Automation has taken over the world of sales by storm. It has brought about incredible benefits to businesses. When the sales team’s efforts are coupled with the efficiency of automated tools, you can witness noticeable changes in your sales processes.
In this blog, we have discussed sales automation and how it is changing the operation of sales teams.
What is sales automation?
Sales automation is the process of using AI to automate the various repetitive and manual tasks involved in sales. The sales process involves lead generation, lead nurturing, closing deals, follow-up, CRM, etc.
Sales automation is a boon to the sales teams since it saves considerable time that could be diverted to more productive use.
A study by McKinsey states that nearly 30% of sales activities can benefit from automation.
How is sales automation changing sales?
Is it true that the use of AI is changing sales? In the present times, when sales strategies are data-driven, automation plays a great role.
Yes, sales automation is changing sales for good. Several benefits associated with using sales automation tools testify to this statement.
Recent studies indicate a 14.5% increase in sales productivity when you use sales automation tools.
The following are some ways automation is changing sales processes:
Lead generation
Lead generation is one of the prominent tasks of sales reps. Identification of leads plays a great role in moving over to the other steps in the sales process.
Sales automation software assist in choosing the right lead by analyzing their interaction online, stage in the buying journey, etc.
Proper lead qualification helps in prioritizing the most promising leads. Prospecting leads who do not qualify will be a redundant process and eats a huge chunk of the sales rep’s time. Automation avoids this and guides the sales reps with lead scores.
A study by Annuitas Group states that the use of software can achieve a 451% increase in qualified leads.
Lead nurturing
Nurturing leads is an important step in the sales process. When sales reps do this process manually, there are greater chances of leaving out some promising leads.
This can prove expensive for the business. This is where automation steps in. Automated reminders and follow-ups help stay in touch with prospects. This will enable the free flow of prospects from one stage to another.
Lead distribution
Automation helps in the smarter distribution of leads among sales reps. Lead distribution may be based on industry, geography, etc.
With the help of software, it becomes easier to assign sales regions to sales reps. As a result, they are assigned territories they aren’t proficient in. This affected the revenues of the organization.
Sales acceleration
Automation helps close sales quickly. By using data generated through this software, decision-making becomes easier.
The sales team can identify their ideal customers and focus on converting them into customers.
Since the process involves aligning sales and marketing teams, it is easier to close deals faster. Your business can focus on the KPIs and work toward achieving them.
Sales forecasting
It is imperative to be proactive in sales. Analyzing trends and forecasting is a part of the sales team’s task. But this is a humongous task with a huge amount of data if done manually. There are a lot of chances for errors to creep in with manual data compilation.
Compiling data and report generation has become a breeze with sales automation tools. They act as a guide for the sales team to base their predictions. Data generated through AI is more reliable; therefore, the sales team can use them confidently.
Scheduling
When finalizing a deal, sales teams have to arrange meetings with the clients. Sales automation tools integrate with the Calendar tools and help in easy scheduling. There is no chance of an appointment being missed.
Reminders are sent to the sales team and the client so that meetings are held as per schedule. It is also easier to make any changes in the schedules and the same is notified to the concerned parties through emails, text, etc.
Follow-up
With email automation, follow-ups are easier than before. Emails can be scheduled to be delivered on specified dates.
Several email templates come built-in with the software, and help a great deal in creating engaging emails. It becomes easy when the number of leads is huge and thus saves a huge amount of time and effort.
The above are some of the areas in sales where automation has proven advantages. Let us also discuss some benefits of the use of automated tools in sales.
- Quicker deal closure.
- Saves a lot of time.
- Automation is cost-efficient.
- Ensures that qualified leads are not left out.
- Increases customer satisfaction.
- Increases productivity.
- Accelerates revenues.
Final thoughts
Sales automation tools make B2B sales easy. These tools complement the work of the sales reps and add more value to the process.
Nowadays automated tools are crafted with emotional intelligence, so they also help in maintaining the human touch, the most essential element in sales.
