Sales Force Automation (SFA)

The automation of routine sales operations is carried out by a class of systems, conditionally called SFA (Sales Force Automation System) or SFM (Sales Force Management System). In world practice, the SFA system is usually supplied as part of CRM.

Statistics prove the inefficiency of any organization without competent planning of the sales process. It is known for certain that 60% of companies for this reason cease to exist in the first three years after their creation.

Automated Sales System

For any business, an important component of success is a well-built sales system. If in a rapidly growing market it can be forgiven for mistakes and slowness, then in difficult times and with high competition it should work extremely accurately, allowing a minimum of errors. In battles for market share, the strongest survives, and the sales system is a very powerful weapon that can significantly change the balance of power.

Sales Management System

The SFMS sales management system provides information about all customers in the form of tables, charts, graphs. The manager will not have to waste time drafting them. When working with Sales Force Management System, the manager has complete information about orders, which gives him the opportunity to respond to changes in the situation in a timely manner, give the necessary recommendations to subordinates, check the stock of products and adjust the discount system. Read the article "SFMS"

Functions

• Contact Management - Store and update customer information, contact history, cyclical point of sale information, and customer need for the company's products;
• Business management - compiling and maintaining a business diary of a sales representative;
• Communication management - data transmission via a modem or mobile phone, as well as ensuring the safety and replication of information;
• Forecasting - sales planning, as well as search and analysis of forecasts of various research organizations and marketing research of its own departments;
• Opportunity Management - implementation of various schemes that attract potential customers;
• Order management - prompt access to information about the availability of goods in the warehouse, as well as the placement of an order for the manufacture and delivery of the required product;
• Document Management - Develop standards, reports, information and promotional materials.
• Sales Analysis - Use statistics to improve your sales strategy.
• Product Information Management - Store and update product characteristics, price range, availability of alternative products.
• Marketing Encyclopedia - updating information about products, new products, prices, promotions, discount systems, as well as research results and information about competitors.

Classification

Distinguish SFA systems by network connectivity. If the SFA is configured for on-line operation, employees enter data into the central database through a network of different degrees of security or through an internal resource. The so-called "Push" clients enter data into the system, when all the necessary items are filled, the input device is synchronized with the central database, and the information is updated. Thus, you can get the necessary directories, tariff groups, prices. When working off-line, data is entered into a device that does not communicate with the central database. Synchronization and updating of information takes place after a certain time when it becomes possible to connect to the network. For example, a sales representative can do this at home or in the office.

Hardware platforms

Laptops based on operating system Windows or tablet computers equipped with a touch screen are convenient for sales representatives who need to make presentations or acquaint the client with some visual information, as well as if the manager works in an office environment and does not make numerous trips. PDAs based on one of the mobile operating systems, such as,, Windows Mobile, Symbian Palm OS are indispensable for an employee working on the road. It is convenient if CPC it is equipped with/, GSMGPRS GPS modules, a camera. This will make it possible to collect and systematize data, transfer it from almost any place, photograph the required objects. And by means GPS of control over the movement of the sales representative. The advantages of this hardware platform are obvious: portability, functionality, ergonomics, relatively low cost, battery life.

SFA selection criteria

The company's management should not waste time adapting the information system, but deal directly with business development. The most advantageous is the use of a complete set of solutions for the SFA system, and not its disparate components. This allows you to use all available services, and also provides additional functionality for the CRM module. The standard set is application hosting, integration with existing systems, ensuring the availability of programs, remote management of users, devices, data. The largest foreign companies that operate in the Russian market most often use individually developed solutions for automating sales. But the current trend is standardization and unification. Although there is still no single corporate standard in Russia. CDC (Corporate Development Center) is the leader in the supply of SFA systems for business. It offers an Optimum boxed system that is fast and easy to implement. This system is indispensable for small and medium-sized businesses operating according to typical schemes. The steady growth of incomes of the Russian population, and, accordingly, the demand for various goods and services, leads to an increase in the quality of customer service and interaction with partners. The main thing when implementing the SFA, like any other information system, is the competent organization and administration of the project. It will be useful to allocate a special curator who will be engaged in setting specific tasks and monitoring their implementation. It is also important to create motivation for the staff when switching to a new management system. To do this, there are training programs for managers and sales representatives or change management programs.

Problems

Companies implementing sales automation systems face many challenges in practice. The most relevant of them is considered insufficient training of personnel and misunderstanding of the principles of the system. Employees in the process acquire a certain customer base and do not want to share it with their colleagues or bosses. They do not see the point in this, and replace it with their own calm. Some companies apply the carrot and stick system, that is, penalties for non-compliance and incentives for following the system. But this is not the way out. The solution to the problem is competently organized training of personnel from the initial stages of system implementation. It is important to communicate to employees the essence of automating the sales process. It is necessary to give managers an answer to the question of how the system helps to qualify customers and increase sales. Then it will become clear to them that the efficiency of work is significantly increased. The task of the manager is to find out the capabilities of the system supplier to ensure individual training of company personnel. Do not neglect the introduction of the institution of curation.

Another problem is the lack of proper coordination between different departments of the company, for example, between the call center, marketing department, sales department and regional distribution centers. Each of these units has its own goals and objectives. They are united by following the general trend of customer service. This means that the reference points of each company unit should coincide and pursue the goal of improving the quality of service. Each of the components of the organization has common ground with customers, it is important that they are identical. The solution to the problem lies in the establishment of communication channels, whereby all divisions will be integrated into a single whole. There should also be unification of distribution channels, be it traditional or mobile sales, on-line stores or distribution networks. The sales automation system allows management to assess the efficiency of product sales and analyze customer purchasing activity. It is also important to agree when collecting information about the client in order to avoid troubles, for example, when delivering a product ordered in an online store. Thus, a system is needed that can integrate all the information available in the company and make it available to each department.

Some companies do not understand the structure of the costs required to implement the project. According to the Gartner Group, only half of all funds going to acquire the SFA are spent on hardware and software. The rest of the funds are spent on communication and installation of the system. It is a surprise to many that additional maintenance costs are required during use. If you weigh the advantages and disadvantages of implementing the SFA, you can come to the conclusion that it is unprofitable for small companies. An alternative is offered for them. The hosting delivery model makes it possible to quickly implement the system, spending a small amount at the initial stage, as well as get a forecast of operating costs. Especially valuable is the ability to scale according to the number of users.

Another reason for the failure of the SFA is the illiterate choice of system. This can be both an underestimation and a reassessment of the company's capabilities. There are cases of investment in complex multifunctional systems that could not be implemented 100 %. That is, the company did not need such a system, it spent a lot on its acquisition. Do not forget about the possibility of changing the business strategy. Companies are subject to mergers and acquisitions, the products produced or submitted by the company are fundamentally changing. In this regard, the requirements for the sales management system are naturally changing.

So, to successfully implement the SFA system, which will improve the efficiency of the company, it is necessary to pre-identify the functional responsibilities of each employee, formalize the business process, identify an employee who has authority from management and is able to devote most of the time to work on the project.

The automation of routine sales operations is carried out by a class of systems, conditionally called SFA (Sales Force Automation System) or SFM (Sales Force Management System). Let's consider the complex tasks that SFA systems for telecom operators must solve.

Market Valuation

2023: Global AI Automation Assistant Market Growth by 23% to $1.61 Billion

In 2023, the global market for artificial intelligence assistants to automate sales amounted to $1.61 billion. This is almost a quarter - by 23% - more compared to 2022, when the cost of such software was estimated at $1.31 billion. The key drivers of the industry are the increasing demand for automation and the need to improve the efficiency of trading operations. Market trends are addressed in the Market Research Future survey published in early September 2024.

It is noted that AI assistants provide a deeper understanding of customer behavior and their preferences. Such data helps sales departments in planning marketing campaigns, which helps improve performance. Another trend that is driving the industry in many ways is the growing demand for personalized customer experiences. AI algorithms allow sales consultants to track consumer preferences and make the most relevant offers. In addition, AI assistants help sales departments improve performance by automating routine operations, analyzing large amounts of information, predicting, etc.

According to the deployment model, the market for AI assistants for sales automation is segmented into cloud and local solutions. In 2023, cloud products accounted for about 60% of all revenue. Among the significant players named, Pipedrive HubSpot,,, SAP Adobe Freshworks, Outreach,,,,, Oracle IBM Microsoft Base, and Salesforce Gong. Zoho Geographically, North America leads with Asia Pacific showing the highest performance.

Market Research Future analysts predict that in the future, the CAGR in the AI assistant market for automation of sales will be 23.16%. As a result, by 2032, costs on a global scale will reach $10.5 billion.^[1]

2018: Up 12.8% to $6.9 billion - Gartner

The volume of the global market for sales automation systems (SFA) in 2018 reached $6.9 billion, an increase of 12.8% compared to the previous year. This was announced at the end of June 2019 by analysts Gartner in their "Gartner Magic Quadrant for Sales Force Automation."

SFA solutions include fundamental systems designed to automate routine sales operations, as well as the processes and administrative responsibilities of sales professionals.

Gartner Magic Quadrant in Sales Automation

The Gartner rating allows you to assess the position and reputation of vendors, taking into account not only the quality and capabilities of products, but also the company's strategy and work processes, methodology and technologies used in the products. 

Of the hundreds of different sales management software products, Gartner's magic quadrant includes no more than two dozen annually. In 2019, the CRM system bpm'online from the Russian company Terrasoft was again included in the rating of the best solutions for sales automation.

This product received high marks in the study thanks to a full set of tools for managing the client service. The technologies and reference processes embedded in the product help companies around the world to improve the quality of interaction with each client, regardless of the communication channel, analysts say.

bpm'online moved from the group of applicants (Challengers ) to leaders (Leaders) (they also included Salesforce, Microsoft, Oracle and SAP) thanks to consistently high quality ratings from reference customers, improved product functionality and deployment efficiency, - stated in the report.

According to analysts, bpm'online offers a "unique strategy" to support implementation partners in key geographical regions, encouraging not only the installation of the software itself, but also the development of custom solutions that can be sold in the manufacturer's application store.

In addition, Gartner praised bpm'online for its convenient and modern user interface, its use of predictive analytical models, and its ease of administration.

At the same time, customers surveyed by Gartner say that they are less interested in bpm'online than in products from other manufacturers in the group of leaders of the "magic quadrant." This situation is partly due to the fact that bpm'online is not so active compared to competitors, it uses innovative ideas and is promoted on social networks.

Another problem with bpm'online is a small market share. For example, in the Asia-Pacific region, Latin and Central America, the Russian product accounts for less than 15% of users of sales automation systems. In North America, the figure does not exceed 20%. The shares of bpm'online are much smaller than those of other "magic quadrant" leaders.

Finally, customers noted that working with bpm'online requires more and better online training.

Speaking about the advantages of Microsoft software to support sales, Gartner pointed to the vast ecosystem of applications, the ability to scale and integrate, as well as a wide scope.

The sales automation market increased by 13%. "Terrasoft" in the leaders

Microsoft's disadvantages are: a lower level of customer support compared to competitors, a lack of information about future features and products, and the company's reluctance to invest in vertical solutions, as a result of which customers have to carefully select their implementation partner.

Multiple vertical solutions are a plus for Oracle. In addition, analysts note from the American corporation the correct product development strategy and extensive implementation experience. As for Oracle criticism, it is associated with complex processes and difficulties in managing them.^[2]

All about the client: databases, billing, call-center

Sales processes are largely determined by who the potential buyer is. For example, depending on the history of the relationship between clients and operators, the former can be divided into three groups: new, current and former.

Operators "get information about new prospects" in the market - for example, using the databases of news agencies, and the SFA system should be able to import information from them. It is desirable that it additionally has the possibility of online integration - thus, operators in the SFA will have access to up-to-date information about potential customers.

A valuable source of information about current clients is the operator himself. Information about the services they consume, payment methods, wishes, etc. is contained in the billing system, in the data of the call center and other operator's ICs - the SFA system should provide convenient access to them.

Former customers also "noted" in the operator's IP. Moreover, often call centers have information about why the company lost a client, and this, in turn, will help the operator to "work on errors" and, possibly, return it.

Other classifications of buyers are possible, for example, into segments B2B, B2C, B2O, which are further detailed. The sales department has its own specifics of working with each dedicated sector. The SFA system should be able to distinguish them and allow them to work with each of them according to its specific rules.

Purchase Item: Active Product Catalog

The operator provides services to customers and can sell goods. At the same time, services can be quite complex and provided with a variety of network resources. The customer, in turn, must see an adapted, understandable and useful item of purchase that meets his final need, and not think about technical details.

Product functionality is provided by special solutions, and the SFA is interested in their part called the "active product catalog." Its architecture is aimed at quickly assembling, combining and bringing products and services to market, as well as managing the processes of their provision, support and billing. The SFA system is obliged to be able to operate with the entities of the "active product catalog," since the sales manager should not spend time decomposing the final product for services and resources. In turn, if a potential client wants to purchase a product that cannot be technically provided at the moment (there are no network resources), the manager needs to understand how long and how many resources this will require, and, accordingly, how profitable the company is. And then another important class of solutions for the SFA appears - a system for evaluating investment projects and working with feasibility studies.

Business Processes Time of Change

The sales support system must allow different sales business processes for customers from different segments. Moreover, at some steps they can have common areas and use the same specialists. It is convenient when such a "common part" does not need to be reconfigured for each segment, but allows it to be made common once for all business processes.

Example of the organization of the sales process in a territorial-distributed company (Source: Peter-Service, 2012)

The SFA system is obliged to take into account the fact that the business process of a sale can change often, and this should be a regular task, and not require a lot of effort and time. It should be possible to make changes to business processes without significant participation of SFA system developers.

When designing a sales business process, another important task will be to coordinate and synchronize the process participants. This point is especially relevant when working with large corporate clients distributed throughout Russia. It requires a well-coordinated work of all branches of the operator, and the SFA should allow the company to quickly receive information about the activities of all departments.

Data Sets: Structuring and Distribution

When working with a segment that allows a huge number of customers, the SFA system can face a number of specific tasks, such as eliminating duplication of data, organizing mass mailing and calling through the call center, as well as distributing work between sales employees.

The data on potential customers comes to the SFA system from different sources, therefore, they can be duplicated, and not always information, for example, an address, is provided in the same form. Accordingly, the SFA should have mechanisms to eliminate such a situation and eliminate duplication - preferably at the stage of loading data into the system.

When working with a large number of potential clients of the same type, the question arises of systems that allow mass distribution, which contains individual data that are directly related to the addressee. To do this, there is also its own software, and the sales support system must be able to interact with it.

Among other things, the SFA should also integrate with the call center, whose specialists conduct a massive call of potential buyers, revealing their interest in the operator's services. It is optimal if the call stage is part of the business process in the SFA - then the sales manager will be able to immediately get all the information about the client and quickly start working. This, in turn, may require any special algorithms for distributing prospects between sales specialists in order to improve efficiency.

Geographic area: queue and distance

The geographic area in which the operator's customers are located can be divided into service areas distributed among sales specialists.

Example of Customer Allocation to Areas of Responsibility

Grouping clients based on address will allow managers to work more efficiently and not waste time on long moves. In addition, a tool for assessing the workload of a sales specialist is convenient, which, if necessary, will make it possible to redistribute his customers to others.

Another way is to organize a work queue that allows you to balance the workload of employees and prevent "downtime." Among other things, the system should provide for the redistribution of work - if for any reason the operator needs to do so.

Workplace: Synchronization and Mobility

The SFA should take into account that often the main tool of the sales specialist is the client application of the collaboration system (for example, MS Outlook) with an appointment schedule, while on the road he does not always have access to a PC.

It is convenient if the appointment list assigned to the SFA is synchronized with the collaboration system (for example, MS Exchange) and becomes available in client applications (respectively, MS Outlook) on any device - laptops, tablets, smartphones. At the same time, it is optimal if this does not require a separate SFA application.

Data synchronization must be bilateral - this will allow the manager to quickly respond to all changes and immediately "transfer" the client to other specialists, which, in turn, will improve the operator's image and allow demonstrating the coherence and technicality of his work.

Reporting: standard and necessity

Of course, an important component of any SFA system is reporting, which will allow you to assess the overall sales efficiency, make forecasts for the future and monitor the work of each specific employee.

The SFA should support both a standard set of reports and specific requests that will help to assess the compliance of the actual sales volume with the sales plan, the efficiency of the call center, the amount of planned revenues for attracted customers, etc. It is better if this can be done in a third-party reporting system, which, in addition to regular, will allow you to generate reports on demand and conduct research on sales data.

Market: Difference in Detail

In world practice, the SFA system is usually supplied as part of CRM.

All leading suppliers offer high-quality, well-developed solutions that have proven themselves based on the results of implementations. Western developers position SFA as part of CRM - it often happens that the emphasis in SFA functionality is on integration with CRM, and its elaboration as an independent solution with its own problems and tasks is considered as an additional task.

Global suppliers mainly bring to market universal solutions that can be applied in various sectors. Obviously, in addition to the advantages, this approach has its drawbacks - by building a universal information system, it is difficult to comply with all industry standards at once. For example, carrier-specific integration with the operator's billing system is, and the SFA should be able to do this well.

The domestic CRM/SFA market in the telecommunications and communications sector differs from the world from the point of view of suppliers - domestic manufacturers are also represented on it. This is quite expected, since product localization and market specificity are important for the end customer.

Classic SFA functionality

• maintaining relationships with prospects
• product management
• ensuring the sales business process and its flexibility
• document flow
• working time management, integration with collaboration tools (MS Exchange/Lotus Notes)
• sales funnel and other statistics and reporting
• sales planning

Usually solution providers offer classic SFA functionality. The differences in solutions are manifested in the integration of the sales support system into the information structure of the telecom operator and an attempt to automate mass tasks associated with a large number of potential customers.

In general, the sales support system is in demand in the business of a telecom operator and allows you to increase the efficiency of sales divisions by reducing the sales cycle and automating it. The key characteristic of the SFA is the ability to integrate closely - perhaps in this case it is more important than functional saturation. A good ability to integrate can potentially be expected if the proposed solution is developed in accordance with industry standards, for example, for telecom operators - with the Telecom Application Map (TM Forum). In addition, the orientation of a potential solution to the Russian market and localization are of great importance in this regard.

Read also

• CRM
• Sales Force Management System (SFMS)
• Sales Performance Management
• Sales Force Management
• Sales & Operation Planning
• CPQ (Configure, Price and Quote) Sales Optimization Software

• What the Sales Support System Should Be Able to

Notes