Sales are the lifeblood of any business. But for small business teams, the challenges can be significant. All too often, you can spend valuable time identifying prospects and nurturing potential customers only to find that some of them slip away during the sales process.
Sales automation software can turbo-charge your results by giving you all the customer information you need at the touch of a button, keeping your sales strategy on track, saving you time on admin and allowing you to focus on converting sales.
With a sales automation system, you capture information every time you have contact with a customer, logging everything from emails to orders and sales. Often known as Customer Relationship Management (CRM), sales automation software can be a game-changer for small businesses with big dreams.
Here are 14 ways that a sales automation system such as Bitrix24 could make your business run more smoothly and help you exceed your sales targets:
1. Save time
Sales automation systems reduce the need for manual data entry and cut down on the time you and your team spend on administration. That leaves you free to focus on high-value activities like prospecting and relationship-building activities.
2. Track every lead and sell more
Never miss a sales opportunity again. By using a CRM system, you can keep detailed records of every customer lead captured, score and track them and ensure that every prospect is followed up so you never miss a golden opportunity to make a sale. Systems like these are especially good at helping you to upsell and cross-sell.
3. Understand your customers better
CRM systems provide a central database for recording information about all of your customers and prospects, including details of their spending patterns and preferences. CRM can help you understand buying trends, identify the best leads and spot lapsed customers. This information is absolute gold dust for your sales and marketing team, allowing you to segment customers and target them accordingly.
4. Boost productivity
A sales automation system can help you and your team get more done in less time. You can automate tasks that used to take hours - such as sending proposals and quotes to customers. By making your sales team more efficient and eliminating duplicate processes, you can maximise the time they spend on bringing in more business.
5. Bring consistency to your sales processes
It’s hard to get results when sales tasks are done on an ad hoc basis, often by different members of the team. Consistency is absolutely key when it comes to sales. An automated system ensures that everyone on the team is following standardised sales procedures and providing a consistent customer experience.
6. Create better sales forecasts
Setting goals for the sales team can be a difficult balancing act for small businesses. Sales targets can be ambitious but they must also be achievable. A sales automation system can give you the data and insights to help you create a realistic sales forecast.
7. Improve your decision-making
Businesses are run on decisions. With a sales automation system, there’s no more guesswork. You can get real-time reporting and analytics on your sales performance that will help you make effective, data-driven decisions that deliver tangible results.
8. Keep everyone in the loop
Even the smallest businesses can have communication issues, especially when staff are often working remotely. The best sales automation systems offer multi-channel integration so your people and your sales systems can talk to each other online and through communication channels like email and social media.
9. Make it personal
A CRM system allows for personalised communication with customers and leads, so you can target messages and increase the chance of converting sales and getting repeat business.
10. Save money
The right sales system can actually reduce the workload for your team so you don’t have to recruit additional staff to do manual tasks. This can deliver significant cost savings for small firms on a budget, reducing operational overheads and optimising resources.
11. Make your business scaleable
A growing business needs to be built on strong foundations. By using a sales automation system, you are laying the groundwork for future growth. The best systems can be scaled as you grow, handling large volumes of information and giving you valuable customer insights. Best of all, you can identify key characteristics about your customers so you can find more potential customers that match that profile.
12. Protect your data
Every business that handles customer information needs to comply with data regulations. By using a dedicated sales automation system, you can rest easy knowing that your data is safe and you customers’ privacy is protected.
13. Get a competitive advantage
A sales automation system can give you a valuable, competitive edge. It provides real-time intelligence that can flag upmarket changes as they happen so you can respond to new opportunities as soon as they arise. Sales automation systems are also key to improving customer satisfaction and building long-term customer loyalty.
14. Keep all your information in one place
Sales systems allow you to link up your sales and marketing data with other records, such as stock-keeping, delivery and accounts. This can give you a complete picture of every customer’s dealings with your business - from the status of deliveries to late payments.
It’s clear that sales automation can enhance your relationships with customers, streamline your sales processes, provide valuable market insights and boost your conversions. The best systems also offer a user-friendly interface and flexibility for customisation.
There are specialised professional systems like Bitrix24 on the market that provide all the sales automation features that your business requires, so you can easily and efficiently manage leads, nurture customer relationships, and close deals. Bitrix24 also supports mobile accessibility for on-the-go sales teams. With customisation options and forecasting capabilities, it’s a comprehensive platform that can enhance sales productivity and boost customer satisfaction.
Copyright 2023. Article written by Rachel Miller, Start Up Donut