Advanced Internet Systems - Internet Sales Force Automation In Sales And Cutomer Support

Advanced Internet Systems

Internet Sales Force Automation

Automation in Sales and Customer Support

Strange as it may seem, most of America’s businesses have installed computers and software in places least likely to provide the best results economically (read: bottom line profits). A good example in virtually every office, is the $10/hour secretary with her desktop computer and word processing, while the $100/hour executive continues to use paper systems. The question is obvious. Where can computer technology be best used in an organization to improve efficiency and enhance profits? We believe that since customers are the primary source of revenue for most businesses, employees who deal with customers should be as efficient and productive as possible, and therefore are excellent candidates for automation.

As a group, sales people (including customer service people) are the single most important class of employee that a business has. You can have the best products, the best management, the best support, but if you don’t have sales people to sell and service the customers, that business will surely fail. In recognition of this fact, as a profession, sales professionals tend to earn more than most other types of work, and their time is generally very valuable to the organizations that they serve. While it may seem obvious that improving efficiency and capability of your sales and customer service personnel through automation would be a natural thing for all companies want to do, the implementation of this concept is decidedly more difficult than it at first would seem.

Problems associated with automating a sales operation can most easily be seen from the sale person’s point of view. The average sales person (especially the ones generating big dollar sales) are generally independent, dominate individuals with above average intellect and very little patience. This type of person can get great use out of a computer system, and will come up with many creative ways to use it in their day to day work. However, there is a hitch; the system must be easy to use with intuitive screen layouts that makes the system immediately useable and valuable to their needs. Sales people do not have the time or inclination to read manuals (or to even press F1 for help), and get frustrated with poorly designed systems. In addition to ease of use, the system must have depth of features and flexibility. Since sales people are usually very creative and have the ability to see ways of doing things better, a system without depth and flexibility will eventually stop a sales person from getting to the level of performance that he or she may want. With a well designed mature system, who knows what they might be able to do.

OK, an easy to use system with depth and flexibility - what else does it need? Reliability! A system that doesn’t perform reliably will frustrate a sales person to no end. What is a minor problem to others will make a sales person give up on the system altogether. Even though it may be in a sales person’s own best interest to be automated (improved productivity increases commissions), they tend to think of things in the short term rather than the long term. Therefore, anything that can’t be implemented very quickly will be seen as having negative impact on their perception of their world (i.e. this week’s commission check!). Because of this, the system must be able to be installed, and the sales people trained with a minimal investment of time and effort.

That brings us to the next subject: training sales people to use the system to their best advantage. Training sales people on computers is a difficult task. If a trainer simply goes through the menus and keystrokes teaching sales people only how the program works, the typical sales person will simply tune the trainer out while they think about what to them are more urgent matters. To keep a sales person fully focused on computer training, the trainer must be able to relate to the sales person’s specific needs, and how the system will allow the sales person to satisfy those needs. To be able to do this, the trainer must be knowledgeable not only about the system, but also about sales in general, and specifically, about sales as it relates to the sales person directly. Without this ability to relate to the sales person’s world, results of training are greatly diminished. Without good training, no system will perform at its best, and you will not see the optimum results that could be obtained if proper training had been accomplished.

What exactly are optimum results, and how does management of a company obtain them? That is an interesting question that when put in the light of systems automation, takes on a whole new dimension. First of all, there is no way to achieve progress if you do not have information about where you are, where you were, and what you are currently doing. Measurement and consistent reassessment of this information are the tools necessary for a business to grow in size and profitability. These general principles pertain to most facets of business, such as training, goal setting, quality control, customer satisfaction, prospecting, sales, etc. Without these tools, management is pretty much playing hunches and flying by the seat of their pants...which is OK if you have years of experience and can personally oversee all parts of your business. Of course, this means that your business is either doomed to remain small, or doomed to fail once it grows to beyond your immediate control.

Internet Sales Force Automation
Introduction To Internet Sales Force Automation
Automation In Sales And Customer Support
The Process Of Internet Sales Automation
Return On Investment For Sales Automation
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