Business process automation (BPA) has been on the upward trend for some time now, probably due to the revolution the concept continues to create in the business world. It involves designing business processes to run independently based on various data inputs in a bid to eliminate or reduce human effort. In turn, this saves organizations valuable resources including money and time which are hard to recover once lost.
In sales, the BPA concept continues to streamline workflows on aspects like customer acquisition, lead management, and invoicing to name a few. In this post, we look into five effective approaches that modern businesses can use to achieve increased sales results using automation.
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Systemize most error-prone sales processes
Not all sales processes become more efficient when you implement automation tools. As such, you might want to get selective when choosing areas of your business to automate. A smart approach here is to systematize only those functions that are most prone to human error. Start by examining the sales tasks that take too much time to complete and look for ways to automate them. For example, you can enhance accuracy and efficiency by automating functions like financial performance reporting and returns forecasting.
Consolidate sales software solutions
Another effective approach you can adopt when automating your business’s sales process is to consolidate data from your software solutions. While some tools will integrate natively with each other, some will require that you use a third-party app to work together. For example, you need to employ Piesync which is a third-party tool to synchronize Hubspot with Mailchimp if you use the two for your sales data management.
Syncing of sales tools means data is automatically and simultaneously updated information on both apps when change is made on one. The main gain here is saving countless hours of work that would go into updating info separately on either application.
Additionally, consolidations help to increase transparency when working on team projects. For example, marketing teams can find out how their sales counterparts are faring following implementation of a new strategy without necessarily having to consult the sales agents.
The ability to integrate business tools that play different roles in an organization makes data exchange possible. As a result, it becomes easier to make more informed and time decisions which is key to the success of the sales process and the company at large.
Always test before implementing
When you’re unsure about the outcome of implementing your sales technological solutions, consider taking an iterative approach. This helps you to reduce unexpected risks and consequences of replacing human labor with automated systems. For example, if you deal with products that require delivery, some of your clients may want to get assurances from a real human than getting automated messages from fulfillment systems.
In addition, testing gives you a good opportunity to identify any mistakes you’re doing and the shortcomings of your sales solution early. Knowing this, you can look for an alternative before committing valuable resources or data to the new tool.
Automate the most repetitive tasks
Sales processes will often overlap especially if you attend to several clients at a go. This means you’ll be completing some tasks such as invoicing repetitively on any working day. As you can imagine, this will result in monotony and boredom for anyone involved in these kinds of processes.
By automating these repetitive tasks, you not only make your work easier and save time but also increase the productivity of your organization. For example, having a system to process feedback from customers after receiving deliveries can save your company a lot of time. You want to cut on the time you spend manually browsing customer feedback and channel the same to other more demanding functions in your company.
Automate even the core functions
Do you have functions in your sales process that you consider to be core to the success of your business? You need to prioritize them when automating your business to ensure they are error-proof, cloud-based, and efficient.
A few core sales functions to begin with email messaging, funnel management, and lead qualification using CRM solutions. In most cases, these three are the main areas that matter the most in sales automation.
Email messaging facilitates seamless communication within and outside of the business while funnel management takes care of the steps customers have to follow till they make a purchase. Finally, having a reliable lead qualification software will help you identify the leads to pursue and those to ignore for effective results.
How do you approach sales automation in your business? We’d love to hear your feedback.
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