The Ultimate Guide to Sales Process Automation

Sales automation is the process of using various technologies that help in performing manual human tasks which helps in saving time and resources. 

The sales teams who embrace using various sales automation tools and methods benefit from an increase in efficiency, data-driven decision-making, and scalability of sales efforts. 

Such sales automation can occur with different applications such as automating pulling deal information from emails and automating manual tasks such as creating reports. 

This article discusses why businesses should automate their sales process, strategies to automate the sales process, and the ways to implement a sales automation strategy. 

Why You Should Automate Your Sales Process

Sales reps are constantly asked to close deals faster to help increase the company’s revenue. However, research suggests that they get consumed with administrative tasks, data entry, deal management, researching prospects, and internal meetings. The problem is that because of these tasks, salespeople are only able to focus 28% of their time on selling. 

Furthermore, problems such as supply chain issues and inflation have led to constraints on sales globally. In such a scenario, automating your sales process can help address productivity challenges and streamline workflows.

Automation is a win-win for all parties too. The customers get a faster turnaround, the sales reps have higher job satisfaction as they can focus more on serving customers, and the company has a leap in productivity. 

A company called Swisslog Healthcare was able to address problems such as their sales reps having to work with multiple touchpoints that led to more than 60% of their time being spent on non-selling activities. By using sales automation software, they were able to reduce the average lead time by 50% and also reduced data entry time by 30%. 

How to Automate the Sales Process?

It can be confusing for business leaders how to get started with this process of sales automation. The different strategies to automate the sales process are described below: 

Use CRM

The foundation for successful sales process automation is the use of the right customer relationship management (CRM) software. This is because such a tool has customer data on each interaction they have made with the company. 

For instance, CRM has data regarding the emails sent to leads, the meetings conducted with them, as well as what deals are ready to be closed. Using this data, we can do various sales automation to save time. The relevant information such as contact information and pricing details can be updated automatically for each part of the sales stage. 

Additionally, the CRM software can be integrated with other tools to make sure that the data is synced automatically. Research shows that sales reps who worked at companies using mobile CRM software were able to reach 65% of their sales quotas. This is close to 3 times more than companies that don’t use mobile CRM software where only 22% of the quota was reached. 

Overall, since CRM software forms the backbone of sales process automation by centralizing customer data, it may be a good idea to prioritize this initiative. 

Automate Cold Email Sequencing

Cold emailing is a common tactic used by sales teams to generate leads and grow revenue. Yet, it can also be time-consuming to do it manually. As a result, many companies are creating automated cold email sequences. These are a series of emails that are sent to leads automatically. 

Using sales automation tools such as Mailchimp can be helpful. This tool is focused on lead automation through crafting emails that convert. For instance, sales reps can segment email campaigns and categorize sending emails such as initial emails, follow-up emails, and final emails based on various criteria. 

Additionally, these platforms also allow advanced personalized emails where there are custom snippets to make the messaging relevant to the viewers. 

Therefore, with such features, it is now possible to automate cold email sequencing while also making sure the emails get replies and convert since they are personalized. 

Some of the features to look for in such sales automation tools focused on automated emails include the ability to automate lead scraping, email address collection, bad email removal, personalized pre-templates, and automatic follow-up emails. 

Build Workflows for Leads 

The processes for lead identification, lead capture, and lead qualification can be automated by building innovative workflows. One such way is to use chatbots that use natural-language processing to understand responses and answers like a real human would. Through such chatbots, it can identify qualified leads based on the purchase intent of the users. Since the sales reps don’t need to spend as much time in parts of the purchasing funnel, they can dedicate more time to selling.

With research showing that automation can help increase a sales rep’s selling time by 15 to 20 percent, using various automation software tools is the right choice. Therefore, it is important to integrate tools that will provide a comprehensive list of features for workflows for leads. 

A case in point, Athabasca University used HubSpot CRM to manage their leads better. This streamlining of the lead management processes helped to create a 75% growth in leads over three years. 

Automate Quotation

Creating a quotation can be a time-consuming process for companies with multiple products along with a customized nature. Yet, using the right tools can help to minimize the process to a couple of minutes. 

This can be done by analyzing customer data along with entering what products are part of the deal. Furthermore, the quotation emails can be sent automatically to customers too through a CRM. For instance, a construction company can use tools such as DocsCube to streamline their bidding process on new proposals. 

Previously sales reps would assemble these documents manually looking at the specifications of the potential client. But, by using such tools, predesigned proposals can be used by filling it with enterprise resource planning (ERP) data of the client. 

Upsell with Automated Campaigns

If used correctly, upselling can be an important part of a sales strategy. In the case of the largest e-commerce business Amazon, they report that as much as 35% of their revenue comes from upselling and cross-selling. Using upselling can help to increase the average order value and lifetime value of customers. 

As a result, upselling with automated campaigns can help to drastically increase sales while not costing a lot of manual human effort. This can be done by creating automated systems that provide personalized product recommendations based on the behavior of the user. These types of recommendation engines are used by various e-commerce businesses including Amazon. 

Another way to implement upselling with automated campaigns is to conduct targeted email campaigns based on the purchasing patterns of the customers. 

For instance, if a user has purchased a moisturizer from a beauty company then they can send  an email a few weeks later to thank the user for the purchase and recommend a product such as a night cream or serum that can enhance the benefits of the moisturizer she bought. 

Through the use of customer segmentation, behavioral triggers, and the use of automatic scheduling, upselling with automated campaigns can become a key part of a company’s sales process automation strategy. 

Use AI

There are many AI use cases for sales automation. Especially the rise of Generative AI has led to new applications that are set to take the automation of sales processes to new levels. 

Some of the use cases include generating personalized content such as calls-to-action (CTAs), summarizing long documents during client research, and gathering insights through conversation intelligence. 

For instance, in the case of conversation intelligence, sales teams can gather insights about the customers through data from customer conversations of emails, calls, and messages. This can help to identify key pain points or value propositions that will help to serve them better. 

Additionally, AI can help to create personalized content for clients at scale which can help to generate conversions and increase revenue exponentially. 

Sales reps are already benefiting from generative AI and are positive about its impact on their work. Research by Salesforce showed that the sales professionals believed that generative AI could save them an average of 4.5 hours a week.

Automate Reporting with BI Tools

Another area where sales reps tend to spend a lot of time in non-selling activities is their need to report on their performance. Since reporting occurs for many teams every week along with monthly and quarterly reports, these all can add up to cost a lot of valuable time. 

But, there are various Business Intelligence (BI) tools in the market such as Tableau, Microsoft Power BI, and Qlik that can help to completely automate reporting. 

Additionally, such platforms now provide advanced automated machine learning too that can help to conduct experiments with various models and publish results. For instance, Qlik AutoML helps to do just that which can give businesses a significant edge. 

Unlike previously, there is no need for team members to now possess technical knowledge or coding skills. Even a person from a non-technical background can create reports through such platforms. Therefore, the barriers to using these platforms are getting lower and lower with the flourishing of no-code systems. 

For instance, the restaurant chain called Chipotle Mexican Grill has more than 2,400 restaurants worldwide. They implemented business intelligence reporting to track operational effectiveness.

Through this process of standardizing the reporting and creating detailed dashboards, they were able to save thousands of hours for the company.

Build Contract Workflows

There are tools such as PandaDocs available that help to easily create, store, edit, and track contracts. After finalizing a deal, getting all the paperwork requires a lot of manual data entry. But, with the use of contract management software, contracts can be created quickly and efficiently.

Additionally, since many teams today are operating remotely, it helps to collaborate online in creating these contracts too regardless of the location that the team members are in. 

From the perspective of the relationship with the client regarding the client, both parties can see any changes made in the contract. Furthermore, there are contract timelines from inception to signing that help to provide complete transparency. 

Overall, using this type of sales automation tool helps to provide features relating to contract creation, collaboration, management, and storage. 

What Are the Best CRMs for Sales Automation?

Some of the best CRMs for sales automation include: 

• Pipedrive

Pipedrive is a CRM software focused on pipeline management that provides detailed analytics to optimize sales processes. There are different customization options in this tool to create specific workflows as per the sales teams. It is also known for giving detailed insights through its reporting tools. 

• Salesforce

Salesforce is one of the most popular CRM platforms among enterprise companies. It has extensive features with powerful analytics capabilities. The company has been a leader in integrating AI into its tools through its Einstein AI solution which helps to enhance customer engagement and provide predictive insights.

• Freshworks

Freshworks has differentiated itself from other CRM platforms by combining sales and marketing functionalities in an intuitive interface. Their platform focuses on the automation of routine tasks and has also introduced Freddy AI which helps to resolve tickets more quickly and suggests ways to optimize processes. 

• Zoho CRM

Zoho CRM provides tools for sales, marketing, and customer service at a more affordable rate than other competitors. It is highly suitable for small to medium-sized businesses. 

Their platform is also focused on automation offering features that help with deal management and workflow automation. It also offers integration with over 800 apps. 

• Monday

Monday has branded itself as a work operating system since it has CRM functionalities along with visual project management features. This combination helps to track sales activities while also assigning new tasks to sales reps with more ease. The platform is suitable for having a good overview from the strategy to the tasks of the company. 

• Hubspot

Hubspot is known for its focus on inbound marketing, offering a comprehensive view of the sales pipeline. Since users can get started for free with basic features, this platform is great for beginners. 

There are also various tools for lead generation, email marketing, and social media monitoring that help get started with the platform quickly. 

• NetHunt CRM

NetHunt CRM integrates with commonly used platforms such as Google Workspace and Linkedin. As a result, the workflow becomes more streamlined for users more reliant on Google services. 

The platform is suitable for sales reps who need to do personalized mass mailing along with offering comprehensive customer support and onboarding assistance. 

Sales Workflow Automation Explained

Sales workflow automation means taking an often manual and tedious sales task and converting it into an automated one. This is gradually becoming an important element for sales teams globally as it helps the sales reps to focus their attention on higher impact activities and minimize the repetitive ones. 

As better employee experience is related to better customer experience and has a positive impact on revenue, sales workflow automation is highly effective. There are various examples of creating automated workflows within the domain of sales. These include creating automated workflows for quote creation, follow-up reminders, customer onboarding, and renewal reminders among many more. 

Research by McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) shows that a third of sales and sales operations tasks can be easily automated with today’s technology. With the rapid development of AI, it is the right time for companies to embrace sales workflow automation.

What Are the Benefits of Automating the Sales Process?

Some of the advantages of automating the sales process include: 

• Increased efficiency: One of the biggest benefits of sales automation is the increase in efficiency as many manual tasks become automated. Other repetitive task’s time to completion can also be shortened.

• Improved productivity of your sales reps: Through the use of different automation software tools, the sales reps can focus more attention on selling and bringing in more customers rather than being busy with administrative tasks.

• You can scale up: Using different lead automation tools, sales reps can automatically send personalized emails. Additionally, through the insights regarding the leads and their behavior, they can quickly find out which leads are likely to convert and focus on them.

• Improved sales forecasting and decision-making: Sales executives need to meet the expectation of providing accurate sales forecasting to management and other departments. Using sales automation with AI can help to monitor the leads pipeline in real-time and provide accurate predictions.

• Enhanced team collaboration: With many sales teams now operating virtually, the sales automation tools help to increase collaboration online. For instance, contract and quote management software help craft these documents online while collaborating in real time with other sales reps.

• Less dependency on key employees: Using automation helps to minimize dependency on tasks that previously required human involvement. For instance, virtual agents can be deployed nowadays to handle post-sales customer journey optimization.

• Better customer experience (CX): Using machine learning models available in BI tools, sales reps can find the customers with the highest possibility of churn based on their previous buying patterns and interaction data. This helps to prevent churn while also improving overall customer experience. 

What Is Customer Experience (CX)?

Customer experience (CX) is the overall perception customers have of a company and its products based on the interactions that they have had across all stages of the customer journey. The term customer experience has been becoming more and more popular over the years. 

With 73% of customers expecting companies to understand their unique needs and expectations, this comes as no surprise. Since customer experience takes into consideration each part of the company’s offerings, companies that can deliver excellence at each point and spark positive emotions can have a big advantage. 

More companies are realizing that having an excellent customer experience can be a sales driver. This is because satisfied customers will be more likely to make repeat purchases while also referring the business to their circle. 

To make this process easier to implement effectively, sales process automation tools can be used to increase consistency and personalization across the different customer interactions. 

How to Implement Sales Automation Strategy?

Some of the best ways to implement a sales automation strategy include: 

Hire a Sales Automation Manager

Sales operations have become an important function within the sales department over the years. This can be attributed to the growing emphasis on efficiency and cost savings. But, many sales teams struggle to manage it effectively as there isn’t a dedicated team member for it. 

This is why it makes sense to hire a sales automation manager who provides expertise in optimizing sales processes and using various tools for automation. Though it can initially lead to higher costs, by choosing the right talent, organizations can quickly gain cost savings and see an increase in performance. 

Map Your Processes

Process mapping helps to identify what are the key bottlenecks in the current sales process. This ensures that sales executives focus their attention on the most pressing parts of the sales process that need improvement and automation. 

By going through this process, the sales process can be more streamlined. It also helps to provide clarity on which tools or software can be integrated into the process. 

For instance, a company discovers that a key reason for the delay in the speed of reaching out to leads is because of manual lead qualification. In this case, it can be a good idea to implement an automated lead scoring system within the CRM to prioritize leads based on set criteria. 

Build Workflows

Since in sales, a significant amount of time is spent across different repetitive tasks, building workflows helps to automate the process more effectively. For example, a workflow can be built for lead nurturing to automate the follow-up process. 

This should be done since as per research, companies that are successful at nurturing leads generate 50% more sales-ready leads at a 33% lower cost.  These workflows should be built by utilizing such data-driven decision-making. It will help to ensure that the optimization of sales processes is occurring where there is the likelihood of the highest impact. 

Choose Tools and Integrate into the Workflow

It is important to select tools based on what will integrate seamlessly with the current systems of the company. If the compatibility of tools to the system isn’t considered, it can lead to wasted time and resources. 

Therefore, consider conducting a study on the various tools to measure how well they can integrate with the current tech stack of the company to ensure a smooth workflow. 

One of the best ways to get started with this process is deciding on a CRM tool as it will be the platform allowing centralized data management. After this is in place, the company can decide to integrate AI tools too since by 2025, over 35% of chief revenue officers will be using a centralized GenAI Operations team for their go-to-market strategy. 

Connect with Future Code to Build Your Strategy

Sales process automation can be a powerful strategy to help streamline the overall sales processes of any company. 

Consider partnering with Future Code’s IT sales consulting service where we help in building an effective team, implementing proven processes, and helping to scale the sales team. 

We have helped many companies sell software and IT services using our unique STARS sales analysis method. Regardless of who your clients are and what your goals are, we can help you achieve them.