Progressive Education Society

Modern Institute of
Business Studies

305-Sales and Distribution Management.

By Prof. Komal Apte
Let’s Start with a Thought.
What Is Sales
Management?
Components of a Successful Sales
Management Process
What Are the Sales Management
Strategies to Follow?
Careers in Sales Management
Skills required for Sales Managers
 Technology’s Impact on Sales

 Technology is constantly evolving, and businesses are

becoming more and more dependent on technology to
run their businesses efficiently. Here are just some of
the ways technology has changed business for the
better; by streamlining sales techniques and the sales
process.
 Technology is transforming businesses and disrupting entire
industries. One of those industries that has been heavily
affected is sales. From prospecting to closing, today’s mobile,
social, big data, and cloud technologies are revamping the
sales process in ways that would have been unthinkable only a
few decades ago. As a result, many sales organizations are
embracing new technologies to drive productivity, profitability,
and competitive advantage to revamp the sales process .
6 Effects of Technology on Selling:
How Tech Has Streamlined Sales

 1. Big Data:
 2. Social Platforms:
 3. Sales Force Automation Systems:
 4. Cloud-based CRM Technology:
 5. Mobile technology:
 6. Bring Your Own Device (BYOD):
 A Growing Divide
 Technology is transforming the world of

sales. Going forward, only organizations

that use powerful tools and technologies
such as big data, social media, mobile
technologies, and the cloud to streamline
the sales process will remain profitable and
competitive. Those who choose to retain
outdated sales techniques may ultimately
cease to exist.
 Fortunately, the same technology being
embraced by sales teams is also helping
drive business from customers. Customers
have eagerly embraced new purchasing
mediums offered by the newest
technological advancements. As the
technology continues to grow, so too will
the sales. Unlike many of those who window
shop in malls and department stores,
55% of consumers who browse online plan
to commit to a purchase within an hour.
Impact of ERP
 Enterprise Resource Planning, often known as ERP, is the unification
of several different resources in an organization or business into a
single computer system that meets the requirements of all of the
various departments of that business or organization. The impact of
ERP systems in business management will improve interconnectivity
and communication between departments and smoother start-to-
finish operations.
 Let’s discuss the impact of ERP systems in business
management.
 Data Integrity
 Better Internal Performance
 Improved Decision-Making
 Efficient Customer Service
 Additional Sales
 Improved Efficiency and Productivity
 Better Employee Satisfaction
 Reduced Costs
 The advantages of using the ERP are:
 Optimizing business processes.
 Accurate and timely access to reliable data.
 The ability to exchange information between all components of
the organization.
 Removing unnecessary operations and data.
 Decrease in time and costs of litigation
 Disadvantages of ERP are:
 The installation of the ERP System is expensive. ERP
consultants are very expensive and take around 60% of the
budget.
 Success depends on the skills, knowledge, and experience of
the employees, including education and how to make the
system work properly.
 Resistance in sharing internal data between departments can
decrease the efficiency of the software.
 The systems can be difficult to use in the beginning.
 Change of staff, companies can employ administrators who are
not trained for managing the ERP system of the employing
company, proposing modifications in business practices that
are not synchronized with the system.
Sales Force Automation

 SFA stands for Sales Force Automation. It is

an IT tool aimed at automating and
improving businesses’ sales processes. It
was developed because the needs of sales
personnel and their customers are
changing. The dynamism of the
salesperson, the need for effective sales
strategies, the accurate maintenance of
sales data, etc., are some of the key factors
that could prove to be decisive in business
success.
 SFA merges these needs with information
technology to provide computerization of sales
activities, making it much easier to track and
monitor the customers’ needs and sales
activity through a backend database-driven
system.
 SFA evolved as a technological solution to
offer a business as a whole database system
that keeps records of sales activities, manages
tasks, and forecasts sales performance. With
the automation of routine selling tasks by SFA,
sales teams are in a better position to handle
data in a manner likely to achieve efficient
sales planning and strategy formulation.
Features of Salesforce Automation

 From the moment potential customer lands

on your website, sales force automation
software can begin to gather information
about them. Tracking products they look at
and path they take through your website,
an outline profile can be built.
 Opportunity Management
 Workflow Management
 E-Mail Management
Why do businesses use sales force
automation?

 Improved Productivity: By implementing SFA solutions

for automated data entry, follow-ups, and reporting, the
sales team will be more focused on closing deals.
 Improved Sales Tracking: Automation gives the ‘bird
view’ of the pipeline and performance by making it easier
to track sales activities, leads, and customer contacts in
real time.
 Better Customer Relationship: SFA solutions support
the maintenance and strengthening of client connections
through timely follow-up and personalized communication
after grouping customer data and interactions.
 Data Accuracy: It simply means that automated
systems reduce the chance of human error while ensuring
continuous accuracy and currentness of information.
How does sales force automation work?
 Lead Management:

 Lead Capture: This gets leads through sources like social

media, websites, email campaigns, events, and more. All of
this is automated in the SFA tools.
 Lead Qualification: The system scores and qualifies leads
against preset criteria, thus letting the sales teams
concentrate on prospects with maximum potential only.

 Contact Management:

 Database Management: SFA systems have a single

database containing information about customers and
prospects, holding all contact details, interaction history,
and preferences.
 Activity/Interaction Tracking: It involves recording all
the activities between a company and its customers. These
activities may include e-mails, calls, meetings, follow-up
Hoechst, and so on.
 Sales Activity Management:

 Automation of Tasks: Routine tasks, such as follow-up emails,

fixing up meetings, and updating records, get automatically done.
 Reminders on Activities: The reminders on upcoming tasks,
deadlines, and follow-ups that need to be taken care of on time will
be triggered through these SFA tools.

 Integration with Other Systems:

 CRM Integration: This often combines the SFA tools with customer
relationship management systems to provide complete views of all
customer interactions and history. Enterprise Resource Planning and
marketing automation systems are integrated to make the flow of
data seamless across departments. Mobile Access:
 Mobile Apps: The majority of SFA solutions involve mobile
applications that offer convenience in accessing customer data,
updating their records, and maintaining tasks on the move to the
sales representatives.
 Opportunity Management:

 Pipeline Management: The progress of sales-related

opportunities is maintained through various stages of the
sales cycle, starting from the initial contact to closing deals.
Forecasting: SFA tools analyze current opportunities and
company performance in the past to provide sales forecasts
and predict future revenue. Quote and Order Management:
 Quote Generation: Automation of generating sales quotes
and their approval is accurate and consistent.
 Processing Orders: SFA systems maintain order entries,
follow up on order status, and maintain inventory levels.
 Reporting and Analytics: Sales Reports: Provides detailed
reports on sales, performance metrics, and key performance
indicators.
 Data Analysis: SFA tools provide insight and analytics to
help identify trends, measure performance, and make
informed decisions.
 Advantages of Salesforce Automation
 It tracks sales performance
 Better efficiency
 Monitors lead cycle
 Team Collaboration
 Accessibility
 Disadvantages of Salesforce

Automation
 Data entry consumes much time
 Difficult to integrate
 Sometimes sales automation can be quite

complicated to learn