Sales Force Automation is discussed frequently these days throughout the supply chain. Just what does the term mean?

“Sales force automation is a buzzword and, by definition, buzzwords do not have definitions,” says Steve Epner, founder of Brown Smith Wallace, a St. Louis-based consulting group. “So it is whatever the sales guy wants it to be. You could find a copier guy to say 'Hey, we're part of the sales force automation,' because that's the buzzword that's selling.”

SFA's definition can be construed in a number of ways, agrees Barry Gerin, president of PM Industrial Supply Co., a distributor of cutting tools based in Chatsworth, Calif.

“It could be a cell phone. And before the cell phone there was a pager, before that was the pay phone,” he laughs.

All the more reason not to fall in love with a buzzword, Epner adds.

“Be leery of terminology without anything behind it,” Epner cautions “There are really some very distinct parts to look at [in SFA].”

In INDUSTRIAL DISTRIBUTION's 61st Annual Survey of Distributor Operations, 37 percent of small or mid-sized distributors said they planned to upgrade their sales force automation during 2008. Thirty-four percent said they would look to buy or upgrade their customer relationship management software. Virtually all respondents said they would steer their technology budget towards solutions that related directly to sales and customer service.

A company looking to expand its current use of SFA should know what its salespeople need—and what they can handle in terms of technological sophistication. Take PM Industrial and another tool distributor, Cleveland-based Strong Tool Co. Both provided their respective salespeople with laptops to use on sales calls. Their reps could log on to the company Web site, place orders, check on inventory and, seemingly, make everyone's lives and jobs easier.

But what worked well for one company did not work well for the other.

Gerin explains that he gave his sales staff laptops equipped with Verizon wireless cards, enabling them to access the company's mainframe from the road.

“On a sales call, they could get into our computer and do anything we can do here on the inside, which includes checking stock, getting a price and even entering an order,” he says.

PM's salespeople also used their laptops to demonstrate a manufacturer's product via a DVD or by logging on to that manufacturer's Web site for tool information.

However, Gerin now describes the investment in laptops as only “marginally successful” for him and his company. While convenient at first, the laptops became clumsier and less effective sales tools as time went on, Gerin explains.

“The goal was to enable our reps to be more effective and responsive, giving the customer an answer right away without calling in here,” he explains. “But the [laptops] we used were big and clunky. You had to open them up and keep the customers entertained while you logged on. It wasn't successful all around, in terms of being a good tool. They were not convenient enough.”

PM Industrial recognized their mistake and will soon be switching to more portable, hand-held devices this year, along with newly designed software by Prophet 21.

“Part of what we're implementing over this year is something that has more portability in the form of a hand-held unit, one that will be quick and easy to manage,” Gerin explains. “But the reps will also be able to do the same things as before, looking up orders, etc. They won't be able to play [demos] for the customer, but if the customer has time to watch a video, they can watch it at their own desk. So that's not a big deal.”

In hindsight, Gerin explains, the novelty of having laptops wore off and their faults became more apparent, leading to the investment in the hand-helds and the new technology.

“The goal is better inventory predictability, better reporting, better communication with the office and our outside salespeople and the customer,” Gerin explains. “Prophet 21 has been active with the Industrial Supply Assn., which we're a member of. They've almost become industry-standard software and the seamless integration with many of our suppliers is a big benefit as well.”

But Gerin has no regrets. Sales were not negatively impacted and he knows the mistakes others have made in their technology spending have been far more expensive and damaging than the cost of a few laptops. Plus, he and PM learned from the experience.

“But given what was reasonably available to us when the decision was made, I'd make the same [choice],” he explains. “A laptop is not an outrageous expense. … So while in hindsight it was not as good as I thought, it did make the decision of going to the hand-helds a little easier. We could look at it and say, here's the reason [the laptop] didn't work, but the hand held will solve that problem. So I'm glad we made the decision [even though] it was a mistake. Hey, you make some mistakes sometimes.”

In contrast, the laptop experiences of Strong Tool Co. were more positive, vice president of sales Tim Ulshafer says. For one thing, some Strong Tool customers have security concerns and are appreciative of a sales rep bringing in their own laptop to use, rather than using one of their computers.

“What we run into a lot is security issues with customers,” Ulshafer says. “If we can put up a demonstration with our laptop, they're happy with that. … It allows us to provide our data without breeching any [customer] security issues. In some industries that's not so critical, but in others, like the medical industry, it can be very critical. They are very protective of what they have in their systems.”

Ulshafer and Strong Tool have explored the possibility of doing what PM is about to do and go the hand-held route. But Ulshafer and his sales representatives are staying with the laptops, he says.

“To some, BlackBerries are what they need,” he says. “But for us, to do BlackBerry and laptops, you're not able to get everything you need on the BlackBerry as you can with the laptop, [such as] taking data and spreadsheets to the customer.”

Both companies made their automation and technology decisions based on their sales reps' feedback, but also listened to what their customers told them. This is something Epner recommends as well. In short, don't be too impressed by—or too bogged down by—the technology and lose sight of who and what your customer is.

“Be very cognizant of who your customer is,” Epner advises. “You have to keep all your options open. It's not a 'one size fits all.' You have to be willing to be flexible, customer by customer.”

“It's up to you to tailor it to the customer,” Ulshafer agrees. “Bring the communication to them the way they can best receive it. For some, it could be a group meeting, others a one-on-one. It's determining what value and method the customer wants.”

Both Strong Tool and PM Industrial have built-in advantages in their product lines. Most tools can be taken into an office or to a work site, where potential customers can hold them and have a hands-on experience before deciding.

“We're a high performance cutting tool specialist,” Gerin explains. “We're not bringing out large pieces of equipment. Even the younger guys want to look at it and touch it and evaluate it themselves to see if it will work for them.”

Being able to put your product in the hands of a potential customer is an advantage for the tool companies, Ulshafer agrees, one that transcends technology.

“Any time you can put something in the hands of the customer, you're better off. In today's environment you have to make the most of your sales calls,” he says. “You can't go in and dump off some donuts and expect to get business. You have to bring a value.”

Ask five people what “state of the art” means and you may get five different answers. Whatever it may mean, people want to have it. But at what cost?

“Everyone wants state of the art,” Ulshafer laughs. “But can you afford to get it before you really need it? You have to look at what you really need and figure out how much money you want to put toward it and determine if you need the upgrade or are better off staying where you are.”

Knowing what type of sales force automation is needed and waiting for the right time to implement it is a big part of why Waxie Sanitary Supply did not begin using CRM software for its reps until January of this year.

Waxie is a large janitorial supply distributor based in San Diego. Its MIS director, Aaron Gerraughty, knew that at some point they had to make CRM part of its sales force automation. Waxie sales reps reported needing real-time answers for their customers and wanted the tools to facilitate this. Their customers were occasionally asking questions to which the reps could only respond by saying, “Let me check back at the office and I'll get back to you tomorrow.”

What the new CRM software will bring is “information on the last time we were at a site [and] how long we spent there, how many people at Waxie were involved,” Gerraughty explains. “That's one piece of information they can't answer … right away.”

For Waxie to integrate the CRM into its system will take four to six months, Gerraughty says. It will be a roll-out that will require patience to do properly.

“We know that if we don't do it right, they're not going to use it,” he says, referring to the sales reps. “And if they don't use it, it's a waste of money and, more importantly, a waste of time to implement a CRM product. There's an IT investment but also a big time investment from the sales managers, the reps and the executive management.”

Gerraughty cautions those looking into such a SFA decision to keep ease of use in mind when deciding on what type of CRM to implement.

“Ease of use is one of the most important things,” he says. “It has to be easy and in real time. If a rep has the ability to flag that information in real time, while he's talking to that customer, there's a good chance the customer can get that information [right away].”

Clarence So, the chief marketing officer at Salesforce.com, a San Francisco-based provider of on-demand CRM services, places ease of use at the top of the list in terms of importance, regardless of what the software function is.

“That's number one in terms of importance,” he explains. “If the users don't like it, the whole thing will fail. And the only way they'll like it is if they know how to use it. It can't be something that requires weeks to be trained on.”

He refers to a first-time user at a Web site like Amazon, where logging on, getting registered and buying products won't take even a novice Internet user much time.

“No one taught them that,” So explains. “They just kind of figured it out because [Amazon] made it easy to use.”

When companies approach Salesforce, their expectations can range across the board, So says. But most everyone has PCs and a system in place to track their customers and contacts. What they usually want is to pool that information with their salespeople.

“Here are three words to help put it all in context: People. Process. Technology,” So explains. “And when a company thinks that just technology will solve [their problems], we need to say that you need to sort out all three. We can provide the technology. But they need to sort out what process they want and what people they want to follow that process.”

Many of Salesforce's customers came to them complaining that their company's salespeople couldn't keep track of customer interactions, sales leads and what customers were buying. A distributor's most important assets are their customers and savvy companies know they need to invest in the technology that will enable them to serve those customers most effectively.

“Customers, in this day and age, really won't tolerate other companies that don't have a [good] system,” So explains. “They put pressure on [companies] to get their act together.”

Epner agrees and reminds older, mature distributors that this is the only way that younger companies, especially, will do business.

“If you're not able to work in their world, you're invisible to them. That's a critical issue. CRM isn't just something that will help your business do better. If you don't do some of this, you'll be non-existent,” Epner says.

Just remember what your company is there for—and it's not to show off the latest techno-upgrade.

“For us, having a relationship without information isn't very good. And having information without a relationship isn't very good,” Ulshafer says. “But if you can take a strong relationship with a customer and provide them with the solid data, you can do a lot of good things.”