Sales Force Automation and Automated Customer Service...

Sales Force Automation and Automated Customer Service

Centers

E-Customer Relationship Management

CHAPTER 6

Objectives

Outlines the tasks for sales force automation systems, and reasons for resistance to implementation

Overview of customer service centers

Sales Force Automation

Tasks for SFA 1. Contact and time management 2. Lead management and opportunity

management 3. Knowledge management and Intranet

access 4. Price quotes and order configuration 5. Follow-up management 6. Analysis and reporting tools

Understanding resistance to SFA systems


relationship selling or consultative selling—the creation and maintenance of mutually beneficial long-term relationships with customers

One of the fundamental aspects of relationship selling involves

maintaining regular contact with clients and

being familiar with each customer’s circumstances and needs


sales force automation (SFA)—the application of digital and wireless technologies to personal selling

sales process—a logical sequence of selling stages that occurs between the time an opportunity is recognized a prospect is identified—and the time of

follow-up activities after a sale is closed


sales pipeline—a term used in the context of CRM where the tools of sales automation describe where prospects/customers are in the sales cycle

For example Records should show whether a lead is qualified,

contacted, developed, or closed (won or lost)

SFA may use data mining to integrate the pipeline data with other CRM data and make suggestions about specific activities to a

sales representative

The Sales Pipeline

Identify leads (suspected interest)

Re-contact (winback interest)

Contact buying centers (recognize key

players)

Develop relationships

(cultivate interest/desires)

Negotiate terms (long-term view)

Qualify leads (value

estimates)

No! Yes!

Close (ask for the

sale)


leads—prospects who may or may not be interested in the organization’s offering

qualified leads—have been shown to have a positive expectation of lifetime value and an ability to purchase

As the salesperson develops the relationship with the prospective organization, negotiations over terms and product

specifications occur where the buyer is comparing the offer to

those available from competitors


close the sale—ask for the order The buyer either agrees or rejects the offer

leading the another round in the sales pipeline

In this point the salesperson either acknowledges the sale with a thank you to the

buying center participants or plans how and when to re-contact the

organization with an offer designed to winback interest

CRM systems are critical aspects that can facilitate each step of this process


SFA tools can cause conflict in the salesforce due to fear of disintermediation, fear of being replaced, as well as an irritation in changing traditional approaches

to the job

In essence, SFA forces people to change their perceptions of how the sales job is done

SFA Tasks

Contact and time management

Opportunity or lead management

Knowledge management

Price quotes and order configuration

Follow-up management

Analysis and reporting tools


Tasks for SFA SFA consists of many tasks—focus on six key

tasks: 1. contact and time management, 2. lead management, and more broadly,

opportunity management, 3. knowledge management and intranet access, 4. price quotes and order configuration, 5. follow-up management, and, 6. analysis and reporting tools


1. Contact and Time Management contact management—organizing data about

organizations and customers and prospects within these organizations

Contact management application typically allow a sales representative to enter information about previous contacts

and notes about facts such as a client’s birthday, hobbies, or favorite

restaurants that can help the salesperson personalize the

sales call


Typically, contact management software enables the user to automatically dial phone numbers

Most contact managers are integrated with e-mail software so letters can be sent to contacts

Often they include e-mail templates (e.g. “thank you for your time” letters) that can easily incorporate personalized

customer information or tailor messages to address customers’

specific needs


collaborative communication—a feature that allows contact information to be shared with others

Sale team members can be in constant communication and immediately informed about recent activity

Contact managers may also schedule appointments with contacts

Most SFA applications include a personal calendar that helps the sale representative with time management


The salesperson is able to schedule travel, entertainment, and other activities

The software allows the salesperson to remember to make important phone calls, appointments, and meetings

Appointments and tasks can be associated with contacts and shared with team members


2. Lead Management and Opportunity Management

prospecting—identifying potential customers who may be interested in the organization or its products

Referrals, advertising inquiries from postcards, records of visitors to company Web sites, and other sources may provide the names of

prospects or “leads”


Consider the case of Tom Hertig, owner of a mergers-and-acquisitions

business in New Jersey called Saddle River

Hertig logs onto Zapdata.com, a provider of online sales leads, to create prospect lists based on very specific criteria such as sales volume, public or private

status, and number of employees


After choosing the parameters, he downloads the list onto his personal computer and imports the information into his own database

Hertig has achieved response rates as high as 2.5% (in the industry, 2% is considered excellent) and a close rate of 18% for respondents

He estimates that 85 to 95% of his business is generated from Zapdata leads


To be classified as a qualified lead, prospects must need the product, be in a position to place an order of

sufficient size, be able to pay for it, and be in a position to make -or at least

contribute to – the buying decision


lead management software—helps determine if a lead is a qualified prospect or not, and may automatically direct the lead to the

most appropriate field sales representative

In fact, the lead management software may analyze the lead data to provide the sales representative with a recommendation that the prospect should be visit in person, should receive a phone call, or should receive a letter and brochure


opportunity management—a comprehensive process that not only includes lead management, but also includes the management of other

activity and information throughout the entire sales pipeline

For example A sales representative who has called on a

customer at least once should be able to look at a record and know

what e-mails, faxes, and brochures have been sent


A customer’s history of dealing with certain competitors may indicate the level of opportunity or threat

that competitors represent

Competitive information may be used during the proposal development stage to generate competitive comparisons as well


As the selling cycle progresses, the sales representative enters information, such as when a prospect was contacted,

whether an offer was mad, or the likelihood of closing a sale for a certain number of units,

into the opportunity management system

This data may be automatically transferred to sales forecasting software

sales forecast—a best guess projection of the unit or dollar volume of sales expected from a customer


Accurate sales forecasts are among the most useful pieces of planning information an organization can have

Complete accuracy in forecasting the future is not possible because change is constantly occurring in the market environment


3. Knowledge Management and Intranet Access

knowledge management—a comprehensive and accessible organizational memory, often called intellectual capital

Many companies make a significant effort to capture, organize, and share what the organization and its

employee know


intranet—a company’s private data network that uses Internet standards and technology

Company documents, data, graphics, video, and other information on an intranet are available only to company

employees and those specifically authorized to enter the system


Thus, if a sales representative who is out of town needs an expense form, a contract template, sales histories, product literature, or a press release, the representative can access the

company information via an intranet


extranet—an intranet that is shared with outside parties, such as customers

Often extranets are used as order-entry systems that allow customers to place their own orders


For example General Electric this quarter will expand

auction, invoicing and demand forecasting capabilities

on its private Web exchange in an effort to cut administrative costs and

increase supplier participation

With some 36,000 supplier members, GE’s Global Supplier Network (GSN) already is one of the largest private Web marketplaces, eclipsing Wal-Mart’s 30,000-supplier exchange


GE and many other firms use extranets for B2B interactions and intranets

to maintain contact with the salesforce and

to increase the efficiency of placing orders,

checking on their status, or pricing repetitively purchased items


4. Price Quotes and Order Configuration SFA systems typically will include data

from product catalogs, price lists, discount schedules, and other order information necessary to provide price quotes

product configurators—software programs (often available on an organization’s Intranet) that configure and price products on the

spot, reducing the time a sales representative

spends working on a proposal


Product configurators are very important for sales representatives who sell complex products that have to be custom-tailored for

particular customer’s situation

Some configurators, in addition to telling salespeople how to tailor products to order, can be used to suggest cross-selling

companions


In many systems, configurators are programmed on an extranet to allow the customers to place orders at their

convenience

As more organizations order from the Web, interact with salespeople by e-mail, and track orders themselves, it becomes more important for selling

organizations to ensure an appropriate level of personal contact and effective methods for following up on each sale


5. Follow-up Management Follow-up management, usually as a part of

the contact management software, is of great importance to SFA

The CRM system at headquarters may send an e-mail to the sales representative on the road to indicate that a shipment has been sent on

time

SFA software—indicates when products have been shipped or if there are problems in completing the order


6. Analysis and Reporting Tools

SFA within CRM—eases the task of generating call or sales reports (automatic) enabling managers to assess performance

on a regular basis

It allows managers to ask questions, such as, what percentage of leads become

customers and how long it takes, on average, to close a

sale


These data can then be easily inserted in to report templates

Sale analysis and reporting are valuable aspects of SFA for managers and can be intimidating, at first, for the sales

representatives


UNDERSTANDING RESISTANCE TO SFA SYSTEMS The most difficult aspect of SFA may be

getting sales representatives to accept the system and to incorporate its aspects into their daily

routing automating activities/reports—causes some

sales representatives to feel threatened, overseen by ‘big brother’ (the manager, to

constantly spy on their daily activities), and unmotivated to do the work


When initiating SFA, it is important that management do more than simply explain

that automation is an efficient tool that will help both the salesperson and the

customers

Salesperson should be in conversation with management to understand the degree to which SFA technologies will supplement the

sales process well before its purchase or implementation


Despite initial enthusiasm over the system, many sales representatives can become

disheartened up to six months later

Thus, the organization should provide training in the new technology and continue to follow salesforce reaction to the

SFA tools as time progresses


On innovative idea for increasing acceptance of new technologies, intranets, and extranets by the salesforce is to take the incentive program online

Online incentive programs—allow salespeople, or other employees, to select bonus gifts on an intranet which may increase the willingness to

accept the automatic features of SFA systems


Early in the process of adopting SFA, organizations should work to hold discussions and

encourage input from the salesforce, consider offering financial incentives

for SFA adoption, gather and disseminate success stories

about how SFA assisted in gaining a sale, and

track salesforce usage and feeling over time


Such steps may not guarantee a successful implementation of SFA systems but may mitigate the negative conflict that is

likely to occur during any major changes

After all, the goal is to automate repetitive aspects of offering service to customers and thereby free the salesforce to focus on more

complex issues

Automated Customer Service Centers

Call centers Characteristics of customer service

personnel Evaluation of call center data

Web-based self service


Call Centers call center—a unit that supports direct

customer interaction via telephone, well-configured information technology, and capable service personnel

In the old days, customers called telephone operators and gave them their account numbers, and the operators “pulled up” records on the

screen as callers waited There was the inevitable loss of calls

during high-volume periods when all agents were busy


Think about today’s typical call you might make to a computer company technical service representative You dial the computer company’s number

You press several buttons on the telephone that get you through menu options, ordinarily guided by a human voice

You wait for a customer service representative while music plays

If you haven’t punched in an ID of some sort on your phone prior to this, you are asked for an identification or account

number


The representative – reading off a screen that outlines your entire history with the company, including the recent calls or email inquiries

you made, the level of difficulty of your problem, and the success or failure of the results –queries

you on the nature of the problem, request, or concern

When you have spoken with the rep about it, the rep enters the information, checks several possible results that show up

on a screen


and if one of them resolves the problem, marks it off

If none of them resolves the problem, you are sent to a new level to undergo a

higher level of customer service (a manager if the matter is not technical, and a support technician if it is),

with all the new information on what didn’t work or what problem wasn’t resolved


Now think about what the company’s automated system needed to do with telecommunication and information technologies,

all without the customer’s knowledge: interactive voice response, caller identification, call routing , queue management, data integration, assignment management, problem resolution, and several other tasks


call routing—guides each customer’s call to the customer service representative who is most capable of helping or directs

the call to an interactive voice response system rather

than to a person to allow the computer to handle

the entire call

interactive voice response (IVR)—a convergence of computer telephone integration and voice messaging where the IVR can be thought of as a computer

talking to a person


The most common input device is a touchtone telephone, and the common CRM system response is a human voice A widespread us of IVR is the typical bank-by-phone system in which

a customer presses number 1 for option A, number 2 for option B, etc.

caller ID systems—send incoming

phone numbers to the data warehouse, where the caller is instantly matched to a customer record


Simple caller ID systems, such as those in households, provide the name, number, date, and time of the call

Sophisticated caller ID systems trigger information about the entire history of interactions and purchases of the customer with the organization

The call and record are passed to the “next available” customer service representative or another level of the IVR via an automatic distribution system (ACD)


automatic distribution system (ACD)—prioritizes calls making it possible to segment customers as they enter the system and handle them as individuals rather than

as members of a group

The least desirable customers might never exit the IVR, those in the middle might at least get an

option to speak to a human , and high-value customers might get to by

pass the IVR altogether


For example

The telephones at Capital One Financial Corp. ring more than on million times a week

Here’s what happens: Before a caller hears the first ring, the computers identify who is calling and predict the reason for the call

After reviewing 50 options for whom to notify, the computers pick the best option for each situation


Tim Gorman, for example, is a retention specialist who answers the call when the customer’s statement is “I want to close my account”

Gorman knows better Most of them just want a better deal or a

lower interest rate


Many call center operations begin the CRM process by creating a trouble ticket

trouble ticket—a caller note, where an identification number is assigned to the customer when he or she makes the initial call

The identification number to the customer when the customer makes the initial call

The identification number is then associated with the customer account number and a log of activities


Thus, information from each contact point can be accessed by subsequent customer service representatives working to resolve the problem or handle the customer's requests

Regardless of the level of automation, customer satisfaction often rests on the characteristics of the personnel hired and trained to interact with customers


Characteristics of Customer Service Personnel

qualifications—a good phone voice, proper phone etiquette, a positive attitude, self-motivation, and grace under pressure

Customer service personnel, especially technical support workers, should also have highly developed listening and problem-resolution skills, and

have in-depth knowledge of the company’s products and services


A company that offers “round-the-clock-support” may hire service personnel in several geographical locations that have been selected because they are indifferent to time zone

“follow-the-sun” concept –an organization may have workers in California answering the 9:00 p.m. calls from New York


call scripting—a prearranged and written response to varying, usually repetitive, problems from customers, often called a situational script

Once a customer service representative enters key word associated with the reason for the call into his or her computer, a situational script appears


Such scripts, when they appear on the monitor, eliminate the need for representatives to make assumptions about what response should be given and

allow the organization to hire less experienced personnel to work the phones

Scripts also allow a company to present consistent responses when having a uniform image is desirable


Scripts may be developed based on the following factors: Reason for contact Customer’s behavioral preferences Lifetime customer value Cross-selling opportunities and propensity

to buy Current sales promotions or price deals

For example, when Tim Gorman at Capital

One answered the phone to hear that Nancy from North Carolina wanted to close

her account,


the system identified Nancy as a valuable customer 4 years duration, no annual fee, no late payment within 12 months

Further, monitor displayed three counteroffers that Tim could make in an effort to keep her business


Evaluation of Call Center Data

CRM software can be used to analyze the effectiveness of the call center’s operations

The system should have built-in tracking features that allow the company to evaluate the

performance of individual agents and the unit as a whole

built-in tracking features—evaluate performance and monitor the

number of calls,

call type,


average call length,

time waiting on hold,

abandonment rates (how many calls result in a hang up),

time-to-resolution, and

average length of call


Web-Based Self Service

At the outset, it should be noted that the cost of interacting with customers on a Web site is miniscule compared to that of a live person

interacting with customers

Nevertheless, many aspects of call center management, such as situational scripting, also apply to

customer service and support via the Internet

Yet, the self-service on a company Web site offers some unique opportunities


goal—allow customers to use the Web and provide call center operations for those who need additional assistance; where, FAQs frequently asked questions,

provide input for improvements

Most companies can better serve customers if a list of common questions and answers is available on the Web site

live person chat software—allows live customer service agents to interact with Web users when the customer makes an inquiry, i.e.

such as that offered by LivePerson.com

Summary

The application of digital and wireless technologies to personal selling is known as sale force automation (SFA)

Mobile phones, voice messaging systems, fax machines, and e-mail can be efficient media that field sales representatives use to communicate with

prospects and clients Laptop computers, PDAs (personal digital

assistants), interactive Web sites, wireless data transmission, and especially CRM databases continue to dramatically change the administrative

activities of salespeople

Summary

In addition to the costs of the equipment, SFA may also incur personnel costs as people

attempt to incorporate the technology into their working lives

The sales process is a logical sequence of selling stages that occur between the time an opportunity is

recognized and a prospect is identified and the time of follow-up activities after a sale is

closed SFA applications are designed to help the

sales representative during each stage of the sales process

Summary

Records may indicate that potential customers are in various stages of the sales pipeline, including prospect, qualified leads, developed,

negotiated, or closed (won or lost) SFA consists of many tasks, including

contact management; lead management and, more broadly,

opportunity management; knowledge management and intranet access; price quotes and order configuration; follow-up

management; and sales analysis and reporting tools

Summary

Customer service and support issues can be resolved through multiple media where the customer can visit a store, telephone a call center, e-mail the company,

interact with the company on its Web site, fax the company, write a letter, or make other arrangements

CRM automates and makes many customer service operations self-service

A company’s call center is an organizational unit that supports direct customer interaction via telephone, well-configured information technology, and

capable service personnel

Summary

Interactive Voice Response (IVR) is a convergence of computer telephone integration and voice messaging

IVR can be thought of as a computer talking to a person

Call routing software is used to guide each call to the customer service representative who is most capable of resolving the specific

problem In many appropriate instances, call

routing directs the call to an interactive voice response rather than to a person

Summary

A trouble ticket, or caller note, with an identification number is sometimes associated with the customer account number and a log of activities

Thus, information from each contact point can be accessed by subsequent customer service representatives working to resolve the problem or handle the

customer’s requests

Summary

FAQs, live person chats, and many telephone call activities, such as situational scripting, also apply to

customer service and support via the Internet

A key issue is for managers to understand that their job is to supplement sales representatives and customer service personnel with technology as opposed to erroneously believing that all

problems can be resolved with self-service systems

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