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February 7, 2000

The New Force In Sales
As roles are redefined, sales professionals try different approaches-and new IT tools

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or salespeople, these are anxious days-or heady days, depending on where they work. A spate of new applications is putting a wealth of customer data and tools for managing the sales process into the hands of salespeople at even the smallest companies. At the same time, many businesses are moving sales online-and forcing salespeople to take on new roles in the process.

Salesforce.com Inc. this week will go live with a Web site that offers sales-force automation tools, including account and contact management, forecasting, and reporting, to small companies. The startup has agreements with content providers, including Dow Jones & Co. and Hoover's Inc. Next month, it will add support for personal digital assistants and scheduling tools, such as Microsoft Outlook.

SalesLogix Inc., a vendor of customer-relationship management software for midsize companies, this week will reveal an agreement to link its Interact.com portal to leads generated by InfoUSA Inc., a marketing database company. Interact.com provides contact management and other tools. The deal will give salespeople who use Interact.com access to InfoUSA's database of potential customers.

Oracle will launch its own site for sales professionals in the next quarter. Salesonline.com will let salespeople at small and midsize companies export data from spreadsheets to online sales-management apps. Siebel Systems Inc., the leading CRM vendor, already has a similar site, Sales.com.

Steve Kelly, VP of global sales at Perksatwork.com Inc., a San Francisco startup that builds company-benefits portals, says Salesforce.com gives his 20 salespeople information and tools they otherwise couldn't afford. "The price of a conventional CRM suite was more than our total funding," he says.

Before signing up with Salesforce. com, Kelly's staff used Microsoft's Excel spreadsheet and SalesLogix's Act contact-management software, which made it hard to forecast sales for the entire team. Now, for $50 per salesperson per month, his sales reps can get information that helps them bone up on specific industries, customers, and competitors. And Kelly customized the online application to provide forecasts of the number of employees using Perksatwork.com's portals, not revenue.

Other advantages for small and midsize companies: These types of services can be deployed quickly, require little IT infrastructure, and can be given to new salespeople as they are hired. Kelly says the Salesforce.com service will grow as his sales force grows.

Leading sales tools vendors, such as Siebel and Clarify Inc., are bolstering E-commerce support in their suites, providing a way for businesses to link salespeople to customer activity on the Web. Siebel will introduce this quarter Siebel 2000, which will draw on sales and service data to provide personalization for Web customers, while Clarify will upgrade its suite in the first half with Web personalization features. Last week, PeopleSoft Inc. improved its sales-oriented applications.

Photo by Chriss Wade At companies with E-business initiatives that encourage customers to buy direct online, technology is transforming the role of the salesperson. Citigroup Inc.'s Global Cash and Trade unit provides cash management and trade financing for businesses. It has two main E-commerce initiatives: Citidirect, which gives clients a suite of financial applications for managing collections, foreign exchange, and payments; and e-Citi, which lets clients set up services such as bill presentment. But these self-service apps won't replace salespeople, says Jim Treyz, head of global solutions sales at the Stamford, Conn., unit. "People sell to people. The salesperson is essential."

Instead of making way for the online apps, Treyz's salespeople show clients how the self-service tools can tie into existing applications and improve processes. "It takes a higher level of professionalism and knowledge of the customer's business," he says. The Citigroup unit is evaluating packaged CRM apps because its custom-built sales-force application doesn't link sales and customer service.

Other companies are asking their salespeople to provide more support and add value as transactions move online. "Account managers can be far more consultative," says Ken Schneider, E-commerce manager at GE Capital Fleet Services, an Eden Prairie, Minn., company that leases vehicle fleets.

Fleet's customers are encouraged to use the company's Web site, Your Office@Fleet, to order new cars, drill-down on monthly bills, and conduct other transactions. Its salespeople train clients to use the tools. "They can show customers how to save money and be more efficient," Schneider says. Fleet hopes the high level of service will keep customers loyal.

Auto manufacturer Saturn Corp. in Spring Hill, Tenn., estimates that about two-thirds of its customers have compared prices online before showing up at a dealership, so its salespeople must be prepared. "The sales consultant of the future is going to have to do a lot more homework to be up to speed," says Saturn director of retail strategies Marty Raymond.

Sales managers at companies introducing new technology face several issues. Some salespeople are reluctant to enter contacts into a system that can be accessed by colleagues. Del Webb Corp., a $2 billion Phoenix home builder with more than 450 salespeople, will get around that problem with its new SalesLogix CRM system by limiting access to account information. It plans to link the system to its Web site by the end of March; Web-generated leads will be routed to salespeople.

Another question is whether technology reduces the need for salespeople. Some E-businesses, such as Oracle, are redeploying sales professionals to do other things. At other companies, sales teams are actually growing. Selling Power magazine recently identified 100 companies with sales forces that grew 20% or more in the past year.

Educator's Mutual Life Insurance Co., a Lancaster, Pa., company that sells group insurance and benefits through independent brokers, used to have 10 sales offices. By deploying CRM software from YouCentric Inc. and building YouCentric-based Web sites for its brokers, it has better contact with brokers and eliminated six sales offices. The cost of employees in its call center is about the same as with the old sales system, but the company estimates it will be able to triple the number of quotes generated.

Another issue with moving sales online is compensation. Many companies are giving salespeople commissions even on Web sales. Saturn, which is working with Computer Sciences Corp. and Siebel Systems to create a retail-management system that will connect 400 dealerships and Saturn's E-commerce site, doesn't pay its salespeople commissions. Sales conducted over the Web are credited to its dealers, which deliver and service the cars.

The benefits of the new sales tools are compelling. Salespeople at Watlow Electric Manufacturing Co. in St. Louis, which sells heating systems to businesses, monitor an order's progress. Before Watlow implemented SalesLogix, sales required calling several factories to order individual components. The system now automatically queries factories when an order is placed, saving each of the company's 100 salespeople hours each week.

But it's not just time savings. The software also helps Watlow's sales reps serve customers and close deals. "Selling comes down to relationships," says Mike Butts, global sales technology manager. "We're trying to make the software the heartbeat of the sales organization." -With additional reporting by Diane Rezendes Khirallah and Clinton Wilder

Photo by Chriss Wade

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