solutions with seamless integration to your existing system and tailored training to the employees. Reach out for free consultation here .

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