Sales Force Management

by Gilbert E. Cargill, Cargill Consulting Group, Inc

There's a reason why sales force automation works for some companies and not for others. As businesses nationwide continue to spend billions of dollars on sales force automation, executives are increasingly scratching their heads to determine why it's not working. But, when a company first takes into account sales processes and techniques, the gains can knock your socks off!

Industry experts find that 60-80% of sales force automation programs fail, even when companies spend as much as $15,000 per salesperson to make it work. According to a 1999 survey in Sales & Marketing Management magazine, even programs that do succeed report a disappointing average of only a 10% increase in productivity.

However, companies that go through the following four steps, before implementing automation technology, enjoy a substantially higher rate of success.

1. Assess the capabilities of your sales force and embrace proven best practices.
2. Evaluate your sales process and document clearly defined, incremental goals.
3. Let your sales management team use its sales experience to decide which sales automation software to buy, not your IS team.
4. Tailor automation technology to your company's individual needs.

When all the data is in, sales force automation can do exactly what it sets out to do: Increase revenue and expand marketshare. Yet, it is the people behind the computers that"make or break" the results.

Sales force automation software will not mask the incompetence of the sales force, nor will it determine whether or not a company's tactical objectives are aligned with its sales compensation plan. It will not compensate for an undisciplined sales team that does not follow a clear process.

Here, then, are some tips to make your sales automation program a huge success, as well as some pitfalls to avoid when implementing this technology.

• Don't confuse a complete installation with a successful one. Evaluate success based on whether or not the sales force increases selling time, as well as sales, and/or gains higher margins.
• Don't just let your sales force become a team of mobile data-entry operators. The amount of actual selling time available to your sales team, not simply the time they spend at the computer, is what will make them more productive.
• Discourage your sales force from using their laptops to manipulate data and play computer games. "Exploring" the various uses of new technology can waste valuable selling hours.
• Document and define your sales process first, or you just end up automating a"mess".
• Beware of software designers who are not salespeople themselves. They often try to"out-design" each other by adding unnecessary and complex features.
• Training the sales force to fully embrace this technology as an effective sales tool and to see the personal and financial gains of integrating it into their daily routine.