CRM or SFA

Customer relationship management (CRM) and SFA systems are often confused. Here are some tips on when they're appropriate.

Are you ready for SFA?
With fewer than five salespeople, you can probably get by with an off-the-shelf contact management application for $100 or $200. These systems are good for handling a database of customers and prospects and simple scheduling of meetings or check-in calls. They do not include the reporting and workflow features that make SFA systems so valuable, nor are they customizable. If you go this route at first, make certain that you do not continue to use an under-powered or inflexible solution just because it's already in place.

The next tier up is implementing your own solution, using SFA software like industry leaders Goldmine and ACT. You can easily purchase the software and install it yourself - but you will either have to live with the built-in reports and workflow options, or learn how to customize it yourself. This is an economically sound choice - until you start figuring in the time it takes your staff to learn and optimize the system. Many businesses that try this route find themselves turning to consultants to customize the software to fit their needs.

If you want an SFA system that is customized to your business, you should turn to a vendor who specializes in providing tailored sales force solutions. These suppliers build their products using SFA platforms like Goldmine and ACT or with enterprise-level software like Siebel. Whatever engine is used to power the solution, the supplier's expertise in creating a solution that's right for you is most important.

If your business plans call for rapid growth, it makes sense to go with an SFA system that provides more than you need right now, with an eye toward the future. You'll pay considerably more to expand a limited system later than you will to purchase that extra capacity at the start.

Some SFA purchasing decisions are made because an existing system is failing - or never really worked correctly to begin with. Expanding sales teams can overwhelm basic contact management software, and even million-dollar custom packages can rapidly fall into disuse if the sales team fails to latch onto the new software. (See "installation and rollout" for details.)

Do you really need CRM instead?
Sales force automation combines business information and process management into one compact package. It includes campaign management, lead assignment, contact management, information sharing, proposal generation, pricing and configuration engines, calendars, to-do lists and opportunity reporting.

You should make sure you understand the difference between SFA and customer relationship management (CRM) applications. CRM packages are designed to handle every aspect of a customer's interaction with your company, including the sales process, order history, support questions, and any other communication they have with you. SFA is really a subset of CRM, focused solely on the acquisition phase of the relationship.

CRM systems are more complex, more comprehensive - and considerably more expensive. For that investment, though, they can provide outstanding business process improvement. If you are interested in CRM, we can connect you with CRM vendors in your area.

Common SFA components

• Asset manager
  Reserve and track LCD projectors, laptops, training rooms.
• Campaign Management
  Sales campaign design and tracking, email generation, mail merge, multiple channel support.
• Contact Management
  Organize and manage multiple contacts per company, order history, process tracking, integration with PDAs.
• Lead Management
  Lead assignment and management, response capture and analysis for web or mail marketing, reminders, transfers, web integration.
• Knowledgebase
  Stores product brochures, pricing, other literature. Automates sending information.
• Opportunity Management
  Forecast, track, and report on opportunities.
• Task Management
  Manager and employee editable task lists, appointment scheduler, workflow rules and processing, reporting.