Businesses thrive on growth and incorporating latest technologies like sales force automation can be the driving factor. In fact, reports from leading marketing research suggests that the ROI for business opting for sales automation is $5.44 for every dollar spent, so almost a 5x revenue jump.
However, when a business has adapted to an ongoing operations and process, switching to an entirely new technology poses a lot of challenges. In fact, the sales force automation challenges stem from complexities in the sales operations.
If your business is ready to make a leap of faith, addressing these challenges is crucial to make the transition smooth and productive in the long run.
5 Common Sales Force Automation Challenges and Their Resolutions
For those that are new to the concept of sales force automation software, these are tools that automate majority of the sales process and operations.
Popular workflow features like lead and contact management, performance analysis and follow-up reports are automated using these tools, allow the sales representatives to shift their focus onto things that matter more.
Despite how beneficial SFA tools are, their implementation into an existing business (and sales) process can be a challenge. We will be highlighting those and suggest a series of resolutions to overcome those challenges.
1. Resistance to Change
Sales representatives, especially ones that have been working with a company for a prolonged period, have a routine and way of working. Be it with their approach to making a successful sale or with the way they have autonomy with their way, a lot of the tasks are personalised to meet their comfort and their work.
The integration of a new software, especially one as comprehensive as sales force automation often imposes a looming threat on their workflow. It makes them feel intimidated or skeptical about the benefits they would be able to reap from them. Not just that, there is also a fear that it may lead to micromanagement or job insecurity. Hence, resistance to change from the existing sales process is a common challenge.
Resolution:
The easiest way to overcome this challenge is to include the sales team during the implementation of the SFA software. When you provide the team with real-time and practical demonstration of the benefits, it allows them to understand why adopting it into their work would only uplift them and not berate them. Conducting training sessions and workshops is also a great way to highlight the features of the tool and make the transition smoother for the sales force.
2. Lack of Clear Objectives and Strategy
According to a report from Pendalix, 49% of the companies said that implementing salesforce marketing automation was their best decision for driving growth in sales. While numbers like these can make SFA seem like a “miracle” for success, it is not.
In fact, many businesses face sales force automation challenges because they have no goals or clear objectives during the implementation process. Lack of “why” when choosing a SFA software leads to lack of focus and alignment, leading to either underutilisation or mismanagement of the system.
Resolution:
Before you are ready to implement any SFA solution into your business, ensure that you focus on establishing clear goals and objectives. Why do you want to implement SFA? Who are you implementing SFA for? What are your long-term goals from this software? Having a strategic roadmap before the implementation process ensures that you stick to it and get to make the most out of the tool and experience optimal outcomes in terms of business growth and revenue.
3. Data Quality and Integration Issues
If there’s one element that is considered the foundation of sales force automation, it is data. The success of SFA heavily relies on the accuracy of the data that is being fed into it. However, it is common for enterprises to face common issues like data duplication, incomplete information, or data silos, which can affect the effectiveness of the system.
Resolution:
Just because this is a common issue doesn’t mean there aren’t any solutions for it. In fact, the biggest reason why data issues happen is because of the disconnected network of the tech-stack. A business that already has CRM and ERP integrated in their system needs to have their SFA solutions integrated into the existing system. This prevents data overlap and ensures access to up-to-date information without any kinds of overlap or inconsistencies.
4. Complexity of Customisation
Every business has subjective needs, depending on their workflow, product and services and the kind of workforce working under them. Hence, choosing a generic salesforce workflow automation will not yield the results that a business is on the lookout for. This is where comprehensive and customisable solutions like 1Channel come into the picture.
From custom features to custom dashboards, personalised solutions allow business to adapt with ample room for flexibility. In most cases, some of the standard SFA tools don’t offer out of the box features, which may fall short in addressing specific business needs.
Resolution:
The easiest solution for this sales force automation challenge is to choose a software that doesn’t compromise on the customisation. With 1Channel, you get to experience building a SFA system for your business that ticks off all your automation needs. Additionally, customisation with 1Channel is an ongoing process with addition of new features based on the feedback and changing market dynamics.
5. Integration with Existing Systems
Hands down the biggest sales force automation challenge is integrating it with the existing system for a unified approach. By existing systems, we mean CRM, ERP and other marketing tools that the business uses to keep their sales operations running smoothly.
To ensure maximum impact of the sales force automation software, proper integration with the existing systems is a must. However, integration can be challenging, especially with lack of standardisation across the platforms.
Resolution:
More than a technical challenge, the smooth integration process of the SFA software is a headache that many businesses don’t want to feed into. This is where leading solutions like 1Channel step in. We understand your shortcomings and our team takes over with the integration process to ensure that you don’t have to lift a finger. Our integration process ensures that the data flows uninterrupted across all the platforms.
Successful SFA Implementation Done with 1Channel
While the sales force automation challenges are quite common and recurring, they are fixable issues. It is true that making a switch to an entirely new technology is often daunting but what many businesses fail to realise is the long-term benefits that come with the initially few months of struggles. Your sales efficiency is improved and so is the customer relationship and brand loyalty when you implement SFA into your business.
1Channel, with its expertise in field force automation, offers a solution that not only mitigates these obstacles but also helps organisations customize and adapt SFA to their unique needs.
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