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Sales Force Automation Software Buyer's Guide - Introduction

Sales Force Automation Software Buyer's Guide - Introduction

Published: 03/28/2011

» Business Equipment
» Business Services
» Software

 

Introduction

Providing your staff with “the right tools for the job” is a mantra often invoked for technology‐reliant staffers like developers or designers.

 

 

It also applies to your sales team – and this does not just mean giving them a fancy telephone. To get the most out of your salespeople, you should consider sales force automation (SFA) software (or sales and contact management software).

 

 

Sales force automation software makes your sales efforts more efficient by combining very specific sales‐focused tools with a wide range of features commonly available in separate pieces of software. By bringing them all together, SFA applications simplify management and tracking of your sales efforts, give you a better understanding of your marketing successes and weakness, and facilitate better teamwork and sharing of information throughout your organization.

 

 

In this BuyerZone Buyer’s Guide, we’ll show you how to select and evaluate both SFA software and vendors. Once you know what to look for, BuyerZone can help you find SFA vendors in your area.

 

 

 

 

Table of contents

 

Benefits of SFA software

 

 

ASP v. client‐server SFA

 

 

Evaluating SFA software

 

 

Choosing an SFA vendor

 

 

SFA software installation and training

 

 

Sales force automation pricing

 

 

Sales force automation software tips

 

 

 

 

Pricing guidelines

 

Actual costs for sales force automation software will vary tremendously depending on your number of users and the features you need. Here are some very rough estimates – we'll go into more detail in Sales force automation pricing.

 

 

Type of software

 

Notes

 

Estimated cost

 

ASP model

 

Per user costs decrease as volume increases

 

$50 to $100 per user per month

 

Client‐server model

 

Per user costs decrease as volume increases

 

$200 to $1,000 per license +

support and maintenance fees