How much time would you guess sales teams are currently spending on non-sales-related tasks? 

10%? 

20%

37%?

On average, teams spend 80% of their time on those tasks. 

That's 80% of your company's time 

NOT selling.

NOT doing what they’re hired to. 

It’s not all their fault. So many other activities are required in the process and automation could be the key to improvement in your organization.  

Sales is a continuous cycle of trying to get ahead of the competition. If you are standing still, you are really going backwards as the pace of innovation in the sales industry in the last few years has been unprecedented.

How to get started with automation

Automation can be a useful tool in the sales process, as it can help to streamline and optimize certain tasks, freeing up time for salespeople to focus on more high-level activities such as building relationships with clients and identifying new sales opportunities. However, it is essential to use automation in a sensible manner and not rely on it too heavily.

Here are some tips for when and how to use automation in the sales process:

1. Use automation to streamline repetitive tasks: Automation can be useful for repetitive and time-consuming tasks, such as data entry or sending follow-up emails. This can free up time for salespeople to focus on more high-level tasks. 
   
   
2. Create pre-built sequences and automation to streamline your processes: Done correctly, your sales team will have the right flow of automated emails for nudges and follow-up emails and allocation set up for tasks and calls to do each day for driving revenue. 
    
3. Personalized communications: While automation can be used to send emails and other communications at scale, it is essential to personalize these messages as much as possible. This can help to build stronger relationships with clients and increase the likelihood of a successful sale. There are tools that actually help with automation personalisation too, most notably Revium.io which will be released in 2023. If you want to get to the next level of automation, sign up there. 
   
   
   
4. Don't rely on automation too heavily: While automation can be a useful tool, it is essential not to rely on it too heavily. It is still important for salespeople to have personal interactions with clients and build relationships with them. Automation should be used to supplement these efforts, not replace them. Don't just rely on automation for all your emails with generic messaging. This may lead to short-term wins but it is not sustainable. Careful thought should be put into personalization every step of the way, from first emails to follow-ups. Automation is bad if it feels like automation to the end user. 
   
   
5. Monitor and adjust as needed: It is important to regularly monitor the effectiveness of automation in the sales process and make adjustments as needed. This can help to ensure that automation is being used effectively and efficiently.

The 3 Key Areas of Sales Automation

There is an overwhelming abundance of automation tools to help sales teams but at its most basic, there are three separate core elements. 

CRM - Customer Relationship Management is your central hub of information for everything sales-related. Emails sent, calls made, meetings had, etc. For sales teams to manage their leads, accounts, and deals in a centralized system you need to track all revenues accurately and generate sales reports that provide data-backed insights to understand their business performance. Depending on budget and requirements, you need to deep-dive into each system's requirements and payment levels. For instance, with Hubspot, you may need the higher graded plans to get many of the sales analytical features. These upgrades are where the true costs will lie so do your due diligence before committing. 

1. HubSpot Sales: This comprehensive sales automation platform includes features such as email tracking, meeting scheduling, and lead management.
   
   
2. Salesforce: Salesforce: This is a popular CRM platform that includes a range of sales automation features, including lead management, email tracking, and forecasting.
   
   
3. Zoho CRM: This is a comprehensive CRM platform that includes a range of sales automation features, including lead management, email marketing, and forecasting.
   
   
4. Insightly: This is a CRM platform that includes features such as lead management, project management, and email automation.
   
   
5. Freshsales: Great for sales managers handling multiple territories, as well as those needing an excellent in-app phone
   
   
6. Pipedrive: Most mobile-friendly choice for agents who are always on the go
   
   
7. Copper: Best B2B CRM for Google Workplace users who want simple visual sales pipelines
   
   

From an automation perspective, the tools that can best save time and ensure deals don’t go through the cracks or stagnate are. 

• Sales workflow automation: Provides users with easy-to-create workflows to automate lead rotation and task creation, as well as streamline prospect follow-up with automated sequences. You can schedule a sequence of emails to nurture a client

• Templates: A godsend for sales teams and built into your CRM gives you the ability to 1) reduce your response time 2) enable you to a/b test responses to find which one works the best.

• Meeting Scheduling: Allows reps to send meeting links to prospects, so that they can choose their availability in your calendar based on their schedule preference. Super simple but cuts down on the back and forth and gives leadership insights into how many steps to conversion each deal takes.

• Sales & marketing alignment: Hubspot was initially a marketing solution and CRM was added on through the iterations of the company. Aligning sales and marketing is key to success and from an automation perspective, having everything in one centralized place helps the teams get insights into what's happening, what's working and what’s not. 

SEP - Sales Enablement Platform

A SEP is a program that's goal is to increase the efficiency of your sales tasks. Platforms like Salesloft & Outreach will help you systemize and scale your sales efforts. Outreach includes features such as email and call automation, as well as lead management and tracking. The sequencing, if done correctly, will save you countless time and can bring in a steady stream of revenue opportunities. 




Creating a Cadence, A/B split testing messaging/outreach, etc. Sales enablement platforms can help sales teams to be more efficient and effective by providing them with the resources and tools they need to sell more successfully. They can also help to improve the overall customer experience by providing prospects with the information they need to make informed purchasing decisions.

Prospecting Software. 

Prospecting tools are used for prospecting and scraping contact info: phone numbers & emails and helping filter out prospects based on their intent and your needs. 

There are several prospecting software tools that can help sales teams identify and prioritize potential sales leads. Some popular options include:

1. LinkedIn Sales Navigator: This is a tool that helps salespeople identify and connect with potential leads on LinkedIn. It includes features such as lead recommendation, advanced search, and integration with CRM software.
   
   
2. DiscoverOrg: This is a tool that provides sales teams with accurate and up-to-date information on potential leads, including contact information and company details.
   
   
3. UpLead: This is a lead generation platform that helps sales teams identify and connect with potential leads using advanced search filters and integrations with CRM software.
   
   
4. ZoomInfo: This is a tool that provides sales teams with detailed information on potential leads, including contact information and company details.
   
   
5. Clearbit: This is a tool that helps sales teams identify and prioritize leads using data from a variety of sources, including social media and public records.
   
   
6. Bombora: Their Intent data tells you when buyers are actively researching online for a solution, and which products and services they are interested in, based on the web content they consume. 

How Does Your Company Stack Up?

Each sales organization should have a combination of these core tools. Which ones will dep and depend on company size, budget and needs? 

Ask yourself how you currently use them.  Are you maximizing your efficiency/output?

When should you not rely on automation in the sales process?

There are a few situations when it may be inappropriate or ineffective to rely on automation in the sales process:

1. When the customer needs a high level of personalization: Automation may not be able to provide the same level of personalized attention and tailored solutions as a human salesperson.
   
   
2. When the customer has complex needs: Automated sales processes may not be able to handle complex questions or concerns as effectively as a human salesperson.
   
   
3. When the customer prefers human interaction: Some customers may simply prefer interacting with a human salesperson, and may not be as receptive to an automated process.
   
   
4. When the product or service being sold is highly technical or specialized: In these cases, a human salesperson may be better equipped to provide the necessary information and support to the customer.

Overall, It is still important for salespeople to have personal interactions with clients and build relationships with them. Automation aims to free up salespeople to chase quality prospects that are more likely to convert into customers. With the right tech stack, your team can increase efficiency and streamline your sales efforts for success. Automation is only bad if it feels like automation to the prospects you are chasing so don't treat it as a shortcut, but rather as the right tools to supercharge your team.