What is Sales Automation?

Definition

Sales automation is the use of software and technology to streamline and automate repetitive, time-consuming administrative tasks in the sales process. By handling these manual duties, automation frees up salespeople to focus on more valuable, human-centric activities like building relationships, having strategic conversations, and closing deals.

Examples

• Automated Email Follow-ups: A salesperson enrolls a new prospect into a pre-built email sequence. The system automatically sends a series of follow-up emails over several days or weeks.
• Lead Routing: When a new lead fills out a form on the company website, the system automatically assigns it to the correct salesperson based on pre-set rules like geographic territory or company size.
• Automated Data Entry: A sales rep makes a call using their CRM’s integrated dialer. The system automatically logs the call, its time, and its duration on the contact’s record.
• Meeting Scheduling: Instead of back-and-forth emails, a salesperson sends a link to their calendar (like Calendly), allowing the prospect to book a meeting at a convenient time, which is then automatically added to both calendars.

Advantages/Benefits

• Increased Productivity: Eliminates hours of manual work, allowing salespeople to spend significantly more time on actual selling activities.
• Improved Lead Management: Ensures that no lead is forgotten and that every prospect receives timely and consistent follow-up.
• Better Data Accuracy: Automating data entry reduces the risk of human error, leading to a more reliable and clean CRM.
• Standardized Sales Process: Helps to enforce a consistent process across the entire sales team, from initial outreach to follow-up cadences.

Related terms

• CRM (Customer Relationship Management)
• Sales Cadence
• Marketing Automation
• SaaS (Software as a Service)
• Lead Routing
• Productivity