MAKFORCE DATA SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Every business needs to get things done in a quick but efficient manner. One great way to accomplish this is to use sales process automation. Sales process automation is a way to make everyone’s life easier by accomplishing tasks faster. Sales process automation ensures that your company can give top-notch customer service and grow your business. Sales process automation is the concept of automating many of the steps in the sales process in order to save time and money and give the best customer service process, so sales representatives can close more deals, spend more time selling and less time on administration. This study is carried out to analyze the sales process for implementing Salesforce.com in Manickbag Automobiles. Manickbag Automobiles is a dealer of Tata Motors vehicle. Tata Motors Commercial vehicles division is selected for implementation of Salesforce.com. It is a descriptive type of research where data is collected by interview method. A structured set of questions were asked to employees of sales department. The data provided by them is collected to draw activity diagrams of sales process. This activity diagram is used to translate the requirement for the perusal of software developers to customize the Salesforce.com. Implementing Salesforce.com will help Manickbag Automobiles in following manner.
Sales Executives - Salesforce gives them fast access to data—online, offline, and via mobile devices—and links easily to popular tools like Microsoft Office and Outlook.
Sales Manager - Salesforce provides powerful opportunity management, forecasting, reporting, and customization capabilities, so sales managers can be confident their teams are producing at their full capacity.
Top Executive - With the powerful analytics and customizable dashboards that Salesforce provides, executives have the real-time information they need to be effective.
The study is conducted for Makforce Data Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
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MAKFORCE DATA SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD.
INDUSTRY PROFILE CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT Customer relationship management (CRM) consists of the processes a company uses to track and organize its contacts with its current and prospective customers. CRM software is used to support these processes; information about customers and customer interactions can be entered, stored and accessed by employees in different company departments. Typical CRM goals are to improve services provided to customers, and to use customer contact information for targeted marketing. While the term CRM generally refers to a software-based approach to handling customer relationships, most CRM software vendors stress that a successful CRM effort requires a holistic approach. CRM initiatives often fail because implementation was limited to software installation, without providing the context, support and understanding for employees to learn, and take full advantage of the information systems. OVERVIEW From the outside, customers interacting with a company perceive the business as a single entity, despite often interacting with a number of employees in different roles and departments. CRM is a combination of policies, processes, and strategies implemented by an organization to unify its customer interactions and provide a means to track customer information. It involves the use of technology in attracting new and profitable customers, while forming tighter bonds with existing ones. CRM includes many aspects which relate directly to one another:
Front office operations — Direct interaction with customers, e.g. face to face meetings, phone calls, e-mail, online services etc.
Back office operations — Operations that ultimately affect the activities of the front office
(e.g.,
billing,
maintenance,
planning,
marketing,
advertising,
finance,
manufacturing, etc.)
Business relationships — Interaction with other companies and partners, such as suppliers/vendors and retail outlets/distributors, industry networks (lobbying groups, trade associations). This external network supports front and back office activities.
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MAKFORCE DATA SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD.
Analysis — Key CRM data can be analyzed in order to plan target-marketing campaigns, conceive business strategies, and judge the success of CRM activities (e.g., market share, number and types of customers, revenue, profitability).
TYPES / VARIATIONS OF CRM There are several different approaches to CRM, with different software packages focusing on different aspects. In general, Customer Service, Campaign Management and Sales Force Automation form the core of the system (with SFA being the most popular). Variations of CRM have emerged out of web 2.0 and social Medias, i.e. Customer involvement management. Information on various types of CRM is given below 1. Operational CRM Operational CRM provides support to "front office" business processes, e.g. to sales, marketing and service staff. Interactions with customers are generally stored in customers' contact histories, and staff can retrieve customer information as necessary. The contact history provides staff members with immediate access to important information on the customer (products owned, prior support calls etc.), eliminating the need to individually obtain this information directly from the customer. Operational CRM processes customer data for a variety of purposes:
Managing campaigns
Enterprise Marketing Automation
Sales Force Automation
Sales Management System
2. Sales Force Automation (SFA) Sales Force Automation automates sales force-related activities such as:
Activity Management: Scheduling sales calls or mailings
Tracking responses
Generating reports
Opportunity Management and Assessment
Account Management and Target Account Selling
Automate Sales Order Processing
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MAKFORCE DATA SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD.
3. Analytical CRM Analytical CRM analyzes customer data for a variety of purposes:
Designing and executing targeted marketing campaigns
Designing and executing campaigns, e.g. customer acquisition, cross-selling, upselling
Analysing customer behaviour in order to make decisions relating to products and services (e.g. pricing, product development)
Management information system (e.g. financial forecasting and customer profitability analysis)
Analytical CRM generally makes heavy use of data mining. 4. Sales Intelligence CRM Sales Intelligence CRM is similar to Analytical CRM, but is intended as a more direct sales tool. Features include alerts sent to sales staff regarding:
Cross-selling/Up-selling/Switch-selling opportunities
Customer drift
Sales performance
Customer trends
Customer margins
Customer alignment
5. Campaign Management Campaign management combines elements of Operational and Analytical CRM. Campaign management functions include:
Target groups formed from the client base according to selected criteria
Sending campaign-related material (e.g. on special offers) to selected recipients using various channels (e.g. e-mail, telephone, SMS, post)
Tracking, storing, and analyzing campaign statistics, including tracking responses and analyzing trends
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MAKFORCE DATA SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD. 6. Collaborative CRM Collaborative CRM covers aspects of a company's dealings with customers that are handled by various departments within a company, such as sales, technical support and marketing. Staff members from different departments can share information collected when interacting with customers. For example, feedback received by customer support agents can provide other staff members with information on the services and features requested by customers. Collaborative CRM's ultimate goal is to use information collected by all departments to improve the quality of services provided by the company. 7. Consumer Relationship CRM Consumer Relationship System (CRS) covers aspects of a company's dealing with customers handled by the Consumer Affairs and Customer Relations contact centers within a company. Representatives handle in-bound contact from anonymous consumers and customers. Early warnings can be issued regarding product issues (e.g. item recalls) and current consumer sentiment can be tracked (voice of the customer). 8. Geographic CRM Geographic CRM (GCRM) combines geographic information system and traditional CRM. Geographic data can be analyzed to provide a snapshot of potential customers in a region or to plan routes for customer visits. STRATEGY Several CRM software packages are available, and they vary in their approach to CRM. However, as mentioned above, CRM is not just a technology but rather a comprehensive, customer-centric approach to an organization's philosophy of dealing with its customers. This includes policies and processes, front-of-house customer service, employee training, marketing, systems and information management. Hence, it is important that any CRM implementation considerations stretch beyond technology toward the broader organizational requirements. The objectives of a CRM strategy must consider a company’s specific situation and its customers' needs and expectations. Information gained through CRM initiatives can support the Department of MBA -
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MAKFORCE DATA SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD. development of marketing strategy by developing the organization's knowledge in areas such as identifying customer segments, improving customer retention, improving product offerings (by better understanding customer needs), and by identifying the organization's most profitable customers. CRM strategies can vary in size, complexity, and scope. Some companies consider a CRM strategy only to focus on the management of a team of salespeople. However, other CRM strategies can cover customer interaction across the entire organization. Many commercial CRM software packages provide features that serve the sales, marketing, event management, project management, and finance industries. IMPLEMENTATION ISSUES Many CRM project "failures" are also related to data quality and availability. Data cleaning is a major issue. If a company's CRM strategy is to track life-cycle revenues, costs, margins, and interactions between individual customers, this must be reflected in all business processes. Data must be extracted from multiple sources (e.g., departmental/divisional databases such as sales, manufacturing, supply chain, logistics, finance, service etc.), which requires an integrated, comprehensive system in place with well-defined structures and high data quality. Data from other systems can be transferred to CRM systems using appropriate interfaces. Because of the company-wide size and scope of many CRM implementations, significant preplanning is essential for smooth roll-out. This pre-planning involves a technical evaluation of the data available and the technology employed in existing systems. This evaluation is critical to determine the level of effort needed to integrate this data. Equally critical is the human aspect of the implementation. A successful implementation requires an understanding of the expectations and needs of the stakeholders involved. An executive sponsor should also be obtained to provide high-level management representation of the CRM project.
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MAKFORCE DATA SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD. An effective tool for identifying technical and human factors before beginning a CRM project is a pre-implementation checklist. A checklist can help ensure any potential problems are identified early in the process. PRIVACY AND DATA SECURITY One of the primary functions of CRM software is to collect information about customers. When gathering data as part of a CRM solution, a company must consider the desire for customer privacy and data security, as well as the legislative and cultural norms. Some customers prefer assurances that their data will not be shared with third parties without their prior consent and that safeguards are in place to prevent illegal access by third parties. MARKET STRUCTURE The following table lists the top CRM software vendors in 2006-2007 (figures in millions of US dollars) published in a Gartner study. Vendor
2007
2007 Share
2006
2006 Share
'06-'07 Growth
Revenue
(%)
Revenue
(%)
(%)
SAP
2,050.8
25.3
1,681.7
26.6
22.0
Oracle
1,319.8
15.3
1,016.8
15.5
29.8
Salesforce.com 676.5
8.3
451.7
6.9
49.8
Amdocs
421.0
5.2
365.9
5.6
15.1
Microsoft
332.1
4.1
176.1
2.7
88.6
Others
3,289.1
40.6
2,881.6
43.7
14.1
Total
8,089.3
100
6,573.8
100
23.1
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MAKFORCE DATA SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD. The following table lists the top software vendors for CRM projects completed in 2006 using external consultants and system integrators, according to a 2007 Gartner study. Vendor
Percentage of implementations
Siebel (Oracle)
41%
SAP
8%
Epiphany (Infor)
3%
Oracle
3%
PeopleSoft (Oracle) 2% salesforce.com
2%
Amdocs
1%
Chordiant
1%
Microsoft
1%
SAS
1%
Others
15%
None
22%
A 2007 Datamonitor report lists Oracle (including Siebel) and SAP as the top CRM vendors, with Chordiant, Infor, and SalesForce.com as significant, smaller vendors.
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MAKFORCE DATA SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD.
ABOUT SALESFORCE.COM ORIGINS Salesforce.com was founded in 1999 by former Oracle executive Marc Benioff. In June 2004, the company went public on the New York Stock Exchange under the stock symbol CRM. Initial investors in salesforce.com were Marc Benioff, Larry Ellison, Halsey Minor, Magdalena Yesil and Igor Sill, Geneva Venture Partners. CURRENT STATUS Salesforce.com is headquartered in San Francisco, California, with regional headquarters in Dublin (covering Europe, Middle East, and Africa), Singapore (covering Asia Pacific less Japan), and Tokyo (covering Japan). Other major offices are in Toronto, New York, London, Sydney, and San Mateo, California. Salesforce.com has its services translated into 15 different languages and currently has 43,600 customers and over 1,000,000 subscribers. In 2008, Salesforce.com ranked 43rd on the list of largest software companies in the world. Following the Federal takeover of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae in September 2008, the S&P 500 removed the two mortgage giants after Wednesday, September 10, 2008, and added Fastenal and Salesforce.com to the index, effective after Friday, September 12, 2008. ACQUISITIONS The following is a complete list of acquisitions by salesforce.com:
Sendia (April 2006) for US$15 million in cash – now Force.com Mobile
Kieden (August 2006) – now Salesforce for Google AdWords
Kenlet (January 2007) – Original product CrispyNews used at Salesforce IdeaExchange and Dell IdeaStorm . Now relaunched as Salesforce Ideas.
Koral (March 2007) – now Salesforce Content
Instranet (August 2008) – now rebranded to Salesforce Knowledge
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MAKFORCE DATA SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD. SECURITY ISSUES In November 2007, a successful phishing attack compromised contact information on a number of salesforce.com customers, which was then used to send highly-targeted phishing emails to Salesforce users. PRODUCTS AND SERVICES 1. Customer Relationship Management Salesforce.com's CRM solution is broken down into several applications: Sales, Service & Support, Partner Relationship Management, Marketing, Content, Ideas and Analytics. 2. Force.com Platform Salesforce.com's Platform-as-a-Service product is known as the Force.com Platform. The platform allows external developers to create add-on applications that integrate into the main Salesforce application and are hosted on Salesforce.com’s infrastructure. These applications are built using Apex (a proprietary Java-like programming language for the Force.com Platform) and Visualforce (an XML-like syntax for building user interfaces in HTML, AJAX or Flex). 3. AppExchange Launched in 2005, AppExchange is a directory of applications built for Salesforce by third-party developers which users can purchase and add to their Salesforce environment. As of September 2008, there are over 800 applications available from over 450 ISVs. 4. Customization Salesforce users can customize their CRM application. In the system, there are tabs such as "Contacts", "Reports", and "Accounts". Each tab contains associated information. For example, "Contacts" has fields like First Name, Last Name, Email, etc. Customization can be done on each tab, by adding user-defined custom fields.
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MAKFORCE DATA SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD. Customization can also be done at the "platform" level by adding customized applications to a Salesforce.com instance, that is adding sets of customized / novel tabs for specific vertical- or function-level (Finance, Human Resources, etc) features. 5. Web Services In addition to the web interface, Salesforce offers a Web Services API that enables integration with other systems. 6. Languages English, Dutch, Spanish, German, French, Japanese, Italian, Portuguese, Korean, Russian, Thai, Danish, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese 7. Other Other technologies in use at salesforce.com are Resin Application Server, and the inhouse technologies Apex (a Java-like programming language and programming platform) and S-controls (Salesforce widgets - these are predominantly based on JavaScript).
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MAKFORCE DATA SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD.
TYPICAL SALES PROCESS A sales process is a systematic approach for performing product or service sales. The reasons for having a sales process include seller and buyer risk management, standardized customer interaction in sales, and scalable revenue generation. Specific steps or stages in a sales process vary from company to company but generally include the following steps: 1.
Sales lead – source of info.
2.
Qualified prospect – ability of buyer, economic feasibility
3.
Need identification – QnA session to identify the requirement
4.
Proposal – Written offer from seller to buyer
5.
Closing – Process of making sale
6.
Deal Transaction – exchange of money.
From a seller's point of view, a sales process mediates risk by stage-gating deals based on collection of information or execution of procedures that gate movement to the next step. This controls seller resource expenditure on non-performing deals. Ideally this also prevents buyers from purchasing products they don't need though such a benefit requires ethical intentions by the seller. Because of the uncertainty of this assurance, buyers often have a buying or purchasing process. A formalized sales process is generally more common for companies that either have large revenue risks that require systematic assurance of revenue generation and/or those that choose to use a more consultative sales approach (e.g. Saturn, IBM, Hewlett-Packard). Strictly speaking, even an effective ad hoc or retail sales process can be described by steps of an ideal sales process though some of the steps may be executed quickly. Often a bad sales experience can be analyzed and shown to have skipped key steps. This is where a good sales process mediates risk for both buyer and seller. A solid sales process also has the dramatic impact of forecasting accuracy and predictability in revenue results. Department of MBA -
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MAKFORCE DATA SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD. Many companies develop their own sales process; however, off the shelf versions are available from companies such as the Improved Performance Group, Huthwaite International, and Miller Heiman. These provide a customizable process and a set of electronic tools that can be freestanding or can be integrated if required with the company's SFA, CRM, or other opportunity management system. 1. SALES LEAD A sales lead is the identity of a person or entity potentially interested in purchasing a product or service, and represents the first stage of a sales process. The lead may have a corporation or business associated (a B2B lead) with the person(s). Sales leads come from either marketing lead generation processes such as trade shows, direct marketing, advertising, Internet marketing or from sales person prospecting activities such as cold calling. For a sales lead to qualify as a sales prospect, or equivalently to move a lead from the process step sales lead to the process sales prospect, qualification must be performed and evaluated. Typically this involves identifying by direct interrogation the lead's product applicability, availability of funding, and time frame for purchase. This is also the entry point of a sales tunnel, sales funnel or sales pipeline. Once a qualified lead exists, additional operations may be performed such as background research on the lead's employer, general market of the lead, contact information beyond that provided initially or other information useful for contacting and evaluating a lead for elevation to prospect, the next sales step. If a sales lead eventually makes a purchase, this is called conversion and a closed sale. The ratio of sales leads that convert is often referred to as the conversion rate, a way to measure the effectiveness of a sales process, sales team, or sales person. Lead Sources Leads can be generated by many different marketing campaigns or can have many different sources. You can generate leads by mailings (fax, paper, email), fairs and trade markets, phone (call centers), database marketing and the websites. Leads from websites are often called web leads.
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MAKFORCE DATA SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD. Telemarketing for Sales Leads Using call centers and telemarketers to generate leads is a very productive way to find interested prospects. It is one of the few methods of generating leads where you can directly affect the number of leads by the amount of time and effort put in. The more you dial the more leads you generate. Many industries still use telemarketing to generate mortgage leads, insurance leads, sales leads, commercial leads, and many others. This is one of the most effective ways to get a 'prospect lead'. In popular culture Sales leads are a central part of the story of the movie Glengarry Glen Ross, about four real estate salesmen who want "the good leads" which will close more easily (result in closed sales, i.e. a financial transaction).
2. QUALIFIED PROSPECT There is much debate in the sales profession as to what constitutes an actual "qualified" prospect. Most sales professionals apply their own unique set of variables in order to determine whether a prospect is actually "qualified." In general terms, sales professionals need to know a set of discrete data in order to determine whether or not the "prospect" will become qualified. These variables may include: business needs, authorization to transact business (financial or operational), money or budget and an "economic buyer" or in other words, who would stand to benefit the most (or lose the most) if the good or service were to be acquired (or not acquired). In industrial marketing a qualified prospect is an organization which has expressed the need for the products or services of the seller. Another subject in the buying process is usually referred to as either an "influencer" or a "saboteur", someone who, although not the financial or operational authority, exercises a significant level of internal control or leverage in the buying process.
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MAKFORCE DATA SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD. 3. NEED IDENTIFICATION Description In this stage the salesperson takes a qualified prospect through a series of question and answer sessions in order to identify the requirements of the prospect. During this step, the salesperson will attempt to help the buyer identify and quantify a business need or a "gap" between where the client is today and where they would like to be in the future. Based on that gap, needs can be clarified to determine if the solution will fill all, or part of the overall gap. From this procedure the salesperson is able to come up with a proposal suggesting various products/services that will suffice the need as presented by the prospect. Seven Stages The full Selling Process consists of: 1- Pre-approach 2 -approach 3 -need identification 4 -presentation 5 -handling objections 6 -closing the sale 7 -post-sale follow-up. 4. PROPOSAL (BUSINESS) A business proposal is a written offer from a seller to a prospective buyer. Business proposals are often a key step in the complex sales process--i.e., whenever a buyer considers more than price in a purchase There are three distinct categories of business proposals: formally solicited, informally solicited, and unsolicited. Solicited proposals are written in response to published requirements, contained in a Request for Proposal (RFP), Request for Quotation (RFQ), or an Invitation for Bids (IFB). RFPs provide detailed specifications of what the customers wants to buy and sometimes include directions for preparing the proposal, as well as evaluation
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MAKFORCE DATA SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD. criteria the customer will use to evaluate offers. Customers issue RFPs when their needs cannot be met with generally available products or services. Proposals in response to RFPs are seldom less than 10 pages and sometimes reach 1,000's of pages, without cost data. Customers issue RFQs when they want to buy large amounts of a commodity and price is not the only issue--for example, when availability or delivering or service are considerations. RFQs can be very detailed, so proposals written to RFQs can be lengthy but generally much short than an RFP-proposal. RFQ proposals consist primarily of cost data, with small narratives addressing customer issues, such as quality control. Customers issue IFBs when they are buying some service, such as construction. The requirements are detailed, but the primary consideration is price. For example, a customer provides architectural blueprints for contractors to bid on. These proposals are be lengthy but most of the length comes from cost-estimating data and detailed schedules. Sometimes before a customer issues an RFP or RFQ or IFB, the customer will issue a Request for Information (RFI). The purpose of the RFI is to gain "marketing intelligence" about what products, services, and vendors are available. RFIs are used to shape final RFPs, RFQs, and IFBs, so potential vendors take great care in responding to these requests, hoping to shape the eventual formal solicitation toward their products or services. Informally solicited proposals are typically the result of conversations held between a vendor and a prospective customer. The customer is interested enough in a product or service to ask for a proposal. Typically, the customer does not ask for competing proposals from other vendors. This type of proposal is known as a sole-source proposal. There are no formal requirements to respond to, just the information gleaned from customer meetings. These proposals are typically less than 25-pages, with many less than 5 pages. Unsolicited proposals are marketing brochures. They are always generic, with no direct connection between customer needs or specified requirements. Vendors use them to introduce a product or service to a prospective customer. They are often used as "leavebehinds" at the end of initial meetings with customers or "give-aways" at trade shows or other public meetings. They are not designed to close a sale, just introduce the possibility of a sale. A proposal puts the buyer's requirements in a context that favors the seller’s products and services, and educates the buyer about the capabilities of the seller in satisfying their needs.
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MAKFORCE DATA SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD. A successful proposal results in a sale, where both parties get what they want, a win-win situation. The professional organization devoted to the advancement of the art and science of proposal development is The Association of Proposal Management Professionals Components of a Formally Solicited Proposal 1.
Requirements Matrix, which matches customer requirements with the paragraph and page numbers of where those requirements are addressed in the proposal
2.
Executive Summary, which outlines the primary benefits of the vendor’s solutions to the customer's requirements
3. Technical Volume which demonstrates how each requirement will be met 4. Management Volume, which describes how the program will be managed 5.
Cost Volume, which provides all costing data, as well as implementation plans and schedules
Components of an Informally Solicited Business Proposal 1. A description of the seller's capabilities or products 2. A discussion of key issues 3. A description of the buyer's specifications and how they will be met 4. The cost of the offering 5. A schedule for delivery of the products or services 6.
Proof of prior experience i.e. Testimonials from previous customers, Project descriptions of previous projects
5. CLOSING Closing is a sales term which refers to the process of making a sale. The sales sense springs from real estate, where closing is the final step of a transaction. In sales, it is used more generally to mean achievement of the desired outcome, which may be an exchange of money or acquiring a signature. Salespeople are often taught to think of targets not as strangers, but rather as prospective customers who already want or need what is being sold. Such prospects need only be "closed." Department of MBA -
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MAKFORCE DATA SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD. "Closing" is distinguished from ordinary practices such as explaining a product's benefits or justifying an expense. It is reserved for more artful means of persuasion, which some compare with confidence tricks. For example, a salesman might mention that his product is popular with a person's neighbors, knowing that people tend to follow perceived trends. In automobile dealerships, a "closer" is often a senior salesman experienced in closing difficult deals. 6. DEAL TRANSACTION The deal transaction is the hub of global commerce. A deal transaction is a unique event where money exchanges hands in return for a product or service. The ―transaction experience‖ is the buying, selling, and marketing cycle defined as the pre- and post-effects of that unique sale. The transaction itself holds a key position as the hub of commerce. Each sale is identified and handled separately as a unique transaction experience. Each time a signature is provided by the buyer, and a sale is consummated by the buying organization, a single transaction has occurred, but the transaction experience may only be half way over.
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MAKFORCE DATA SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD.
ABOUT THE COMPANY MAKFORCE DATA SOLUTIONS PVT LTD COMPANY PROFILE MakForce Data Solutions Pvt. Ltd. helps organizations transform into high performance businesses by leveraging on the power of information technology. We deliver high quality, reliable and costeffective IT services to clients around the world. We complement deep industry and technology skills and focus on business solutions that are dynamic, process driven and second to none. MakForce provides technology-based solutions to organizations at three levels - Strategy, Processes and Change Management. We go about implementing these solutions through structured methodologies taking into account the environment and the adaptability of the solution. In addition to providing technology solutions to corporate, we are value added resellers for select global software companies. Our integrated network of development facilities across India is complemented by onsite, offsite and near-shore capabilities in major international markets. We implement aggressive SLA-based outsourcing models, compressing delivery timeframes. Our Technology Innovation and Delivery Innovation initiatives ensure that our clients are constantly equipped with solutions, frameworks and skills to meet emerging opportunities and threats. MakForce is a Global IT Services company with offices in India, New Zealand and the US. It has a portfolio of clients which include names such as Digital Mobile, First Mobile, and others. Their array of services includes Application Development, Application Maintenance, Salesforce.com Administration and Portal Administration. Makforce is a professionally managed organization led by experienced leaders committed to creating valued relationships by providing quality technology services to its clients. Makforce is an established firm with its workforce based in Belgaum, India. Our niche is providing System Integration services, customized development, integration and Application Management Services.
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MAKFORCE DATA SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD. Makforce is been hired to provide the solution to automate the solution. My job in the Makforce is to work with the team implementing the Salesforce.com in Manickbag. My role primarily includes analyzing the present sales process of Manickbag, problems faced and shortcomings in the process and providing the solution for implementation of Salesforce.com
PRODUCTS 1. Mobiz MoBiz! A unique mobile phone management system exclusively designed for the business arena. Mobiz allows business to quickly consolidate and manage their mobile phone communication requirement from one convenient simple to use online portal. 2. Ontrack It is a hosted case management application to track the status of cases and tasks. Ontrack can also be integrated with CRM application using built in integration manager. 3. Zeroin Zeroin is a unique tracking service that enables you to locate, manage and communicate with your staff out on the road requiring NO specialized hardware just a GPS enabled phone and state of the art GPS (Global Positioning System) technology. 4. Proposal Generator This application is developed entirely in salesforce.com. This application helps sales person of DigitalMobile to generate quality proposals in pdf format.
SERVICES 1. Customer Relationship Management It includes implementation of Salesforce.com and SIEBEL on demand Solutions. 2. Content Management It includes developing e-commerce enabled content management websites. They also provide product catalogs and integration with legacy applications.
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MAKFORCE DATA SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD. 3. Administrative Services They provide 24 X 7 remote administration service for CRM and content management applications using OnTrack for case management.
CLIENTS 1. Digital Mobile 2. NDA 3. Nuralite 4. Telecom 5. Vodafone 6. First Mobile
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MAKFORCE DATA SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD.
GENERAL INTRODUCTION STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM It is very important that if any company wants to achieve higher success in revenues and profits by selling some products then they have to manage their sales force effectively and efficiently. It will be much needed to manage the sale force for organizations which are into sales of costly products priced in Lacs of Rs. There are following reasons why they should manage their sales force effectively 1. The cost of products being sold is very high. 2. The amount of money blocked in working capital and inventory is very high. 3. Profits and revenues received are not much great. 4. Severe competition faced by the organization in market. 5. Uncertain nature of Indian and world economy. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY To automate the sales process it is required to know the current sales process of Manickbag automobiles. After considering the time span of project allotted by university, following objectives were set for the purpose of study 1. To study the current sales process of commercial vehicles division at Manickbag Automobiles a) To study the current issues and shortcomings in sales process. b) Sales Organization Structure c) Compensation Structure 2. To propose the effective automation solution for sales process of commercial vehicle division.
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MAKFORCE DATA SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Type of research: This is primarily a qualitative research. This study is based on the data collected through structured questionnaire of open ended questions.
Data collection: This study includes both primary and secondary type of data. Sources of primary data include the employees of Manickbag Automobiles. The structured questionnaire was developed and administered to generate the primary data. Company’s internal records were the sources of secondary data.
Method of data collection: The method of data collection used in this study is direct interview type.
Sampling Plan: The sampling plan of this study is designed to cover the three types of employees of Manickbag Automobiles. The staff strength of Manickbag Automobiles is 1200. The respondent for this study includes people from top, middle, and lower management who are working in sales department of commercial vehicles division.
Sample population: The sample population for the purpose of the study consists of all the employees working in sales department of Manickbag Automobiles.
Instrumentation technique: Structured questionnaire: The primary data is collected through a structured questionnaire, consist some open ended questions to collect the information about sales process.
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MAKFORCE DATA SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD.
SCOPE OF STUDY The data required for this study was collected from sales manager, sales executives, and other concerned staff of Manickbag automobiles. The study involves gathering the information about current sales process of Tata Motors commercial vehicles. This study is carried to help in implementing the Salesforce.com (a CRM) in the Manickbag Automobiles. This study will also try to eliminate any shortcomings if present in the process. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY 1. Due to time constraint the study was limited for the sales process of commercial vehicles division of Manickbag Automobiles. 2. The data collected and findings are based on the assumption that the information given by the respondents is correct.
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MAKFORCE DATA SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD.
ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS 1. HISTORY OF MANICKBAG AND CURRENT BUSINESS LINE Manikbag was founded in 1920 by two families of MIRJI & SHAH with Mr. Dharmappa Mirji & Mr. Manikchand Shah as the VISIONARIES. They started with rice mills & soap factory, Diversified into groundnut oil manufacturing & exporting. In 1950 they entered into automobiles line. They started a automobile workshop called as Manikbag Engineers. Simpsons was the leading manufacturer of diesel engine then and they offered the dealership for their engines to Manikbag in the year 1951. Following are the important milestones in the history of Manikbag automobiles. 1.
Manikbag acquired the MICO dealership in 1956.
2.
In 1958, they got the dealership of ASHOK LEYLAND vehicles for north Karnataka. Till 1992 this dealership was operated.
3.
In the year 1974 a branch of Manikbag Diesels for MICO was inaugurated in Bijapur.
4.
In the year 1984 Manikbag Automobiles opened a branch for Ashok Leyland at Hubli.
5.
In the year 1980 (24-9-1980) Sundram Clayton TVS Moped dealership was taken.
6.
The TVS Motor Co Ltd (Ind- Suzuki) motorcycle dealership was started on 28-51984 in Manikbag Engineers. Further branches were opened at Bijapur and Ankola.
7.
In 1992 Manikbag Automobiles shifted from Ashok Leyland to TATA MOTORS. They were offered the main dealership for entire north Karnataka, for TATA vehicles. This was very prestigious addition which culminated into huge turnover. A landmark showroom and workshop for TATA passenger cars at Khanapur road, Belgaum is recently inaugurated.
Manikbag Automobiles was converted into Pvt. Ltd Company on 1st April 2002. Turn Over: - Total group turnover has touched Rs.350 crores in 2005-2006 and crossed 450 crores in 2006-2007. Department of MBA -
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MAKFORCE DATA SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD. Total staff strength is now more than 1200 members. Manikbag Group iPresent Business lines Company Name
Dealership Since
Hindustan Petroleum
1950
Simpson
1951
MICO
1956
Kirloskar Bearings
1975
TVS Motors
1980
Sesa Goa (Pig Iron)
1990
Tata Motors
1992
LG Electronics
2004
Videocon
2005
2. AREAS ARE COVERED BY MANICKBAG AUTOMOBILES FOR THE SALES OF TATA MOTORS Manickbag the authorized dealers for Tata Motors covers the follow district and Talukas from the Belgaum Office they look after sales of corporate as well as retail customers. Head office
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Branches
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Belgaum
Hubli
Bijapur
Ankola
Gulbarga
Gadag
Gajendragad
Shahapur
Bidar
Basavakalyan
Jamakhandi
Gokak
Athani
Bailhongal
Sirsi
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3. PRODUCT LINE OF TATA MOTORS COMMERCIAL VEHICLES More than half a century of impressive presence Tata Motors continues to provide India with top of the line commercial vehicles. Tata Motors is India's largest and among the worlds top five medium and heavy commercial manufacturers. Tata Motors have over 130 models providing a wide variety of commercial transport solutions. A vehicle for every application you name it we have it! From 2 ton LCVs to 40 ton tractor trailers and buses that can seat 16 people to as many as 67. From Tippers to Special Purpose Vehicles, to 6x4 and 4x4 off road vehicles and Defense vehicles etc. MAKE Winger
Magic
MODEL VARIANTS Standard
EX2 Series
Mixers
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MODEL VARIANTS SFC 407 EX
Deluxe Flat Roof
SFC 709 EX
Deluxe High Roof
SFC 909 EX
Luxury Flat Roof
LPT 709 EX
4+D
LPT 1109 EX
6+D
LPT 1613 TURBO EX
7+D 207DI
MAKE
Tipper
SK 1613 TCIC
Single Cab
SK 1613 TC
Ex Single Cab
LPK 407
Crew Cab
LPK 1613 TCIC
SFC 407 EX2
LPK 1618 TC
LPT 709 EX2
LPK 2516 TC
LPT 809 EX2
LPK 2518 TC
LPT 909 EX2
LPK 2530 NOVUS
LPK 2516
LPS 4018
LPS 3516
LPS 4923 TC
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4. CURRENT SALES PROCESS OF COMMERCIAL VEHICLES DIVISION
Step 1: The sales Process starts when customer enters the Manickbag automobiles showroom. Step 2: Here Customer asks for a particular model which was predetermined by him before coming to the showroom. Many times customer doesn’t analyze the practical conditions before purchasing a vehicle like Road Condition, Load Capacity, and Maintenance etc. Step 3: In this step Sales representative helps the customer in selecting a suitable model for his requirement. Step 4: When customer satisfied with the selected model he requests for quotation of the product. Here if the customer is interested in buying the product then he approaches sales representative for negotiations on price quoted. Step 5: In this step customer applies for the finance. Here customer has to take a loan from third party financer and applies for cheque of desired amount.
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MAKFORCE DATA SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD. Step 6: After receiving the cheque payment is made by submitting cheque to accounts department. Step 7: It will take a time of 3-4 days to get the vehicle from Tata Motors factory / warehouse and make it ready for delivery. Tata Motors factory/warehouse is located near Dharwad in Karnataka, which is about 90 Km away from Belgaum. Step 8: Before vehicle is delivered it has to go through RTO registration process, installation of road governor and insuring the vehicle purchased. Step 9: Final step is delivering the vehicle to customer. Tata Motors is having a huge dealership network across the country. To maintain proper communication across all the dealers, Tata Motors have installed SIEBEL software in their entire dealer network. There are certain steps defined in SIEBEL for sales of vehicles. These steps are explained as below Tata Motors Sales Process as defined in SIEBEL C0- Enquiry This is the step where customer enters into the showroom and requests for a particular model. This step is limited only to enquiry made by customer. When these processes are completed, this stage of sales process is called as C0. C1- Quotation is taken by the customer In this step customer receives the quotation from dealer. At this stage a customer account is created to keep the record of customers who have taken the quotation and to follow up with them regarding purchasing the vehicle. This stage of sales process is called as C1 C2- Arrangement of Finance and Other Documents This is the stage where customer arranges all the necessary documents to avail the finance for purchasing the vehicle. This stage of sales process is called as C2 C3- Final Delivery of the Vehicle At this stage after receiving the desired amount from customer vehicle is delivered to the customer. This stage of sales process is called as C3
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5. SALES TEAM/ORGANIZATION The sales organization of Manikbag automobiles is shown below. The structure is very much hierarchical and runs top to bottom. Sales department comes under General Manage. Sales Manager is supported by Assistant manager. After Assistant manager they have five divisions. These divisions are maintained at all taluk’s offices in Belgaum district.
Medium and High Commercial Vehicles
Ace and 207
Light commercial vehicles and ICV
Magic and winger
Back office staff
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6. RETAIL AND CORPORATE SALES
Business to Retail Business to Retail is the type of sales where products are sold to direct end users. Here the requirement of quantities of products is less. Advertising for such customers is mainly done through demos at the nearby places such as Gokak, Athani, Bailhongal, Hukkeri, Bagalkot, Jamkhandi, Mudhol, Badami and Bilagi Taluks. 95% of the advertising that is done Manikbag is done through this channel. Here banners are put up, and pamphlets are distributed among prospects. Their contact details are taken by the sales representatives and the later follow up is done. Representative calls the customers after a period of 8 days asking him about the purchase. This is however not done in an organized manner. Not much advertising is done in newspaper or magazines for commercials vehicles. But the prospects are contacted directly during demos, and customer meets. In customers meet the existing customers are informed about the new products by Tata Motors.
Business 2 Business This is the case where vehicles are sold to business houses that will purchase vehicle for their business purpose. Such type of business includes construction, mining etc. Existing customers are provided with finance from Tata Motors based on their credit worthiness. Tata Motors generally avoid FTB (First Time Buyers) as their credit worthiness is low when compared to an established player. It’s the policy of Tata motors and they consider recovery is risky for such customers. Manikbag sales representatives meet the business houses personally and provide the information and quotation to them. Manikbag provides corporate with credit sales from their side, based on the earlier business transactions with Manikbag. The new business houses are identified by following ways a) Body Builders - Body builders give contacts to Manikbag regarding prospects. The body builder uses his reputation to get discounts for the customers. b) Previous Transaction – The businesses themselves approaches Manickbag regarding their requirement and then Manikbag gives them a suitable quote.
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MAKFORCE DATA SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD. An enquiry book is maintained to keep the records of customers who have visited Manikbag and enquired about vehicles. This book also contains the records of people who have taken quotation. The details entered in the book are Name, Address, Contact No, and Model of vehicle interested. By using this enquiry book future follow-ups are made. They look into the register for customers who took quotation and call them reminding about their visit. 7. VALUE ADDED SERVICES PROVIDED BY MANICKBAG AUTOMOBILES
SAMPOORNA SEVA - Annual Maintenance contract This is the facility provided by Manickbag Automobiles called as Sampoorna Seva. Here a contract is made with customer to provide him full maintenance of his vehicle for the entire year.
RECON – Reconditioning facility available for engine and aggregate
TRACKit (Auto Telematics) - A vehicle tracking telematic device developed by Tata Motors for Indian truck drivers and fleet owners. Vehicle telematics is a term used to define connected vehicles interchanging electronic data. These systems may be used for a number of purposes, including collecting road tolls, managing road usage (intelligent transportation systems), pricing auto insurance, tracking fleet vehicle locations (fleet telematics), cold store logistics, recovering stolen vehicles, providing automatic collision notification, location-driven driver information services and more particularly, Dedicated Short Range Communications DSRC invehicle early warning (car accident prevention) notification alerts.
8. SALES COMPENSATION AND TARGETS Sales Compensation is incentives and bonus distributed to sales executives. A meeting is held every month for all sales representatives and representatives from Tata Motors which is held at the Manikbag Premises either in Hubli or at Belgaum. Targets are assigned by Tata motor representatives for different Taluks and districts based on the season and months.
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MAKFORCE DATA SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD. December is a rather slow month as the consumers want to get their vehicles in the New Year which would help them get a better resale value later. Targets also differ based on the experience of the Sales Representative. Quarterly incentives are provided to the Representatives by Manikbag. Sales representatives are ranked based on following grounds •
Experience
•
Education
•
Behavior with customers and customer handling
•
Attitude
•
Targets achieved
Incentives are calculated on the basis of percentage of targets achieved by the sales representatives. 9. SALES FORECASTING: The sales during the period Feb - June is on peak as this is the summer season in Belgaum and it helps customers to get their body build as most of the body builders lack good infrastructure to build during rainy season. People generally don't buy vehicles in rainy season, i.e. during the period of June-September also they don't prefer to purchase at the end of year in November and December because they don't get the desired resale value later. 10. PRICING STRUCTURE AND DISCOUNTS Discount given to retail customer varies from 4-6%. Discounts are given to corporate buyers only if the quantity of purchase is 10 or more vehicles. Discount allowed is shared by both company and dealer. Govt. purchase of commercial vehicles is done only at Bangalore. There is no margin calculation process and discounts are given only on bulk buying (10 or more vehicles). Sales representative have right only to issue quotation and the discounting factor is taken care by management. It is based on the previous relations with customers. Quotations are given as vehicle prices fed in Siebel.
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11. ACCEPTING PAYMENT AND DELIVERY OF VEHICLE When customer arrives with the cheque to purchase vehicle, payment is accepted by accounts department. The information of payment received is given to both sales executive and service department. Service department is the department which prepares vehicles for delivery. It includes tighten the screws, fixing the accessories, washing the vehicle etc. 12. EXISTING IT APPLICATIONS Manickbag Automobiles don’t have any IT application specific for their requirement. Although they have installed SIEBEL but it is due to mandatory requirement of Tata Motors. With the help of this software dealer can order new stock of vehicles from Tata Motors. All the dealers are linked to each other through this software. If there is shortage of any spare parts or components then dealer is able to search for that component to its nearest neighbor. Transfer of money to Tata Motors is also done by SIEBEL. Dealer can keep track of balance available in the account. SIEBEL is the official software that is provided by Tata Motors to its dealer all over India, it maintains the follow functions for the Dealers, and they are:
Service – Regular Maintenance of Vehicles.
Spares - Spares are the spares parts, and inventory is the number of vehicles that are there with the dealer for sale. Like the models that are kept for display in the showroom, and the vehicles that are being used for demos at various Taluks by the Sales Representatives.
Sales – Keeping record of sales of different vehicles, Generating Invoices of purchased vehicles is done through it.
Inventory – It’s about managing the existing stock of vehicles.
Vehicle Track Record - Vehicle Track Record is a feature in Siebel that allows dealers to see where the vehicle was serviced earlier and what are the problem that were faced by the customers and repairs that were carried out and parts that were replaced.
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MAKFORCE DATA SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD. With the help of this software dealer can order new stock of vehicles from Tata Motors. All the dealers are linked to each other through this software. If there is shortage of any spare parts or components then dealer is able to search for that component to its nearest neighbor. Transfer of money to Tata Motors is also done by SIEBEL. Dealer can keep track of balance available in the account. Post sales and maintenance are provided to the customers when they purchase vehicle. They have all details about customer’s track record maintained in SIEBEL. Even if the servicing of vehicle is done in some other service center, it can be traced. 13. TYPES OF REPORTS USED FOR COMMUNICATION Manikbag Automobiles use SIEBEL application provided by Tata motors to maintain Customers Database, Quotation, Orders, and Invoices etc. Following are the additional details maintained by Manickbag other than Siebel.
Customer Tracker Customer tracker is used to maintain details of customers having most likely purchase behavior. This is maintained using an Excel document. Here customer name, address, contact no, stage, finance status, documents status etc. These details are provided when being asked by Tata Motors as closing customer’s status. This helps to keep track of important customers.
Pink Book This a small book printed specially for the benefit of Manickbag Automobiles sales executives to maintain records of their daily activities. As we know that a meeting is conducted every month for all sales representatives to assign them their targets, at this point all sales executives are given a pink book in which they enter the details of daily activities. There is a provision to write down the details of their travelling plans, demo plans for the current month. It is required for a sales executive to visit an average of 6 customers on daily basis (4 new and 2 old customers). This book maintains the detailed customer visit status by the end of single visit, next planned visit etc. Pink book also has a form which will maintain the summarized details of daily activity of
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MAKFORCE DATA SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD. sales executives. This contains the no. of customers visited daily and their status. Every day by 5.30 pm all sales executives sends a daily report to Hubli office by mail. This report is called as PIPELINE report. Later a combined detailed report of all sales executives is forwarded to Tata motors from Hubli office. 14. CURRENT ISSUES AND SHORTCOMINGS Communication Gap: As most of the sales representatives are out on demos hence they are unable to update the sales manager. They don't have any systems to record the prospects. Financing Problems: (delays faced by the customers in getting finance) Customers arranges for finance on their own. Manikbag is not involved in any financing activities in sales process. Though Tata motors provide finance facility, they provide it only to the existing fleet owners. Thus customer has to avail finance from other banks, and this generally takes a period of 10 days after verification of documents and the security that is provided. Co-ordination: (among the office staff as most of the sales representatives are on Demos at various different Taluks) Sales representatives are most of the time out of the city for demos. The communication takes place between Sales managers and Representatives is verbal and the message given to different representatives varies. Discounting: There are 2 dealers for Tata Motors Commercial Vehicle in Belgaum. One is Manickbag Automobiles and other is S C Motors. Customers are offered various Dealer Discounts from Both the dealers and this reduces the dealer’s profit. There is a tough competition on discounts provided by both the dealers.
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MAKFORCE DATA SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD. 15. ACTIVITY DIAGRAM OF CURRENT SALES PROCESS
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PROPOSED SOLUTION MODULES OF SALESFORCE.COM FOR IMPLEMENTATION MARKETING:
Marketing Campaigns: There are a number of ways to simulate demand for your product or service including email campaigns, search engine marketing, direct mail, or trade shows. Within salesforce.com, you can set up a campaign to manage details such as the key dates, budget, and project details. The campaigns feature also allows you to track the ROI of a particular initiative including the number of prospects touched, converted leads, and pipeline generated.
Lead Capture: To measure the success of a given campaign it’s important to have lead capture mechanisms. Leads can always be entered manually by sales reps on the phone, but it’s more effective if you can feed your sales team leads and reduce the data entry. One way of doing this is by importing lead lists from an excel worksheet. Another is to setup a web-to-lead form and post it on your website. This might be a contact me request or a registration page to download a whitepaper. When a user submits their information a lead is created inside Salesforce and routed to the correct sales rep based upon business rules you set up.
Auto Response Rules: When a lead is created inside Salesforce you have the option of sending a personalized auto-response email thanking them for their interest and letting them know that someone will follow-up shortly.
Lead Assignment: You can also set up lead assignment rules, based upon the fielded information you captured. For example, you might want to create geography based routing rules, or maybe you route leads based upon product of interest. This ensures the right sales rep receives the lead and is accountable for prompt follow-up. Note that there are other forms of lead distribution, such as assigning leads to a queue or a sprinkler.
Lead Scoring: With Salesforce you can automatically assign a score to each lead so that your sales team can prioritize their day. For example, a lead with a hotmail address might get a lower score than a lead with a corporate email address, or maybe you place a greater
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MAKFORCE DATA SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD. emphasis on certain job titles. With a lead score field, your reps can create filtered views and power through their call downs. LEAD MANAGEMENT
Duplicate Leads: Duplicate leads and dirty data is a challenge which almost every company faces. It’s very embarrassing if you call into a lead, only to find out that they are already a customer. Salesforce.com has a number of AppExchange partners (Ring lead and Demand Tools) who can help merge duplicate leads as they are entered into the system. You’ll also want to train your team on ways to manually de-dup leads. On the lead record there is a button called find duplicates. This tool does a search on the person’s name, the company name, and the tail end of the email address to help determine if there are any matches. If a duplicate lead is found, there is a button which initiates the merge process.
Rules of Engagement: When a new lead comes in it will be assigned a lead status of open. You’ll want to design your own rules of engagement for who has the right to work this lead. Most of the time the lead owner retains ownership unless the customer calls in on the 800 line before the rep is able to get to is. Once the lead owner initiates contact and sets the lead to working, they own that lead. The reason being, you want to create a single point of contact and reward them for their work.
Follow-Up: In addition to rules of engagement, it’s good to set up a standardized follow up plan. For example; all open leads are followed up on within 48 hours. A lead is then set to working. The sales rep will start with a phone call, then send an email, followed by another phone call and email three days later. If you are unable to establish contact within 30 days the lead will be set to Archived. Note that the exact follow-up schedule will depend on the type of lead and your particular business process.
Email Templates: One way to help ensure a consistent follow-up plan is to create a standardized set of email templates for the reps to send out. These templates can be personalized, pulling information such as first name or company name, from the lead record. Email templates are a big time saver. They can be sent using the mass email tool or one-off.
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Lead Qualification: You’ll want to devise a set of qualification questions which are required for a rep to convert the lead. For example you might want to capture current situation, pains, opportunity size, timeframe, budget, decision maker, and main competitor. This information can be added as a call note to the activity history to ensure a smooth hand-off to the tier two sales rep. Salesforce.com also offers a call scripting application which allows you to create scripts using branched wizards and lead scoring. This is especially helpful in training new reps or selling complex products.
Converting Leads: Once a lead is qualified it will be converted over into an opportunity with an associated contact and account. In some cases the account will already exist, so the rep simply appends the new opportunity. During the conversion process the rep will usually re-assign it to a tier two sales rep who will manage it through the sales cycle. While the new sales rep will receive an email notification, it’s a good idea to send a handoff email to the customer with contact information for their Account Executive.
Developing and Archived Leads: Before we move on to explain steps in the sales cycle, we should talk a little bit about what happens to developing and archived leads. The lead status developing is used for leads which have a follow-up task which extends beyond 30 days. For example the prospect might say, ―We aren’t quite ready yet, but give me a call back in 3 months.‖ This keeps the ownership in the hands of the sales rep who owns the follow-up task. For those opportunities which are archived, Marketing should come up with a quarterly email campaign to maintain the relationship and re-new interest.
SALES
Sales Cycle: Each sales organization will have their own sales methodology which can be mapped to Salesforce. Some popular ones include Miller Heiman, Solution Selling, the Complex Sale, and Value Vision. With each methodology you’ll have a set of sales stages and actions which are to be performed. For example, your stages might be lead, needs analysis, confirmed, objection handling, selected, negotiating, closed/won, closed/lost. Each sales stage also has a probability associated with it which will help forecast revenue.
Active Customer: When you win deal and bring on a new customer there should be a whole new set of steps that kick off, and begin the account management process.
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VARIOUS MODULES DESCRIBED IN THE FORM OF A DIAGRAM.
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MAKFORCE DATA SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD. SALES PROCESS OF MANICKBAG AUTOMOBILES AFTER IMPLEMENTATION OF SALESFORCE.COM
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MAKFORCE DATA SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD. ACTIVITY DIAGRAM – MATCHING SALESFORCE.COM WITH SALES PROCESS
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FINDINGS BENEFITS OF SALES PROCESS AUTOMATION Salesperson benefits
Salesforce.com will streamline data collection and put all important information at the Salesperson’s fingertips.
They will be able to handle more accounts at each stage in the cycle.
Use of the system will eliminate almost all paperwork.
Instead of spending several hours each week filling out forms and reports, the salesperson can spend more time selling. They will work smarter, not just harder.
Accurate inspection will be possible
From the sales management perspective, managers will be in a position to inspect adherence to the sales process, i.e., to have the information they have always needed and wanted to control sales activity and provide help to people in the field.
They will know everything their salespeople do about what's going on in the field. This ability takes on added importance for sales managers caught in the squeeze of flattening organizations. Use of the system will set a new standard for sales management.
What Middle Managers will get Without requiring formal reports from the field, managers will know The specific plan and schedule for each prospect account; what is in the pipeline now – both in quantity and quality
Where each opportunity is in the sales process
Where the buyers are in the funding process
What sales impediments exists
The specific sales strategy to be followed
How salespeople are using their time
What they do well and where they need coaching or other help
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What to expect in terms of unit sales, bookings and revenues, (by salesperson, region, company, products)
Where the managers’ time and other resources should be applied;
Who's selling; who's buying; who's not.
What upper Management will get
Using the communication lines to the field, management will be able to point salespeople in the right direction, with the right information at the right time, to take effective action before it is too late – to act rather than react.
This includes information on target market accounts;
Updates on competitive information; changes in pricing; answers to questions from the field; suggestions on sales strategy; and so on.
Managers can also insert additional sales contacts into the salesperson's schedule for an account.
When a sales person leaves the job When you lose a salesperson or decide to reassign or split a territory, managers will have all of the information they need in the prospect database. There is no sudden drop off in sales. Instead, new salespeople are assigned in hours, rather than weeks, and they get off to a running start, without having to read and reorganize volumes of prospect data.
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OBSERVATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS During the study following points were observed.
A custom made form should be prepared to help assessing the requirements of customers. This form will contain a questionnaire which will deal with issues related to purchase of vehicles. Customer will fill this requirement form and gives it back to sales representative. This will help sales representative to handle customer in better manner.
Sales representatives who are working in villages are not interested using computers. This will create communication gap between sales manager and executives. All information is exchanged orally and there is high probability that information will be lost.
CONCLUSION After implementing Salesforce.com
Sales Department will be able to track sales in the pipeline
Sales Department will be able to secure the information when a salesperson leaves the job. They can use the same information with the new personnel
Sales Department will be able to quickly and easily change the sales process when needed and to tailor the processes to individual products and markets.
Lead management will be much easier.
Middle and top management will
Sales Department will be able to manage the competition
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ANNEXURE 1. AREA WISE MANPOWER DISTRIBUTION OF SALES DEPARTMENT
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2. QUESTIONNAIRE
Manikbag Vehicle Sales Process Background (Brief Intro of Manickbag) (Brief Intro of Vehicle Division) Objective (Purpose of this exercise) Questions
What are the different divisions of Manickbag?
What is the Sales Process of Commercial Vehicles division? (Graphical description of existing process)
Describe each sales process for retail and corporate sales.
What are the different products, and services offered by Vehicles division? (Brief intro on each product and service)
What is the Sales Team/Organization of Vehicle division? (Organization chart, Sales compensation, Sales Forecasting)
What are the current issues, shortcomings?
What are the existing IT applications (Brief Intro of each application)
What kinds of reports are prepared by sales department?
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BIBLIOGRAPHY Manikbag Automobiles Internal Records www.makforce.co.in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customer_relationship_management http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Salesforce.com http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sales_process (Dated: 30/12/2008)
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