Importance of a Sales Force Automation solution in any sales organization is no longer a topic to be debated on. It is now a part of basic hygiene of the sales process across the globe. Those who are already using some SFA solution are either driving improvements in the existing software or looking out for a more capable solution. And those, who are yet to roll-out such a solution, are surely hunting for a sophisticated software that can fulfill all their needs. Whatever may be the case, a proper and detailed due diligence must be done before you finalize any vendor. While it is understandable that in SaaS model switching cost is not too... (read more)

 If you are an FMCG company, chances are that you have already experimented with a sales force automation solution or are actively considering going down that route. After all, the FMCG sector has been a pioneer in adopting sales force automation solution, and consequently, the SFA players have also adapted their products to cater to most of the standard FMCG use cases and scenarios. You may also be aware that more than 50% SFA implementations fail. While there are several reasons that can be attributed to this failure, some of the more prominent ones are lack of clarity on why SFA is required, absence of a skilled program coordinator, poor... (read more)

When we talk about Sales Force Automation, almost all of us relate it to what is being predominantly used in FMCG or Beverage industry over last 6-7 years. The general perception that has been built is that an SFA solution is used to manage a geographically dispersed field force in terms of regular outlet visits and activities that they perform in each outlet. Typically, those activities are order capture, sales return, payment collection, POSM deployment, planogram compliance etc. While the conventional SFA has evolved a lot to meet ever changing business dynamics of its client base and to adopt to latest technology innovations, even till... (read more)

An SFA implementation is a two way street. Its success requires the commitment of both the client and the solution provider. The right solution provider will not just sell the solution but take meaningful steps to ensure success of implementation. In a recent post, we wrote about selecting the right SFA partner. Training, on-boarding and initial hand-holding are the common norms of an SFA implementation. Beyond that, one of the things that a good SFA partner does for its partner client is regular monitoring of the health of implementation. Now, what is a health check in implementation? While different SFA providers have different approaches... (read more)