Any salesperson will quickly tell you that relationships are the most important thing about their work. Sales teams are uniquely qualified to connect with prospective customers, show them the benefits of a product or service and, ultimately, close a deal. In reality though, a significant portion of a Sales team’s time isn’t spent selling, but taking care of administrative sales processes.
Surveys show that sales professionals spend just one-third of their time communicating with potential clients; the rest is spent sending emails, doing data entry, scheduling calls, and researching leads. Fortunately, there are ways to optimize your sales team’s skills and time. Chief among them is automation. Sales automation is enabling sales teams of all sizes to refocus on the customer and on the quality of engagement by streamlining the daily administrative tasks that have congested sales workflows and productivity.
Give your Sales Team a boost with automation
Sales automation is no longer a thing of the future, nor is it a new trend: Sales teams across all industries are experiencing first-hand the benefits of implementing automation solutions. The now robust technology plays a critical role in sales operations and enhances virtually all sales funnel levels, from lead generation to deal closing.
One of the key benefits of automation technology is that it can take care of repetitive tasks that have traditionally taken up much of your Sales team’s time. This includes many things, from email, follow-ups, meeting scheduling, and customer data entry. In this sense, automation supports sales teams, freeing up valuable hours so they can focus on high-value leads and quality customer engagement.
A unique solution for your requirements
Used strategically, automation software can provide more than support: comprehensive automation solutions such as Wrk enable your Sales department to go above and beyond.
By exploiting untapped lead generation avenues, improving customer communications through regular, personalized contact, and by staying up to date with real-time sales data, Sales teams can truly flourish with automation at their sides.
Critically, advanced automation solutions will not require you to overhaul your entire Sales department and its processes. Integration into existing systems is painless and requires minimal upskilling. Wrk’s automation solution can be connected with any software, from legacy systems and internal software to commonly used platforms like Salesforce, Hubspot, and DocuSign.
Finally, implementing automation into your sales processes will enable your business to keep up with the increasingly digital nature of sales. Though the pandemic has been a catalyst for the acceleration of virtual selling practices, the trend is not expected to slow when the pandemic does.
Ready to learn more about sales automation? Learn more about sales automation 101!
“As customers increasingly learn and buy digitally, sales reps become just one of many possible sales channels,” said Cristina Gomez, Managing Vice President at leading research and advisory company Gartner. “Because of this, sales organizations must be able to sell to customers everywhere the customer expects to engage, interact and transact with suppliers.”
By 2025, Gartner estimates that 80% of B2B sales interactions between suppliers and buyers will be digital.
Five sales processes to automate today
Today, sales automation has progressed beyond simply sending out mass emails with personalized greetings. Businesses can use sophisticated platforms like Wrk to automate all parts of a process, including manual tasks, data analysis, and task delivery. Below are 5 sales processes that can (and should) be automated.
Lead generation
Finding new leads is a key part of the sales process, and many sales teams will have tried and true methods of finding new buyers. Lead generation automation can bolster these practices and unlock new opportunities for your sales team. Automation streamlines many typically time-consuming tasks, like searching for leads via social media and sending out email campaigns. It can also find new leads through targeted advertisements.
Automation solutions like Wrk allow sales teams to connect with their customers. Photo Image: Antonio Janeski
Automation solutions also simplify lead scoring. They get information from different places about potential clients, analyze it, and then find the best leads. Detailed lead profiles are sent to salespeople, who can then use their time to talk to prospects and negotiate. Many businesses are already reaping the benefits of technology. Roughly 77% have reported increased lead conversions since adopting sales automation.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
Once your sales pipeline has steady new leads, automation can also improve how your sales team manages them. With automated CRM, sales teams no longer have to use spreadsheets to manually update and sort possible buyers. According to Hubspot, it used to take up to 17% of a salesperson’s day. CRM software automatically enters customer information. Sort leads into groups based on how they interact with your business and qualify leads. For example, a lead who signed up for an email newsletter will go through a different sales channel than a lead who went to a webinar. Automated CRM also digitizes and centralizes all customer data, which makes it easy for team members to track where clients are in their journeys, even if they are working from home.
Proposal development
Each customer’s needs are unique. Therefore, generic proposals and quotes are rarely effective strategies to close a deal successfully. However, manually crafting custom proposals, sending them, and following them up wastes valuable hours. Sales automation facilitates every step of the proposal development process. With it, sales teams can make customized proposals and quotes that include prices, customer information, and product information. Full automation solutions like Wrk can also automate the acquisition, the approval of internal contracts, and if needed, reminders. Your sales team will have a competitive edge. It will also ensure that potential sales don't fall through the cracks.
You can shorten the time it takes to make a sale by giving potential clients the information they need. Our automated Quote & Proposal Development Wrkflows are designed to do just that!
Deal management
Sales can be a heavy touch process, involving many email exchanges, phone conversations, and face-to-face interactions. It is up to the sales team to keep track of these meetings and follow the lead’s progression. Because salespeople typically engage with several clients at a time, it can be difficult to see the whole picture. That’s where sales automation comes in.
Automated deal management will automatically log and track all customer interactions, as well as schedule appointments and prompt follow-ups.
Automating scheduling alone can save sales teams up to 12% of their day! Moreover, automated deal management can provide valuable insights, including when prospects open correspondence, whether they downloaded the shared documents, etc.
Our Deal Management Wrkflows can help your Sales team streamline communication, nurture client relationships, and ultimately attract more business.
Reports & insights
Reporting is another time-consuming but necessary part of a sales team’s responsibilities. Sales managers spend hours every week or month putting together comprehensive sales reports for their teams and directors. Sales automation takes all the legwork out of this process by parsing data from CRM and sales files. But they also help provide succinct reports that are easy to digest. Automation can make reporting sales standings and revenue easier and measuring your data. You can set up reminders to send reports to team members and give them accurate data in real-time. Report and document automation can help you quickly turn your data into actionable insights and pivot where necessary.
Use automation to boost your sales processes today
Even though communication and sales methods are changing to meet the needs of a more digital age, building relationships is still the most important part of the job. Sales automation allows teams to put their skills to use and focus on the customer. Instead of the time spent on sales processes they can dedicate time to the areas they excel at, like communication. Sales professionals no longer have to spend their days replying to perfunctory emails. Or even check and double check their schedules. Sales automation clears the path, enabling them to do what they do best, sell.
Discover how the Wrk Platform can enhance your sales processes by visiting our Sales Hub today. Or read our latest eBook to learn how to fill your revenue gaps with automation!
