Sales automation: the future of CRM software

Joel ‘Cap’ Capperella is a solo-preneur in the business of helping small businesses raise their marketing and sales game. He brings over 20 years of experience in marketing of software and SaaS, working with both big fish like Oracle and with smaller startups. He’s an active contributor to some of the most influential business publications, such as The Huffington Post, Entrepreneur.com and FastCompany. We sat together with Joel to hear his thoughts on the future of sales automation.

What does sales automation mean to you?

That’s a pretty good question. To me, its mainly about making sales management less of a burden, time- and energy-wise. Sales automation is anything that makes it easier for the sales person to connect with potential customers, get them into the pipeline and subsequently accelerate the journey throughout the pipeline. It all boils down to removing barriers to connect, engage, listen and build relationships.

Qual è la sua visione dell'automazione delle vendite?

Dovrebbe rientrare nell'idea più ampia che i dati siano al servizio delle persone in un'organizzazione e non viceversa.

Il CRM ha iniziato ad essere focalizzato principalmente sulla gestione delle vendite, investendo molto tempo e risorse nei dati piuttosto che nelle persone. Questa logica si sta invertendo: i dati e gli algoritmi lavorano sempre più per le persone, anziché il contrario.

Questa è la direzione che dovrebbe prendere l'automazione delle vendite: il software non solo dovrebbe consentire una gestione delle vendite rapida e mirata, ma soprattutto il CRM dovrebbe cambiare in modo da concentrarsi maggiormente sull'elemento umano della vendita. Il nuovo CRM consiste nel vendere come se le persone fossero importanti.

We’re seeing the same tendencies in HR. HR management tools used to revolve around administrative tasks required to manage a workforce. Yet today, HR software is becoming more and more people-centered. It’s keeping employees engaged, connected and productive. It helps them do their jobs more effectively and manage their career development more personally.

To me, sales and people (HR) are connected like two sides of a circle. They seem opposed, yet are very related. You can’t make sales without employees and you can’t hire people without sales. Software that helps both sides, to put people at the centre and data at their service, will make the relation between people and sales in organisations all the more circular, as it should be.

Quali sono i vostri migliori consigli/linee guida per l'automazione delle vendite?

There’s so much information out there. And it’s becoming more and more everyday. Somewhere in that pile of data is the exact piece of information, often a combination of bits of data, that you need.

Utilizzate un software che vi consenta di raggiungere con estrema facilità quell'unica informazione, sempre e comunque. La vera magia consiste nel riunire più strumenti in un unico luogo, in modo da poter utilizzare immediatamente le informazioni per ottenere risultati.

Which sales automation tools are you using?

I’m currently using HubSpot CRM, not Salesflare, mostly because I got a very good deal on it. I have it integrated with ActiveCampaign, my marketing automation platform. I use Zapier to automate tasks between Evernote, Google Sheets and my CRM. For extra hands to help me with some design work, finding email addresses or something like that, I turn to Upwork.

Any tactics you would like to share?

I’m a big content believer. Content is a huge way to connect and engage, plus you can use it in all the different stages of the sales process. The key is to carefully measure what type of content is working best in different stages.

For example, I set automatic series of emails after a specific offer. For each one I will track the recipient’s reaction to it; how long it takes him or her to react, how often he/she opened the email, whether he/she visits my website and how long etc.

Queste metriche di coinvolgimento definiscono quanto tempo dovrò dedicare a una persona per ottenere una conversione.