Sales Force Automation

eLink Advantage sales force automation system begins in the marketing department because with some organisations the process starts with a mailshot or emailshot to a selected target market, and then by the creation of telemarketing actions to follow up each one.

Within the company database eLink Advantage sales leads qualification system has a data table especially for marketing. In its standard form the database design allows for the following information to be held:

• Organisation turnover

• Organisation number of employees

• Industry sector

• IT Spend

• Notes

• Date the data was most recently cleaned

• Town

• Post Code

• Telephone numbers

• Products previously purchased

Similarly in the ‘contact database’ we have a data table for personal contact information:

• Use of first name in e/mailshots

• Opt-in list, Yes or No

• Source of lead

• Do NOT Email

• Preferred contact method: email, fax, letter

• Importance

• 3 telephone phone numbers

• 3 email addresses

• Job Title / job function

• Relationship with company

• Relationships with other contacts

Select the target contacts based on this information and contact them either an emailshot or mailshot or by telemarketing direct. In this case actions will have been set up for each phone call, so that the company has a record of the contact being made. The record contains a table of qualification questions.

In eLink Advantage sales lead qualification system we have four stages in qualifying a prospect:

• Segmentation: relevance of type of business, turnover, no. of staff, no. of homeworkers etc

• Validation: Do they really want to etc

• Qualification: do they agree to, preferred supplier list, decision-making process

• Evaluation: timeframe, recognised need, budget, can we work together

Each stage has a set of eight questions, each with a score. When that total score exceeds "X" the person progresses from ‘Suspect’, ‘Qualified suspect’, to ‘Prospect’ and finally becomes a 'qualified prospect'.

During this process it may be necessary to send further brochures or emails, and this can be done automatically.

Benefits of the eLink Advantage sales lead qualification system are:

• better concentration on the ‘most likely’ prospects

• improvement in effective ‘selling time’ because of the ability to delegate some of the fact-finding work

• more relevant sales management effort and direction

• leading to increase sales, increased turnover

• better profitability

The system stands on its own as a sales force automation system or because of the interconnection with other modules available within the eLink Advantage business management system; it can be used as a starting point for a more comprehensive business management system.

Your solution can be amended and extended by you on-demand, live on your system at any time, it will grow and adapt to match how your organisation grows and adapts to the market.