SFA Software Functionality
SFA applications offer a range of functionality:
account management
activity management
contact management
contract management
document management
event management
incentive management
lead management
opportunity management
order management
pipeline management
product encyclopedias
product configuration
product visualization
proposal generation
quotation management
sales forecasting
territory management
workflow engineering
Account management
Account management is the daily management of client accounts to ensure they continue to do
business with your company. This function is an important extension of the sales process and
starts immediately after a business gets new customers.
Account management links a business with its customers. It nurtures the relationship between
clients and the company by identifying the short and long-term needs of the customer. The
organization uses the account manager's feedback to design products and services that meet
client expectations in terms of results, cost, time and other factors. Account managers have
access to valuable client data, allowing them to design proactive measures to maximize business
opportunities with individual accounts.
Activity Management
Activities include, for example, preparation of quotations, scheduling of sales calls and following
up enquiries.
Contact Management
Contact list data includes names, phone numbers, addresses, preference data and e-mail
addresses for people and companies, as well as a history of inbound and outbound
communications.
Contract Management
Contract management functionality enables representatives and managers to create, track,
progress, accelerate, monitor and control contracts with customers.
Document management
Companies generate and use many documents as they sell to customers, for example brochures,
product specifications, price lists, competitive comparisons and templates for preparing
quotations.
Event management software
Event management software contains a range of tools that can be useful to sales managers and
others organizing events. These include an event calendar, online registration, partner
management tools, event reports and analytics, attendee communication and management
tools, badge creation, activity lists for exhibitors and venue management tools.
Incentive management
Incentive management is an issue for sales managers who use commissions to lift, direct and
reward sales representatives' efforts. In many companies, commissions are calculated using
standalone spreadsheets. When part of a sales-force automation solution, incentive
management eliminates the need to re-enter or transfer data from spreadsheets, leading to
better visibility, accuracy and higher efficiency. Incentive management applications can be linked
into back-office payroll applications that automate payment.
Lead management
Lead management allows companies to create, assign and track sales leads. Leads either expire
or convert into qualified opportunities. User-defined rules allow leads to be allocated to
representatives and account managers on the basis of role, territory, product expertise or other
variables. Lead management allows for more equitable workload distribution across a sales
team, and uses security controls to ensure that representatives can only access their own leads.
Opportunity Management
Opportunity management software enables representatives and managers to create an
opportunity record in the database and monitor progress against a predefined selling
methodology. Salespeople follow the steps as if following a checklist, ensuring that all
opportunities are handled consistently. Sales representatives can view their own opportunities
linked to additional information such as contacts, activities, products, proposals projects,
presentations, quotations, competitors, estimated revenue, cost of sales, probability of closure,
sales stage and so on.