Here's how it works: An agent signs on to Blue Edge, requests a new quote, then adds general group information-name of the prospect, address, etc.-and the requested effective date. The agent reviews the various plans-such as health, dental, or life insurance-with the prospect and accesses regulatory information, rate tables, pricing options, and information on participating medical professionals and health facilities. The agent can also construct if/then scenarios, which can be used to illustrate, compare, and explore the advantages of varying plans.

Not surprisingly, implementing hybrid selling suites is no simple task. Often, companies can't get IT, sales, and marketing to discuss and agree on a plan. That's why it's essential to get buy-in from users up front, says Jeffrey Ruger, VP of technology at ProBusiness Services Inc. in Pleasanton, Calif. The $100 million company provides outsourced employee administrative services such as payroll and benefits processing, payroll tax filing, and human-resources processes.

"A lot of SFA implementation projects have gone completely bust because [IT] doesn't get the input of the users first," he says. But ProBusiness did a pilot, then made configuration changes based on user feedback. "As a result, we created a great, customized SFA product. Executive buy-in was also essential and the VP of sales was aboard from the start," Ruger adds.

About 100 sales and marketing employees at ProBusiness use Siebel Sales. The marketing team loads leads into the Siebel database, which then drives leads to the sales department. From there, all interactions with customers are tracked by the database, allowing each user to monitor the progress of each sale.

But to ensure high usage, companies also need to invest in thorough end-user training, says John Ounjian, CIO and senior VP, information systems and claims operations at BlueCross. "If users need Ph.D.s to navigate the software, then it'll never work. And if it takes weeks to train them, you're not on the side of convenience. If it takes only a few hours, then you're on the right track," he says. At BlueCross, four-hour seminars and online tutorials were used to train about 350 sales agents. Ounjian adds that training must focus not only on how-tos, but also on the benefits of using the software, and how it will help the salesperson get organized, improve CRM, and seal more deals.

Hybrid suites will be used for real-time sales negotiations so the buyer and seller can edit contracts and proposals or reconfigure products via secured Web sites. By setting up personalized portals for customers, companies can also offer online discussion groups and highly targeted presentations.

Such technology also opens the door for new modes of collaboration: A sale could be coordinated online with multiple departments at the client site, for instance. Once implemented, key customer information would no longer reside on one person's notebook PC, but it would be available to all team members on a secured site. Already, some SFA vendors are moving toward collaboration. SalesLogix's Interact lets salespeople design automated marketing campaigns, set up online portals for customers, and coordinate travel arrangements using SalesLogix2000. And Onyx recently announced its Customer Portal, which lets companies create personalized Web sites where customers can get product information, make purchases, and get service.

Most companies agree that "interactive" selling via secure, personalized portals is the next step. BlueCross, for example, plans to tie its selling processes to the Internet, giving customers and sales agents a way to communicate via the Web when negotiating and closing a sale. And in the next year, Del Webb plans to use SalesLogix2000 to create personalized portals for its prospective customers.

Today's SFA suites aim to enhance customer relationships, integrate front- and back-office operations, and, most important, improve the bottom line.