By Nilesh Patel
Sales automation is the practice of accelerating manual, time-consuming sales procedures using software, artificial intelligence, and digital technologies. It helps sales teams focus more on important tasks like establishing contacts and developing leads. Today, more and more companies in various industry verticals are turning to sales automation to enhance efficiency, especially those with high lead influx.
However, most sales executives continue to spend a majority of their time on tasks that can be automated. In a survey of 101 sales executives by sales automation solutions provider LeadSquared, 34% of respondents stated that lead generation, distribution, and engagement activities take up the majority of their time. What’s more, even organisations that have automated processes for everything else may not always use sales automation, assuming that it would be an additional cost to the company.
However, the initial investment will lead to a variety of future benefits, including time efficiency, better productivity, and lower expenditure. As more and more organisations and business leaders realise the potential of sales automation, the sales process itself is evolving by leaps and bounds.
The right balance
One of the primary challenges, however, is figuring out what needs to be automated. There are several solutions available in the market that can assist in automating almost each and every part of the sales process. But this is where approach is key, because not all parts of the sales process should be automated. Being an inherently customer-facing domain, some aspects will always require a human touch.
For instance, research indicates that personalised emails are six times more likely to result in a conversion, and have click-through rates that are 2.5 times higher than automated ones. In addition, a study by Accenture found 73% of customers surveyed stating they would prefer brands and businesses that use their personal data to make their…
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