What is Sales Automation? The Complete Guide for 2024

According to a study by McKenzie, which Harvard Business Review cited, 30% of sales activities can be automated. 

If you work in sales, you would agree that it is one of the most demanding jobs. It includes taking care of several small but crucial tasks like making numerous phone calls daily, following up on clients, drafting countless emails, and keeping track of constant updates. When a business expands, more customers come in, and all these tasks become more and more difficult. 

Salespeople may lose a deal because they forget to follow up on clients or overlook a seemingly minor issue, resulting in a big problem. Hours are wasted doing these redundant administrative tasks, which leads to the Sales team having little or no time to perform the actual job, which is to sell your product to potential customers.

All sales teams and sales professionals across the globe face these problems. But the advent of technology has also come up with a simple yet effective solution to this problem. Sales automation is the perfect solution to all your sales woes therefore, we have curated this blog to educate you more about it. So, without any further ado, let’s get started with it! 

But, What Exactly is Sales Automation?

Sales automation is a process through which all repetitive, manual tasks that are a part of Sales processes are eliminated. It automates all those redundant tasks that are usually performed by Sales Reps and reduces any chance of human error. Automating all your sales actions is the perfect way to stay miles ahead of your competitors because you'd have much more time to focus on your client. This would lead to you nurturing a healthy, lifelong relationship with your clients.

The real connection between the marketing and sales teams can be automated, resulting in a shorter sales cycle, more sales leads, lesser response time, higher conversion rates, hassle-free projects, and more revenue. There are a lot of ways in which automation tools can help sales professionals close more deals, some of which are discussed below:

• Sales automation will automate all your follow-ups
• it will help you in managing your sales pipeline
• It can also help you in training freshers who join your sales team more effectively
• it sends reminders to your clients for payments

However, this leads to a fundamental question, is there any downside to using automated sales?

As the famous saying goes, excess of everything is terrible. The same is true for using sales automation more than needed.

Selling someone something involves trust and connection, built with good communication. Relying heavily on sales automation may lead to a disconnect between your company and your clients because of the missing personal touch. So make sure you keep your sales reps while trying to automate only a few of your sales processes. The best way to go about it is using sales automation as an asset which would assist your sales team in working to the best of their abilities. Your sales team is your best asset that give a human touch to all your sales tasks

Out of all types of sales automation software, customer relationship management tool or CRM is the most important.

What is a CRM?

CRM automation is the method through which all manual, repetitive tasks which are very important in customer relationship management are automated to make the work of Sales Reps easier. CRMs make many complex tasks easy and get them done in minutes. They are instrumental in managing customer data. These systems are an incredible support to marketing teams, improve customer satisfaction, and increase the team's productivity manifold.

Now that we've discussed what sales automation is Let's look at some sales processes that can be automated

• Tracking Sales Process

Sales automation will allow you to check all your sales processes in one place. If all your sales processes are neatly organized in the same place, your sales team will be able to work more productively. When each sales team member can view everything at a glance, they can work together more flexibly. Automation lets you track all interactions, progress, and changes so that your teammates know everything. not only does it keep a track of activity logging, but it also saves all your contact details as well as the online behaviors of your target audience. It also ensures that your sales process will work in the same way every time. This is a sure-shot way to avoid mishaps, missed steps, or customer service issues.

• Lead Scoring

Lead scoring allows you to prioritize your most engaging and qualified clients over the others. It lets you identify your regular clients, those on the verge of becoming your clients, and those who will not be your customers. This is made possible by tracking the personal data of your leads, like their calls, site activity, email Engagement, and form submissions. You can only imagine how hectic it would be humanly impossible to manually update scores based on these criteria. However, sales automation allows you to focus on your most qualified leads. You can set your lead scoring system based on the criteria that matter the most to you.

• Automatically Create and Update Deals.

Sales automation can let you automatically create new deals whenever a lead makes any action like filling out a form or downloading the lead magnet. It also allows you to automatically update deal owners and contact custom fields. Not only that, but you can also move deals to a new stage and update their value as won or lost. Therefore, you can save much of your precious time using CRM automation.

Sales teams don't have the time to personally reach out to all the leads that entered their Sales Funnel. It's neither convenient nor fruitful in the long run. However, automation provides a way of reaching out to all your prospective clients. Automation is used to warm up cold leads to prepare them for sales while the sales team can focus on engaged leads. 

You can categorize your leads into active and inactive based on whether they reply. Those leads who do not respond are placed in an automated lead nurture email series. Once the lead replies, they are removed from this email series, and a salesperson can personally get in touch with them. This whole process shortens the sales cycle.

How to Improve the Sales Automation Process?

Now that we have discussed the importance of sales automation and how it works, let's discuss some ways to improve your sales automation process.

✅Define your sales process.

First and foremost, you must sit down and identify every step employed during the whole process. From lead generation to closing the deal, step by step, list down and clearly define this process. Once you have a curated list of these steps, you can identify which can be automated and which actions need human intervention. You need to identify your business needs and use automation where it can have the most significant impact.

‍✅Choose the right tools.

After identifying the needs of your business, you need to select the right technology that supports your sales process. There are more and more automation sales tools that are being launched every day. From the pool of tools available to you, you need to identify which ones will help you achieve your goals best. Consider factors such as integration with other software, ease of use, and budget.

‍✅Segment your leads

Use data to arrange your leads into different categories, like hot or cold leads. This will help you customize your approach toward each Lead. While some customers need more assistance and guidance before buying from you, others are just on the verge of becoming your customers. Therefore different Leeds need to be dealt with differently to ensure the best results.

‍✅Analyze results

To improve the automation process, you need to regularly measure and analyze the results of your online sales automation efforts, such as lead conversion rates. The regular analysis will help you identify areas for improvement that are essential for the growth of your business.

✅Continuously refine the process

Take the feedback of your reps with sales tools very seriously. Based on your results, your careful analysis, metrics analysis, and the input of your employees, continuously refine and improve your sales automation process. Try out new things and see what works best to improve the capabilities of sales reps in your company.

By following all these steps, the percentage of sales, future revenue sales, as well as account-based sales of your company, will increase. Not only that, using the right service tools will improve any performance issues or SEO issues that your team might be facing. Now that we have the fundamentals of sales automation covered, let's talk about some tools that can improve the Automation process.

Top-Notch Sales Automation Tools you Must Know in 2024

According to a study done by Salesforce, those sales managers who use a combination of sales reps and sales automation have more successful sales than those who don't employ sales tech. If you want your business to thrive, here are some sales automation platforms you can add to your sales team.

1. Smartlead

Smartlead, an email marketing software is an all-in-one platform that allows you unlimited auto-rotating email accounts. The software lets you connect all your email accounts and auto-rotate the messages in just one clip. The software uses AI-driven technology to increase your outreach without compromising your email reputation. 

The platform also gives you access to one centralized master inbox, which you can use to manage all your emails and track your leads. You'll also be able to automate your entire sales flow and contact prospective clients across platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, etc. With artificial intelligent warmups, you can send personalized emails guaranteed to reach the recipients without ending up in the spam folder.

2. HubSpot Sales Hub

Ranked by G2 as the 13th software product in 2022, HubSpot is a top-rated sales automation platform that the most prominent corporations use worldwide. This platform would benefit your sales team since it has a comprehensive CRM that is easy to set up. The platform also provides unique tools like live chat ratings and one-to-one communication, which leave a lasting impression on buyers. 

The sales software will help you sell faster and better by bringing all your data together in one powerful and easy-to-use platform. They charge their users $90 a month and would definitely improve your sales performance and sales productivity.

3. Calendly

At just $12 per person per month, calendly, a meeting scheduling tool, allows you to schedule meetings with your clients much easier than before. Usually, while booking an appointment with your sales prospect, you have to go back and forth with them multiple times, which wastes a lot of time for everyone Involved. 

But if you use it currently, you can cut down on these numerous steps and set up a calendar that would display your schedule and let your customers pick the meeting time accordingly. This software also sends automatic reminders to people to make sure no appointments are missed unnecessarily. If you need more clarification, you can try it out for 14 days and check out the benefits of the software for yourself free of cost.

4. Chorus

Chorus is another sales automation tool that will teach you much from each customer interaction and increase your Sales efficiency.  Chorus allows the sales team to extract as much information as possible from each client call. It records, transcribes, and highlights the essential parts of the meetings, saving sales managers a lot of their time. 

It's one of the best apps for automatic sales forecasting. Not only does this app come in handy to record meetings and analyze them, but they also provide pipeline warning signs which are AI-driven.

5. Videoask

Starting at just $24.00 per month, Videoask is a powerful tool that lets you create innovative videos for qualified leads. Adding a personal touch to your sales processes is always a great idea since it creates a better connection with your clients. 

Pre-recorded videos of frequently asked questions can also help to warm leads automatically. Videoask has an excellent G2 rating of 4.5 and offers a free trial to new users.

6. Gong

Gong was listed as G2's best software product of 2022. It is one of the fastest-growing companies in North America. With a G2 rating of 4.7, it uses AI-driven customer intelligence to ensure that sales managers and their teams never lose winnable deals. It allows corporations to learn and improve continuously. First, gong records all meetings and essential sales calls and then uses artificial intelligence to analyze the rings to make suitable recommendations and predictions. This one of its kind software comes with custom pricing and is worth a try.

7. Salesforce Sales Cloud

If you are looking for robust tools that work across channels and departments, Salesforce Sales Cloud is perfect for you. You can use it for sales automation, count tracking, contact, leads, and more. You can use it to manage your pipelines from end to end within the CRM and have complete visibility into forecasting, task management, and other sales processes.

You can try the service for 14 days, after which they'll charge you $25 per user per month. You'll also be able to access the platform on your mobile because Salesforce sales cloud also comes with a mobile application. According to their website, sales for sales cloud users have seen a 29% increase in productivity.

8. Outfunnel

‍Outfunnel isn't an all-in-one sales automation platform like Salesforce sales cloud. Still, Outfunnel helps you connect all your sales, CRM, and marketing automation tools to create a comprehensive system. The platform is especially beneficial for those who want to leverage their existing tech stack. The app connector is very easy to set up.

You can create a seamless CRM integration between your marketing tools at just $119 per month. By connecting Outfunnel to other apps, you can automate prospect meetings' entire data entry process. It augments your sales process with automated lead scoring, which is based on the sales and marketing data that your company has already produced.

Key Takeaways

As a business owner, If your company wants to reach new heights and make its best sales yet, you need to try sales automation. Equip your sales team with the best tools available in the market and increase their efficiency and productivity. 

Whether you're just starting or have been in the business for many years, you need to invest in the right Sales automation platform to stay ahead of the game and survive the market's competition.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q.1. How does sales automation improve customer service?

Answer: Sales automation can improve customer service in several ways:

• Faster response times: Automated systems can quickly respond to customer inquiries, reducing wait times and improving the overall customer experience.
• Consistent and accurate information: Automated systems can provide customers with consistent, up-to-date information, reducing the risk of misinformation or inconsistencies that can arise with manual processes.
• Personalized experiences: Automated systems can use customer data and preferences to personalize interactions and provide a more tailored experience.
• Improved organization and efficiency: Automated systems can help sales teams manage and track customer interactions, ensuring that no customer inquiries or requests fall through the cracks.
• Increased availability: Automated systems can be available 24/7, improving the overall accessibility of customer service.

By streamlining and improving various aspects of customer service, sales automation can lead to a more positive customer experience and increased customer satisfaction.

Q.2. How long is a sales cycle?

Answer: The length of a sales cycle can vary greatly depending on several factors, including the complexity of the product or service being sold, the size and type of the customer organization, and the specific sales process and strategies being used. Typically, a sales cycle can last anywhere from a few days to several months or even longer in some cases.

For example, the sales cycle for a simple product or service might only last a few days, while the sales cycle for a complex enterprise-level solution could take several months or more. Sales organizations need to understand their typical sales cycle length to effectively plan and manage their sales efforts and resources. The size of the sales cycle can also impact sales forecasting and pipeline management.

Q.3. What is a call cycle in sales?

Answer: A call cycle in sales refers to a series of scheduled calls or contacts made by a salesperson to a potential customer over a set period. A call cycle aims to establish a relationship with the customer, educate them about the product or service being offered, and ultimately close a sale. A call cycle typically involves multiple touchpoints, such as initial outreach, follow-up calls or emails, and any necessary demonstrations or presentations.

The specific number and frequency of calls in a call cycle can vary depending on the salesperson's approach, the type of product or service being sold, and the potential customer's preferences. The call cycle is an essential aspect of a salesperson's overall strategy and can impact the success of their sales efforts. Effective call cycles help salespeople build rapport with potential customers, overcome objections, and drive sales and revenue.