The SFA (Sales Force Automation) is a customer-facing application, refers to software apps for sales management. SFA provides automated workflows that create a streamlined sales process to manage business leads, sales forecasts, and team performance. It is the process of utilizing the existing technologies to its fullest form.
SFA (Sales Force Automation): Meaning, Definition, Importance, Advantages, and Disadvantages.
What does SFA (Sales Force Automation) mean? It is an integrated application of customizable customer relationship management (CRM) tools that automate; and, streamline sales inventory, leads, forecasting, performance, and analysis. Did not get that? It terms as the process of decreasing the human efforts and implementing artificial intelligence to speed up the sales and get the advantages faster than before.
This leads to optimum results and advancements over other businesses in the market. In short, SFA (Sales Force Automation) is a process of working smarter not harder. For enhancing sales no need to induce sales forces, just implement right Sales Force Automation Software and there you go. It is applicable for all forms of business whether small or huge.
Definition of SFA (Sales Force Automation):
What is SFA? It is more of an automated procedure that incorporates and mechanizes distinctive parts of business processes running from client contact administration, to handle sales estimate and representative execution assessment. It is probably a term that should seem to be a synonym for Sales to any business concerned about CRM (Customer Relationship Management).
According to Business Jargons;
“The Sales Force Automation, abbreviated as SFA, refers to the technique wherein the software is used to automate the business tasks such as inventory control system, account management, process management, contact management, customer tracking, sales funnel management, sales forecasting analysis, product knowledge, sales lead tracking system, sales team performance evaluation, etc.”
A part of CRM (Customer Relationship Management), SFA involves automating the tasks and activities normally carried out by sales reps using software custom-built for this purpose. In this post, we’ll see the benefits of sales force automation.
Importance of SFA (Sales Force Automation):
The following importance of SFA below are;
Communication;
It uses by successful sales teams, the main features of an SFA system are contact management and opportunity management, together with email integration, task management, and diary sharing. Also, Contact Management software lets you track your communication with your customers, building up a complete history of your interactions, sales, and activities.
Timeline:
Let’s face it, Salespeople are some of the most overworked people in the organization. It saves much more time, They have to perform a multitude of tasks to land the client.
Intelligence:
Salespeople collect a lot of data. This data can help them be more effective if they can use it intelligently. Without the tools to process this data, they can make no use of it.
Tracking System;
Pipeline management software provides sales lead tracking from an initial inquiry through to a closed sale. It lets you track each sales opportunity through your pipeline, applying probability weighting and forecasting.
Customer relationship details;
SFA is usually a part of a customer relationship management (CRM) system that automatically records all the stages in a sales process. Also, they get a complete view of your customer contact details, activity history, past interactions, and internal account discussions right on your fingertips. Even insights from multiple social media platforms are available.
Advantages and Disadvantages of SFA (Sales Force Automation):
The sales force automation is a system that develops to helps companies organize their customer relationship management with confidentiality. Besides automatically computerized customer’s data into the computer, it helps enable the salesperson to plan and structures their selling most effectively as well. It makes work easier and organized as well as more reliable for the salesperson. In short, the sales force automation system is a good “assistant” for the salesperson. However, the sales force automation system also brings some disadvantages where the sales force automation system is a complicated system involving digitalized figures yet new for older salespeople. Anyhow, it is still easier for younger salespeople to learn and function with it.
Advantages of SFA:
- The number of advantages that have particularly benefited small businesses.
- Increased Productivity, It helps in improvising the time taken and establishing proper projects to increase sales.
- Competitive Advantage in terms of cost, revenue, and market share.
- Timely information regarding sales.
- Increased customer satisfaction with reduced response time, They have to perform a multitude of tasks to land the client.
- Keeping proper records of the customer, that can be tracked down easily.
Besides, a salesperson will be able to know about their surrounding competitors better when they imply SFA in their company. Through this system, the sale person is more familiar with their competitors’ products. With better knowledge about competitors’ company and products, a salesperson will be able to improve their company organization and produce better products than their competitors for their customers. After the salesperson has overcome all these problems, the company will be able to maintain its competitive advantages and have greater income. Thus, the company can also expand wider like exporting goods to worldwide consumers.
Disadvantages of SFA:
- Data entry is too much time-consuming, How? Track your communication with your customers, building up a complete history of your interactions, sales, and activities.
- Difficult to accustom to the software system.
- With automation, the personal touch is lost, Having this information at your fingertips means you’ll reduce the risk of irritating your customers as sales efforts are not duplicated.
- The tedious job of regularly upgrading the system, making the new entries, cleaning the unwanted data entries and maintaining the system as a whole.
- Sometimes difficult to integrate with the company’s other management information systems.
- Human efforts and implementing artificial intelligence to speed up the sales and get the advantages faster, today need the SFA system, but it is highly cost of money required for the installation and maintenance of the system.
The SFA system does bring both advantages and disadvantages to a salesperson. In some ways, a sales force automation system helps the salesperson to overcome their problems; such as customer relationship management, selling process, knowing better of their competitors and customers. But, the sales force automation system also brings disadvantages to salesperson too. For example, a salesperson has to spend a large amount of money before they apply a sales force automation system for installation and gadgets. When there are some errors occur, it will affect the sales person’s selling process.
