Sales Force Automation Overview
As a sales manager, the NetSuite integrated sales features give you power, flexibility, and convenience in managing your sales team.
You no longer need to juggle separate applications for commission, forecast reporting, and contact management. The NetSuite integrated sales force automation (SFA) and accounting features save you the time you would spend when you export data between applications.
NetSuite manages each stage of your selling process from lead generation to lead assignment, from opportunity to order.
The NetSuite forecast and pipeline tools are unmatched by other software applications because closed sales are included. With Search, customizable reports, and KPIs on your dashboard, you have the knowledge you need to fine tune your selling strategies month after month.
Managing Your Sales Team
The NetSuite SFA includes all the tools you need to efficiently manage your sales teams.
First, create sales teams to represent the groups of employees who work to make sales. Then, set up automatic lead routing so that NetSuite assigns new leads and customers to your reps.
Before your reps start to make sales, you can use NetSuite to establish quotas for individual sales reps and managers. NetSuite records closed sales so that you can accurately report on whether your sales reps meet quota from month to month.
Setting Up Sales Teams
The first step to manage sales with NetSuite is to set up your sales teams.
With the Team Selling feature, you can attribute sales transactions to sales teams made up of groups of employees. Each member of a sales team has a sales role that describes their work in making sales. For example, in addition to sales reps, a sales team might have sales engineers who answer technical questions about products and services.
Set a contribution percentage for each team member. Then, you can determine the percentage of each deal applied toward the quotas and forecasts of reps on the team. Contribution percentages also determine the amount of the deal used to calculate commission.
For more information, see Team Selling.
Setting Up Lead Management
NetSuite provides two workflows for the conversion of leads to prospects and then to customers. One workflow enables you to convert leads when you change their status or when you enter transactions for them. The second workflow requires the Lead Conversion feature. It is best suited for sales organizations that work deals through individuals who are associated with companies.
For more information, see Lead Management.
The NetSuite automated lead routing lets you distribute leads evenly among your sales reps based on your rules and territories. When you define sales territories you can channel new leads to the sales reps who are best able to convert them. When leads come in, whether from lists or from your website, NetSuite automatically assigns them to your sales reps.
For more information, see Sales Territories.
Setting Quotas
Before your team starts to sell, you should also set quotas for your reps.
As opportunities convert to orders, sales managers can monitor how closely sales reps are to their quota. The NetSuite quota management feature lets you set quotas categorized by item, class, or department.
For more information, see Establishing a Quota.
Measuring Your Success
For a sales manager, the bottom line is whether your team meets its quota. NetSuite SFA provides sales managers the tools necessary to monitor sales numbers for a specific time period. When you monitor a period, you can make timely and effective adjustments.
In NetSuite, you can use opportunities to track your sales. Anyone who views an opportunity can see the items involved in a deal, and view a record of all communication about the deal.
Opportunities also add another level to your sales process. Opportunities permit your sales reps to associate multiple estimates with a single deal and still maintain accurate forecast and pipeline totals.
NetSuite forecast and pipeline analytics provide up-to-the-minute sales figures so you can make informed decisions about your sales initiatives in time to make quota.
For more information, see Sales Forecasting.
Managing Deals
It is essential for a sales manager to know early in the sales period what needs to be done to meet quota. One of the most useful metrics when you manage future sales is the pipeline. In NetSuite, your pipeline amount is equal to the total value of open estimates and opportunities.
Sales reps track deals they negotiate with prospects when they attach tasks, meetings, phone calls, and contacts directly on the opportunity record. You can get a detailed look at the steps your reps take to close specific deals from the opportunity record.
For more information, see Opportunities and Estimates.
Pipeline Analysis
NetSuite provides all the tools you need to track and manage deals in the pipeline, which helps you maximize the deals you close.
With reports, KPIs, snapshots, and search, you can view information on open estimates and opportunities. This information helps you and your sales reps make the informed decisions that close deals.
For more information, see Pipeline Reports and KPIs.
Forecasting Your Success
During the sales period, it is crucial that you are able to predict your final numbers to maintain or adjust your sales strategy.
With NetSuite, you can produce aggregated forecast reports across sales territories and teams that also include actuals and provide accurate, real-time visibility.
For more information, see Sales Forecasting.
Rewarding Your Team
Sales reps are motivated by the commission they can earn on sales. The NetSuite sales compensation feature gives you the power and flexibility to award commission based on total sales, quota, profitability, and more. Each sales rep can view the commission earned in real time on their personal dashboards.
The NetSuite payroll feature enables you to pay commission on sales reps' paychecks, which lets you manage each step of your sales compensation program.
For more information, see Commissions.