Say goodbye to monotony in sales. Say hello to automation.
In many organizations, a large portion of a salesperson's time is spent on routine administrative activities rather than on sales or customer interactions. This work often consists of sending follow-up emails, creating task lists, and filling out paperwork.
While each of these routine activities plays a crucial role in your sales process as a whole when carried out manually, they can become a bottleneck to achieving your sales targets. This, in turn, results in process delays and demotivation.
If you are on the lookout for a way to end this obstacle in your sales life, then say "hello" to sales force automation (SFA). This article is meant for those of you who are new to CRM systems, so we'll be discussing each section of the sales cycle and how SFA can help optimize it. This should help you learn more about how you can save time and effort on routine tasks and make sales more efficiently.
Sales force automation refers to a method in which software solutions are used to streamline the execution of a sales cycle. So, let's digress a bit here and explain what exactly the sales cycle is.
What is the sales cycle?
Every business takes its customers through a sales journey from acquisition to conversion. You need to reach out to a list of prospects via marketing efforts, engage with them, make multiple follow-ups, and convert them to paying customers. It doesn't stop there—you should also make efforts to retain your customers and get referrals so that you can generate new business. This entire customer journey starting from acquisition to retention, from the point of view of a business, is known as the sales cycle.
Here is where CRM enters the picture. A CRM has built-in features that help you implement your sales cycle, from lead acquisition to customer retention and beyond. We are going to look at three major areas of the sales cycle where a CRM can help boost your productivity with sales force automation.
- Lead management
- Contact management
- Pipeline management
Lead management
Lead acquisition marks the beginning of the sales cycle. A lead is basically a raw, unqualified prospect which you may have obtained from different sources such as your website, outreach on social media, email campaigns, advertising, events, or even referrals. A lead is anyone who may be interested in your business, but you don't know for sure yet. You need to follow up to find out.
During follow-up, you aren't just asking your leads if they want your product or not—an efficient follow-up process is one in which these leads are educated well about your company's products/services, and any assistance from you in their evaluation phase is readily made available. Whether it's just another phone call, a document, or a personal demo—whatever a lead needs from you to make a decision should be made available. This process of educating your leads and assisting them with information on your business is called lead nurturing.
Overall, lead management is a key area that consists of sourcing leads from different channels, organizing them, and conducting a systematic process of follow-up and nurturing. It forms the starting point of your sales administration, and therefore it's very important that you don't lose out on useful leads or follow-ups.
How does SFA simplify lead management?
Any CRM offers the features you need to generate, track, and nurture leads. Here is a set of recommended steps for lead management automation in Zoho CRM: Create a web form in CRM and publish it on your website. Every entry on the form is now pushed to CRM, so that you don't miss out on a single lead.
- Capture leads from webforms, spreadsheet imports, migration, the lead scanner app, and APIs (from third-party systems).
- Set up prompt reminders for followup activities in CRM and nurture your leads.
- Update contact information and lead status periodically, so that your database is up to date.
- Automate routine emails like lead status updates for management and newsletters sent out to leads.
Contact management
As you nurture your leads, you will find that you are gradually narrowing down from a long list of leads to a shorter one that contains people who are much more likely to buy from you than the rest. This shortlisted set of leads will be moved to another column called Contacts.
This phase is about resuming your follow-up activities with these contacts and making sure they buy from you. Different businesses have different processes for contact follow-up. This may contain many routine activities such as sending emails, making phone calls, personal appointments, field visits, and more. Contact management is about lead conversion and making sure you have a complete, clean list of your current contacts and ensuring prompt follow-up.
How does SFA simplify contact management?
Zoho CRM comes with built-in features for lead conversion and contact management. When you identify leads who show a keen interest in purchasing from you, simply convert the lead to a contact. A contact is an existing customer or someone with whom you are pursuing a business deal. Use CRM to directly convert and bulk convert leads into contacts. All your lead information is mapped correctly to contacts by the system. You can further follow up on these contacts, associate business deals, company details update status, attach email/phone conversations contextually, and maintain an exhaustive set of details regarding the contacts in CRM.
Pipeline management
As you shortlist your customers, you may receive business opportunities from them. Each opportunity or "business deal" is said to go through a series of stages until it is successfully won or dropped—and this process of organizing deals and taking them through these stages is called pipeline management.
For example, from about 100 leads, you may have shortlisted 40 contacts who are interested in your business, and 30 of them might give you business opportunities to work on. Your sales team has to follow through and move those 30 deals one by one through the different stages in your pipeline, such as qualification, value proposition, negotiation, contract drafting, and so on, until the deal is closed.
Your sales cycle starts when you secure leads via campaigns, goes on as you nurture them and convert them to contacts, and ends with you securing business deals with them. Sales force automation involves using efficient systems to streamline this sales cycle and automate routine actions in it.
How does SFA simplify pipeline management?
Zoho CRM comes with built-in features for pipeline management.
- Track the status of your deals using the customizable sales pipeline in CRM.
- Set up a sales process using Blueprints. Let the system guide your teams and streamline the deal closure process
- Set up workflow rules to automate routine sales actions. Use the automation feature in CRM to automatically trigger routine actions, saving you time and effort.
With just a one-time setup, you can be relieved of mundane manual tasks. All you have to do is use the existing built-in sales force automation features in your CRM. The system will take care of it for you while you and your sales teams can do what you are meant to do—sell.
What are your thoughts on this subject? Post them in the comments section below. Feel free to share other subjects that you'd like to discuss in the CRM Admin Chat Room in the future.
Access your files securely from anywhere
New to Zoho Recruit?
Zoho Developer Community
New to Zoho LandingPage?
Zoho LandingPage Resources
New to Zoho Survey?
New to Zoho CRM Plus?
Deliver unforgettable customer experiences
New to Zoho CRM Plus?
Deliver unforgettable customer experiences
New to Zoho Marketing Plus?
Everything you need to run your marketing
New to Zoho Marketing Plus?
Everything you need to run your marketing
New to Bigin?
Topic Participants
Vaagdevi Ravishankar
Sticky Posts
How to reach the official Zoho Support channels and avoid fake ones.
Dear Customers, Thanks a lot for choosing Zoho! Our applications are built to help achieve your day-to-day business goals. We are committed to engaging with you, to understand and develop solutions that enhance your productivity. We are happy and ready to help you use our services effectively. Understanding and avoiding fake support Just like using popular bank names and financial applications for phishing purposes, using Zoho and claiming to be providing Zoho Support or services with false numbersFunction #35: Close all tasks associated with a lead and create a new task.
Welcome back everyone! Last week, we learnt how to close all tasks of a deal depending upon the deal stage. This week, let's look at a custom function that lets you close all of the tasks associated with a lead while simultaneously creating a new task, like when you need to halt all progress towards a lead while the lead is not available at the moment but create a reminder task. Business scenario: The success of a company, in one way or another, is determined by the leads it gets. Each lead is justZoho CRM Webinar - Redesigning Daily User Experiences with Canvas
<br> Your users across roles use the CRM for day-to-day tasks that are necessary. Whether they perform their tasks on time, the right way, or at all depends on a lot of factors, including User Experience. Many businesses struggle with rigid layouts,Join us at the Canada ZUG Meetup: What’s New in Zoho CRM
Hello Zoho Community! Start your year with fresh insights into Zoho CRM’s latest updates and tools. Whether you're a CRM beginner or a experienced user, this meetup is crafted to help you optimise your processes and leverage new features. Explore practicalCRM Hack #2: Automate sending of birthday greetings to your customers.
Hello everyone! What sets you apart as a sales person is your ability to add that personal touch to your business relationship with your customers. Sending a gift on a special day, or leaving a note wishing them on their birthdays, are small, yet significant actions that show your customers that you care. And these are actions done without any expectations :) You must be engaging with a lot of customers and it is highly unlikely that they all are your friends on Facebook or some social channel,
New to Zoho TeamInbox?
Zoho TeamInbox Resources
Zoho CRM Plus Resources
Zoho Books Resources
Zoho Subscriptions Resources
Zoho Projects Resources
Zoho Sprints Resources
Qntrl Resources
Zoho Creator Resources
Zoho CRM Resources
Design. Discuss. Deliver.
Zoho Show Resources
Get Started. Write Away!
Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.
Zoho CRM コンテンツ
-
オンラインヘルプ
-
Webセミナー
-
機能活用動画
-
よくある質問
-
Ebook
-
-
Zoho Campaigns
- Zoho サービスのWebセミナー
その他のサービス コンテンツ
Nederlandse Hulpbronnen
ご検討中の方
Recent Topics
Navigate with Ease: Announcing Improvements to Your Zoho CRM for Everyone's Setup Experience
Hello Everyone, We’re thrilled to announce new enhancements to the Setup Menu in our Zoho CRM for Everyone system, designed to simplify your workday and streamline your overall experience. What's New? Addition of a Setup Homepage Faster Search in SetupZoho Projects Webhook fails with HTTP Error 0
Hello Zoho Community, I am pulling my hair out over this one. I have setup a very basic http(s) server that always responds "ok" and code 200 to incoming GET requests. It will accept any parameters, and any path. Really, all it does is say "ok," and logAPI 500 Error
Hello amazing ZOHO Projects Community, I get this message. How can we solve this? { "error": { "status_code": "500", "method": "GET", "instance": "/api/v3/portal/2010147XXXX/projects/2679160000003XXXX/timesheet", "title": "INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR", "error_type":ZOHO Campaignで表のカラムの幅を調整したい。
表を作成した際、個々のカラムの幅を調整したいのですが、方法が分かりません。 どなたかご存じの方ご教示ください。Auto-upload Creator Files to WorkDrive
Hi everyone, I’m working on a workflow that uploads files from Zoho Creator to specific subfolders in Zoho WorkDrive, as illustrated in the attached diagram. My Creator application form has two multi-file upload fields, and I want—on successful form submission—toExciting Updates to the Kiosk Studio Feature in Zoho CRM!
Hello Everyone, We are here again with a series of new enhancements to Kiosk Studio, designed to elevate your experience and bring even greater efficiency to your business processes. These updates build upon our ongoing commitment to making Kiosk a powerfulKaizen #129 : Client Script Support for Blueprints
Hello everyone! Welcome to another week of Kaizen. Today, let us discuss about how you can use Client Script during a Blueprint transtion to meet your requirements. This Kaizen post will provide solution for the post - Need non-mandatory fields in blueprintSearch Bar Improvement for Zoho Commerce
Hey everyone, I've been using Zoho Commerce for a bit now, and I think the search bar could really use an upgrade. Right now, it doesn't show products in a dropdown as you type, which would make finding items a lot faster. On Shopify, for example, youMaking digital signatures accessible to all: Introducing accessibility controls in Zoho Sign
Hi there! At Zoho Sign, we are committed to building an inclusive digital experience for all our users. As part of our ongoing efforts to align with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), we’re updating the application with support that will goAccount Owner Field From Accounts Module to be Displayed in Contacts module
I have a field in the Accounts Module in the CRM called "Account Owner" i want that field to be also mapped into the Contacts Module custom single line field called "Account Manager".Update a field in the ZOHO Form, basis numeric value in another field in the same form
I am trying to create a questionnaire in ZOHO, where clients need to answer 10 questions, and basis response, values are assigned. I have created a total score field where the sum of the values is stored. But i am unable to create a rule whereby anotherHow to update "Lead Status" to more than 100 records
Hello Zoho CRM, How do I update "Lead Status" to more than 100 records at once? To give you a background, these leads were uploaded or Imported at once but the lead status record was incorrectly chosen. So since there was a way to quickly add records in the system no matter how many they are, we are also wondering if there is a quicker way to update these records to the correct "Lead Status". I hope our concern makes sense and that there will be a fix for it. All the best, JonathanMeet up de Zoho en Bilbao
Buenos días comunidad! Estamos estudiando hacer un Meet up en Bilbao desde zoho y varios Partners. Para que la experiencia sea excelente, queremos saber cuantas pesonas se vendrían a Bilbao al evento. Y para que sea lo mas útil posible, que temas dentroPicklist reference value in REST
picklist options can be configured to have a different reference value than the displayed one, should be helpful in things like multilanguage: https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/kb/crm/customize-crm-account/translations/articles/translations is there a wayIn Zoho inventory Converting sales return to cerdit note from using Api from Creator Error details: {"code":-1,"message":"Invalid Sales Return ID."}
In Zoho inventory Converting sales return to cerdit note from using Api from Creator Error details: {"code":-1,"message":"Invalid Sales Return ID."} this is button Function used in the Creator map Inventory.Create_Credit_note(int CRE_ID) { return_valueMarketing Tip #2: Recover lost sales with abandoned cart emails
Did you know most online shoppers don’t complete checkout? Automated cart recovery emails are an easy way to bring them back. A simple reminder can recover sales you’d otherwise lose. Try this today: Enable abandoned cart emails in Zoho Commerce and setBilling Management: #9 Usage Billing in IoTs
We live in a world where connectivity has become a lifestyle rather than a luxury. From smart thermostats that adjust your home's temperature to GPS trackers monitoring end-to-end fleets and sensors that optimize energy grids, the Internet of Things has{"code":1038,"message":"JSON is not well formed"}
Today this began failing: sales_order_data = zoho.books.createRecord("salesorders",books_organization_ID,order_data); with this error message. {"code":1038,"message":"JSON is not well formed"} This code has been running for two years. Here is the inputHow can I migrate Shared Mailbox from Zoho Mail to Team Inbox?
I am unable to migrate mails from my shared mailbox in Zoho Mail to Team Inbox. I am the super admin of my Zoho One plan and yet I am getting an error saying only admins can do this? I don't understand the issue.Remember all the ways we've posted?
The world celebrates World Postal Day in 2025 with the theme “#PostForPeople: Local Service. Global Reach". The story of the “post” is a story of human connection itself, evolving from simple handwritten notes carried over long distances to instant digitalAdd Support for Authenticator App MFA in Zoho Desk Help Center
Hello Zoho Desk Team, We hope you are doing well. We would like to request an enhancement related to security for the Zoho Desk Help Center (customer portal). Currently, the Help Center supports MFA for portal users via SAML, JWT, SMS authentication,Can no longer upload my own Notebook cover
I've had Notebook for over a year and have been able to create my own notebook covers, but when I tried to upload my own cover for a new notebook today, the upload feature has suddenly been starred, requiring me to upgrade my account. When did thisZoho Desk - Cannot Invite or Register New User
Hi who may concern, we encountered a problem that we cannot invite user or the visitor cannot register for a user at all through our help center portal, with the snapshot shown as below and the attachement. It always pops up that "Sorry, Unable to processCustom domain issue
I recently changed records for my support area custom domain for a few months, I then wanted to come back to Zoho, but now I can't connect it and I can't login as it's having an SSL issue. I cannot get a good response from support, as I've been notifiedHow do you generate personalized certificates and save them in dynamic folders using Writer's mail merge?
Zoho Writer's mail merge feature can help you enhance the certificate management process. It's a great way to save time and effort! Merge certificates and maintain a well-organised repository with personalised certificates stored in separate folders forZoho Editor
Zoho PDf Editor is not working I am clicking on EDIT PDf then it again bringing me back to the same page. again and again.The present is a "present"
The conversation around mental health has been gaining attention in recent years. Even with this awareness, we often feel stuck; the relentless pace of modern life makes us too busy to pause, reflect, and recharge. In the world of customer support, thisMarket cap
Market cap formula?? Kaise nikaleNeed Help to setup plugs along with codeless bot buidler. To send sms OTPs to users via Zoho Voice and to verify it
Need Help to setup plugs along with codeless bot buidler. To send sms OTPs to users via Zoho Voice and to verify it. I get leads from our website and we need to make sure those are not junk. So we are using proactive chat bot and we need mobile OTPs toDirect Integration Between Zoho Cliq Meetings and Google Calendar
Dear Zoho Team, We’d like to submit the following feature request based on our current use case and the challenges we’re facing: 🎯 Feature Request: Enable meetings scheduled in Zoho Cliq to be automatically added to the host's Google Calendar, not justZoho sheet
Unable to share zoho sheet with anyone on internet with editer option only view option is showMail and OS
Jai Hind! Zoho is doing good by creating good software (made in india) on par with other tech giants. 🥰 Suggestion: 1. Whenever we sign up on zoho mail its asking for other mail id. It shouldn't be like that. You should ask general details of a userPersonal account created under org account
Hi there, I am Jayesh. We are using ME Central, and we have an account by the email ID soc@kissht.com.. Now I have created a personal account., jayesh.auti@zohomail.in, accidentally. Can you help me to remove this jayesh.auti@zohomail.in from my organizationAdd another account
How to add another mail account to my zoho mail.Recover deleted user
Hi by mistake i have deleted an added user and his email associated. Please help me recover it thank you.No connection to the server
Hello! I can't add a new email address to my mailbox because your server is rejecting me. Please help. I took and added a screenshot of this problem Marek OlbrysEmails missing from desktop but visible on phone
Subject says it all. Windows 11 laptop. Apple phone. all systems up to date.Website Hosting
Hello, I want to host my domain on Hostinger, and I want my emails to run through Zoho Mail. Please provide me with the SPF record, MX record (Type: TXT), and A record, so that I don’t face any issues with my emails. My website is on Hostinger hosting,Can not search zoho mail after update V.1.7.0
i can not search mail on to and cc box from attached picture and then search contacts box can't click or use anything. include replay mail too.How to retreive the "To be received" value of an Item displayed in Zoho inventory.
Hi everyone, We have our own Deluge code to generate a PO according to taget quantity and box quantity, pretty usefull and powerful! However, we want to reduce our quantity to order according to "To be received" variable. Seems like this might not evenNext Page