Benefits of Effectively Utilizing SFA Tools
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When utilized effectively, SFA generates various effects that directly lead to increased sales. First, we will introduce the specific benefits.
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Benefits of SFA for Sales Managers
For sales managers, the implementation of SFA is a significant aid in improving the transparency of sales activities and streamlining operations. This allows for centralized management of critical data such as customer budgets, competitor information, and deal progress, enabling precise decision-making. Furthermore, because abnormal conditions can be quickly identified and corrected, potential losses can be minimized. The rapid grasp of figures significantly streamlines the creation of performance reports and numerical reporting in meetings, saving valuable time and effort.
Benefits of SFA for Sales Representatives
SFA implementation also offers many advantages to field sales members. Through SFA, they can learn successful behavioral patterns and improve their own success rates. New hires and mid-career recruits can make independent judgments and achieve results quickly. Additionally, information entered into SFA can be received as appropriate guidance and advice from supervisors, allowing for mutual learning and growth. At the same time, SFA's alert functions and information visualization prevent mistakes and omissions, making it easier to address customers who have not been visited for a long time or unprocessed tasks. The burden of reporting is also significantly reduced, allowing for more effective use of time.
Benefits of SFA for Executives
For executives, SFA implementation brings strategic benefits. Information regarding the market, customers, and the entire organization is centrally managed and can be grasped in real-time, enabling agile management decisions. Important data, such as industry-specific growth and reasons for won or lost deals, can be easily collected, which is useful for formulating management strategies. Furthermore, SFA implementation reduces training costs. New employees can learn proposal materials and success patterns on their own without waiting for guidance from seniors, achieving independent results. Because SFA makes the sales process transparent, managers can perform evaluations fairly, contributing to improved motivation.
We have explained the representative benefits gained through SFA implementation above. In the next section, we will explain the functions that generate these benefits.
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SFA Functions
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To support and streamline complex sales operations, SFA includes many functions. Here, we introduce five major functions.
Major SFA Function 1: Customer Management
Manages information on customers (prospects) who are the targets of sales activities.
In sales activities, customer management is extremely important. Customer management refers to the process of effectively organizing and managing information on customers (prospects) who are the targets of sales. In this process, you can check information related to sales, such as basic contact information, contact history, and the progress of negotiations and deals, on a per-customer basis. Thanks to customer management, sales activities can be deployed effectively, and important information can be obtained.
Major SFA Function 2: Deal Management
Grasps and manages the status of deals.
In sales, effective deal management is the key to success. Deal management is a process for organizing and effectively managing information regarding deals that arise from relationships with customers. Through this process, you can accurately grasp and visualize the status of ongoing deals with customers. Information such as deal progress, order probability, expected amount, and scheduled order date can be seen at a glance, improving the efficiency of sales activities.
Major SFA Function 3: Negotiation Management
Grasps and manages the status of negotiations.
Negotiation management is an important part of the sales process. Negotiation management is a process for recording and effectively managing information such as the negotiation partner, the sales representative, the content of the negotiation, materials used, and the results of the negotiation. Through this process, you can grasp the progress of negotiations, share negotiation content, and analyze negotiation results. The organization and visualization of information contribute to the formulation and improvement of sales strategies.
Major SFA Function 4: Budget and Performance Management
Manages the budget and performance of the sales department.
In the operation of a sales department, the management of budget and performance is indispensable. Budget and performance management is a process for grasping sales forecasts, actual sales, and goal achievement rates numerically based on entered data. Additionally, you can analyze the output reports to help improve the entire sales department. Through this process, strategic decision-making becomes possible, and guidelines for achieving the goals of the entire organization are provided.
Major SFA Function 5: Activity Support
Supports the daily tasks of sales representatives, such as entering sales data like customer data and negotiation records, schedule management, and posting daily reports. It is also possible to manage activities such as the number of appointments, visits, and negotiations of sales representatives, as well as their closing rates.
Supporting the daily tasks of sales representatives is the key to effective sales activities. Activity support refers to the process of streamlining the daily tasks of sales representatives, such as entering customer data and negotiation records, schedule management, and posting daily reports. It also manages activities such as the number of appointments, visits, negotiations, and closing rates of sales representatives, contributing to improved performance. Activity support maximizes the effectiveness of sales activities and contributes to the success of the entire organization.
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Differences and Commonalities Between SFA, CRM, and MA
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In the modern business environment, abbreviations such as SFA, MA, and CRM frequently appear and play important roles in improving corporate performance and efficiency. These tools and platforms each have different purposes and functions and are utilized in various departments of a company. In this chapter, we will focus on SFA (Sales Force Automation), MA (Marketing Automation), and CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and explore their differences and usage scenarios in detail. We will explain how these tools play different roles within an organization and how they contribute to corporate success by working together.
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What Are the Essential Differences Between SFA and CRM?
SFA (Sales Force Automation) and CRM (Customer Relationship Management) are important tools for companies, each playing a different role. CRM is a tool that centrally manages customer information and serves as the foundation for activities such as marketing and customer support, with the goal of maintaining and strengthening customer relationships. On the other hand, SFA is a tool that supports the organization and streamlining of sales operations and is specialized in sales support. Recently, many tools are provided by combining both SFA and CRM functions, making the difference between the two ambiguous.
SFA has strengths in managing sales activities and focuses on sales support such as deal management and account management. On the other hand, CRM specializes in managing customer information and strengthens customer relationships by enabling personalized responses to customers.
What Are the Essential Differences Between SFA and MA?
"MA (Marketing Automation)," which supports the automation of marketing activities, is a tool that nurtures prospects and supports the process leading up to negotiations. By using MA, you can visualize the interests and behaviors of prospects and respond to customers at the optimal timing. Similar to SFA (Sales Force Automation) and CRM (Customer Relationship Management), we will explain the differences with MA.
MA supports the automation of marketing activities and streamlines marketing measures and data management. On the other hand, SFA supports sales, and MA supports marketing, so each focuses on different purposes. MA stands for marketing automation and aims to streamline marketing activities to expand sales.
By linking SFA and MA, you can centrally manage information from leads to orders won or lost, and obtain three major effects: smooth approaches to sales based on behavior on the Web, and improved nurturing tailored to the sales phase. By linking MA and SFA, information on marketing activities can be shared with sales, enabling effective decision-making.
Finally, regarding the difference between MA and SFA, it can be simply explained that MA means the automation of marketing activities, while SFA aims to streamline sales. SFA and MA can achieve more results when used in conjunction.
Comparison Table of Functions
The following table summarizes the differences between SFA, CRM, and MA.
○... Sufficient functions available
△... May not have sufficient functions, requiring operational supplementation.
×... Functions difficult to realize with the tool
| Function |
SFA |
CRM |
MA |
| Customer Management |
△ |
○ |
× |
| Deal Management |
○ |
△ |
× |
| Negotiation Management |
○ |
△ |
× |
| Budget and Performance Management |
○ |
○ |
× |
| Activity Support |
○ |
△ |
△ |
| Email Marketing Function |
× |
△ |
○ |
| Form Creation Function |
× |
△ |
○ |
| BI Function |
△ |
△ |
× |
For support on the "data" side, please consult uSonar, which has one of Japan's largest databases.
See Details of uSonar
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Points for SFA Implementation
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You cannot achieve results just by implementing SFA. It is important to clarify the purpose of "what issues you want to solve by using SFA" before proceeding.
If there are multiple issues you want to solve, we recommend prioritizing them in the initial stages of SFA implementation.
SFA has many functions. If you try to use all functions from the beginning of implementation, the burden on managers and the field will be significant, and the purpose will become blurred. Let's increase the utilization level of SFA in stages, such as tackling the next issue once the first objective is on track.
Issues that can be solved by SFA implementation include, for example, the following.
Issues in Customer Information Management
Cases where customer information is not managed correctly, leading to lost negotiation opportunities, failure to grasp customer needs resulting in lost deals, or overlapping approaches to the same customer, which are factors that lower sales efficiency.
When SFA is implemented, customer information is centralized by registering everything in SFA, making it easier to retrieve necessary information when needed. Furthermore, by utilizing the registered information, it exerts effects such as improvement in sales efficiency, the ability to perform analysis based on data, and improvement in forecast accuracy.
Issues in Deal Progress Management
Cases where managers cannot grasp the progress of deals and negotiations within the team, leading to a failure to increase overall results, or an inability to set appropriate budgets because the status of each deal is unknown.
In SFA, field representatives are asked to enter the progress of deals and negotiations each time, and managers grasp and analyze that information.
Thereby, it becomes possible to analyze the probability and priority of deals. Additionally, there are benefits such as increased closing probability, easier forecasting and budgeting, and the ability to unearth buried deals.
Siloed Sales Activities
Cases where sales processes and activity content vary by salesperson, are siloed, and know-how is not shared among sales representatives, or where the departure of an excellent salesperson directly affects performance.
At the time of SFA implementation, we will identify and standardize each person's sales process. Also, by thoroughly sharing information from individuals to the entire team, you can aim for visualization of the sales process, reduction of risks due to resignation or transfer, and raising the level of the entire team.
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Points for SFA Operation
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A lot of information is entered into SFA, such as basic customer information, progress in the sales process, contact history, negotiation content, and deal probability.
Since analysis of deals, budget setting, and sharing of customer information are performed based on this, the accuracy of the data is a major point.
The Field Enters the Data
While it is the manager who uses the data in SFA to perform analysis and improvements, it is the field sales representatives who enter daily sales activities.
If sales representatives do not enter data accurately as determined, the utilization of SFA will be half-baked.
However, data entry may not go well for various reasons, such as "input work is troublesome," "operation is difficult," or "new work was pushed from above."
Utilization of Input Support and Linking Tools
To avoid such situations, utilize the input support functions included with SFA. Depending on the tool, there are various functions such as mobile input and automatic posting functions. Confirm with the representatives what kind of input support functions would make things easier, and set them up accordingly.
To create a situation where representatives can always enter accurate data, the attitude of the management layer to constantly listen to the voices of the field is important. From the initial stage of implementation, plan and create mechanisms and systems aimed at establishment.
Using business card management tools that can link with SFA to supplement input work is also one method.
Sharing the Purpose
Sharing the purpose of SFA implementation with the entire sales department, including field representatives, is also a point for establishing operations.
When introducing a new tool, the burden of work increases to a greater or lesser extent. By clarifying why SFA is being implemented and what benefits each person will have upon implementation, you can get them to accept the temporary burden and encourage active utilization of SFA.
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To Further Utilize SFA
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As explained so far, SFA is an IT tool for solving issues in sales activities and increasing sales efficiency and performance. However, issues related to the development of new customers are difficult to solve just by implementing SFA.
Linking with MA
The development of new customers is indispensable for maintaining continuous sales, but it requires not only a sales perspective but also a marketing perspective.
Therefore, by using it in conjunction with MA (Marketing Automation), which can perform the acquisition/nurturing and extraction of prospects, you can lead to the development of new customers.
Once the implementation and operation of SFA are on track,
• Marketing Automation (MA) that manages the acquisition and nurturing of prospects
• Sales Force Automation (SFA) that manages sales activities to conduct negotiations with acquired and nurtured prospects and bring them to contract
We recommend using each tool in the appropriate phase as described above to increase sales efficiency.
Linking with Corporate Databases
Prospects will eventually be exhausted with only the data on hand. To continuously acquire prospects, it is important to find white spaces such as industries and areas that have not yet been approached, using the entire market as the denominator.
That is where a Corporate Database, which lists detailed information such as company names, representative names, and financial status, becomes useful.
If you use a corporate database service that can link with SFA and MA, you can add data from the corporate database to the customer data and prospect data that your company already has for analysis.
Thereby, it becomes possible to approach untapped and high-probability prospects, which can greatly boost the efficiency and results of both the marketing department and the sales department.
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2 Customer Case Studies That Succeeded in SFA Utilization
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By linking SFA with the SFA linkage tool "uSonar", it is possible to maximize implementation effects.
As our company's customer case studies, we will share two SFA utilization cases.
(1) Case Study of Business Breakthrough, Inc.
(2) Case Study of Demaecan Co., Ltd.
Case Study of Business Breakthrough, Inc.
Business Breakthrough, Inc. standardized operations with a cross-departmental system, utilized SFA, and achieved a 20% increase in new negotiations and a 2x increase in DM response rate.
Issues Before uSonar Implementation
• Standardize fragmented operations
• Build an integrated system for the centralization of customer information
Deciding Factor for uSonar Implementation
• Abundant track record of integration with Salesforce
• Covers up to branch offices and business sites; data quality and quantity are in a different league
Effects Obtained
• New negotiation count increased to 120%
• Direct mail response rate doubled
• Cross-departmental utilization, including accounting and general affairs, has been established
Details of the case study are here
Case Study of Demaecan Co., Ltd.
Demaecan Co., Ltd. realized strategic expansion of member stores with one of the largest corporate databases in Japan. By linking the corporate database, they promoted the utilization of SFA, reduced man-hours on a scale of 17 million yen, and enabled data utilization that is "appreciated by the field."
Issues Before uSonar Implementation
• There were issues with the comprehensiveness and credibility of store information necessary for formulating sales strategies
Deciding Factor for uSonar Implementation
• Can integrate with Salesforce and be utilized for the promotion of DX
• Over 800,000 restaurant information entries are registered, and the reliability of the information is high
Effects Obtained
• Became able to formulate accurate sales strategies, enabling efficient sales activities
• Reduced man-hours for maintenance and correction of store information by 60%, approximately 17 million yen annually
• Streamlined back-office operations such as simple anti-social force checks
Details of the case study are here
![[Understand in 5 Minutes uSonar] Japan's Largest 12.5 Million Corporate Data Promotes Sales DX](https://usonar.co.jp/blog/img/abm_bnr2.jpg)
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