Unlocking B2B Sales Potential with Automation
CRM Technology offers an immense sophistication that your company has come to expect. But what if your sales team isn’t armed with everything they could use to reach potential customers? That’s often the case, and often the hill we climb.
The challenge is that it’s nearly impossible to make all that information actionable on its own. When leveraged effectively, sales automation can transform your system into a high-performing, automated B2B CRM engine that:
- Increase efficiency
- Uncovers opportunities
- Provides business intelligence
Lay the Groundwork
Before you can automate anything, you need to start with a CRM architecture that supports the sales process. Your CRM system should provide the Sales team with the most up-to-date and relevant information they need to excel.
At a minimum, there should be one clearly defined sales process and pipeline, systems and data should all be integrated into a single platform, and the team should be aligned on key definitions and terms.
Start with the Data
Data fuels automation. There are so many data points that can power much more sophisticated automations, but the data has to be structured in a usable way.
One of the most important considerations is data collection. Just like consumer-facing forms, requiring too much too soon can be overwhelming for Sales reps and lead to incorrect data and inconsistencies. This is especially true when a rep is just starting to work a Lead or Opportunity, since they are most likely working with limited information. Field dependency automations can help significantly with this. Field dependency is limiting field visibility or requirements based on another field. This can help visually simplify a record by removing unnecessary fields and reduce ‘dummy’ data being entered just to fulfill a requirement.
It’s also important to consider data consistency. If the data collected and the values within those fields isn’t consistent, it’s of little use. Think about trying to implement automations or even run a report when there are multiple fields with countless values all trying to tell you the same thing, but in different ways. It’s nearly impossible. To help with data consistency, consider implementing required fields, avoiding free text fields, simplifying preset value options, and applying formatting rules.
Other ways to impact data collection include system email alerts or tasks when data is missing, data coverage and usage reports to identify gaps, and guided screens to help Sales reps cover all their bases.
Build on the Foundation
Once you have quality data, the CRM system will have enough information to automate key business scenarios like:
- Lead assignment based on sales territory, product category, or bandwidth so that leads are assigned to the correct person more quickly and are followed up with more promptly
- Scoring and grading logic for Leads, Accounts and Opportunities based on source, spend and intent to focus more effort on the items with the highest value
- Opportunity stage probability mapping for forecasting to simplify and automate forecasting reports
- Updating record types and status based on demographics or engagement so data is always accurate and up to date
Start by identifying inputs that can be automated based on existing information. Even if a record doesn’t have that data yet, automations can make updates as it becomes available.
From there, look at the reports and data the Sales team is referring to regularly in order to identify groups of Accounts or Opportunities. Usually the logic that is being used in those reports can be used to automatically flag the records they need, without the need to refresh or analyze a report.
Automate Communications
Chances are, you’ve received a sales email at some point addressing you by the wrong name or title, trying to sell you something that has nothing to do with your actual job.
Automating Sales emails and leveraging marketing automation can be a great tool, but there should be checks and balances to ensure the customer is actually receiving the right message, at the right time, from the right person. Sales reps should always take the time to qualify leads prior to any outreach, and content should be aligned with the lead’s needs or interests. When it comes to automating Sales emails, I highly recommend leveraging a combination of automated tasks and templates so Sales has more control of when and what is sent.
It’s also important the Sales team has visibility into marketing communications. They should be aware of the overall strategy and be able to see what emails are being sent and the logic for the targeting. The best way to do this is by associating any marketing emails with the record in the CRM system so Sales can see exactly what was sent and when, and if their contact engaged with it.
For deeper insights into common misconceptions about marketing automation and strategies to overcome them, explore the guide 5 Common Marketing Automation Myths by Jenny Brenner, Group Director of Digital Strategy and CRM Solutions at 9Rooftops.
This is not an advertisement, and solely reflects the views and opinions of the author. This website and its commentaries are not designed to provide legal or other advice and you should not take, or refrain from taking, action based on its content.
