SFA Top 10 Reasons...

Top 10 Reasons...

Forget about late-night talk-show hosts and their hokey Top-10 lists. Deciding to use a sales automation or CRM (customer relationship management) product is a serious and important decision.

That being said, a list of reasons why others have undertaken the use of these important tools can be both enlightening and revealing. These are real-world reasons, ones that we have encountered over the many years we have been serving this market. We find that they strike familiar chords with potential clients which is why we share them here.

... For Using SFA/CRM
10. Improve security and control to insure sensitive data is accessible on a need to know basis.
9. Open relational database structure to work the way you run your business.
8. Improve communications among inside and outside sales, marketing, customer service and back office through integration of data from front to back office.
7. Sales staff access to critical information needed to pursue of new business.
6. Clear reporting to manage the sales and marketing processes.
5. Standardized sales process to guarantee that all steps are taken to insure success
4. Sales forecasting to provide accurate projections, budget controls and cash flow management.
3. Controlled contact with existing customers to diminish loss of the current base
2. Management of strategic marketing campaigns to focus on the most profitable business and insure timely follow-up.
1. Central core database from which to review, strategize, report, and forecast

The reasons why you undertake such a major project are key to the eventual success of the operation. The successful implementations are done for the right reasons and the right reasons lead to careful and thoughtful understanding of what needs to be done to insure success. So, smile if you will, but this list has its place in the decision process.

We're part of the Building Business Relationships Network (B2RN), a group of U.S. and Canadian Microsoft-certified consultants providing sales force automation, business-to-business tele-services, accounting, and proposal automation software and services.