Understanding the Daily Tasks of Sales Representatives

Every company has sales-specific business processes. SAP Sales Cloud Version 2 helps Sales Representatives in streamlining and automating the sales process, allowing them to focus on building customer relationships and closing deals.­

Sales Representatives are key drivers of the Lead to Order process, which is a part of the end-to-end lead to cash main process:

Best Run Bikes manufactures bicycles and accessories. The company recently acquired Cyclo Clothing, and this will be a new product line. The company sells its products through high-end retailers in the United States and online via digital sales.

With the recent acquisition of Cyclo Clothing Company, Mr. Steffan Kaufman, the VP of Sales, needs to get better visibility into the sales pipeline and improve the structure around the current sales processes to shorten sales cycles.

Currently, Best Run Bike company manages all their customers, contacts, and associated activities in spreadsheets.

Let's see how SAP Sales Cloud v2 can help Best Run Bike run better.

A lead is a potential sales contact, which can be an individual (B2C) or an organization (B2B). Leads are generated through referrals or direct responses to advertising or marketing campaigns.

Qualified leads can be converted to opportunities, with key information automatically transferred for further processing. This linkage ensures smooth referencing and reporting. Changes to key information are automatically logged for an audit trail.

Leads can be automatically tracked and monitored for aging. If open too long, measures can be taken to qualify them. Leads can be created with or without existing customer and contact masters. Those without must have account and contact information created for conversion to follow-up opportunities and other sales documents.

Lead management can be streamlined with approval mechanisms. Standard dashboards help in analyzing lead generation, conversion, and aging. Machine learning can score leads based on the lead document and qualification data, indicating the likelihood of leads turning into opportunities.

Lead Management automates potential business opportunities by qualifying, scoring, routing, and nurturing leads to convert them into sales. It sends notifications for unaddressed leads.

Leads can be routed automatically to the right teams for timely action. Sales and marketing teams can collaborate to qualify leads and convert them into opportunities. Associated tasks and customer visits are tracked, and surveys help understand customer needs to provide valuable proposals and qualify leads.

As part of the overall Lead to Cash process, three key business users are identified: the Lead Qualifier, the Sales Representative and the Sales Manager

For now, let's focus our attention to the main responsibilities of the Sales Representative by looking into what are their main daily tasks.

Watch this video to learn about some major responsibilities of a Sales Representative.

Lead generation and management kickstarts your sales and marketing process. Capture, qualify, and nurture interest in your products or services to convert prospects into clients. Leads may come from various sources, such as phone inquiries or email campaigns, and can be easily added to your system.

There are two types of leads: Existing and Prospect.

Lead nurturing refines your prospects. To boost business efficiency, focus on leads with a higher chance of conversion. The solution offers tools to score, qualify, and identify promising leads.

All leads appear in a list view. Use filters to select the required field and find the lead.

Lead objects or entities are represented in SAP Sales Cloud Version 2 with the new UI and set of features compared to the previous version of SAP Sales Cloud.

The following list outlines some of the key differentiators of lead management in SAP Sales Cloud Version 2:

• Interactive list view infused with elements like quick filters, KPI graphs, and quick view for boosting productivity.
• Optimized details page showcasing all the relevant information in an easy-to-consume format.
• Guidance on the recommended next steps based on dynamic playbooks enables representatives to progress the lead toward a successful conversion.
• Timeline provides a comprehensive view of the key events along every step of lead processing listed chronologically.
• Machine Learning Insights that predict the likelihood of a lead getting converted.

Now, watch this video to learn about the major benefits of working with leads in SAP Sales Cloud Version 2:

1. List View: Enhances data analysis with quick filters, KPI graphs, and quick view for better productivity.
2. Dynamic Playbooks: Guides sales teams on next steps for successful lead conversion.
3. Events Timeline: Chronologically lists key events in lead processing.
4. Workspace: Centralizes relevant information, saving time and effort.
5. Machine Learning: Predicts lead conversion likelihood, helping target promising leads for higher conversion rates.

Now, let's look at a business use case. Watch this video to see what a day of sales representative looks like and how SAP Sales Cloud Version 2 can support their tasks in real life:

A playbook is a dynamic and customizable set of activity and action proposals designed to guide sales representatives throughout each phase of the sales cycle. Different playbooks are applied to leads and opportunities based on specific events or milestones that occur during the sales process.

This feature enables sales representatives to efficiently manage their interactions with prospects by providing them with a structured framework of recommended actions. These actions may include specific outreach strategies, content recommendations, meeting scheduling, or any other relevant steps to move the sales process forward. By using playbooks, sales representatives can ensure consistency and effectiveness in their sales approach, leveraging best practices and proven strategies tailored to each stage of the sales cycle.

A simple example of Playbook for leads can be structured with four phases:

1. The Deal Proposal: Tailor an enticing offer addressing the lead's pain points. The playbook should guide research, persuasive messaging, and effective offer packaging.
2. The Deal Confirmation: Secure the lead's commitment and ensure mutual understanding. The playbook should outline steps like scheduling calls, sending documents, and clarifying questions, emphasizing active listening and clear communication.
3. The Lead Qualification Survey: Assess if the lead meets success criteria. The playbook should provide a structured survey to gather essential information and guide response evaluation.
4. The Deal Schedule: Plan and timeline the deal process post-qualification. The playbook should detail necessary actions, emphasizing clear expectations, deadlines, and regular communication.

The leads in this Playbook are assigned based on a specific rule where for any of the sources maintained in the leads, this playbook has to be used.

This is a different example for another Playbook where leads are assigned based on the existing list of Account IDs. As a result, any newly created lead associated with the listed account will automatically receive suggestions from Playbook.

This streamlined process enables the sales representatives to efficiently convert leads into opportunities, while also allowing them to review and fine-tune the relevant details before finalizing the conversion.

Lead score is a functionality that provides a numerical assessment of the likelihood of winning a lead. In the detailed view of a lead, the score is prominently displayed in the header pane. Additionally, the delta from the last score is shown to indicate any changes in the lead's score over time.

The lead score, generated by a machine learning service, ranges from 0 to 99 and is categorized into three color-coded ranges:

• RED (0-50) indicates that the lead is less likely to be won.
• YELLOW (51-75) suggests that the lead has a moderate likelihood of being won.
• GREEN (75-99) signifies that the lead is very likely to be won.

The lead score functionality assists sales teams in assessing and prioritizing their leads based on their potential conversion outcomes. By having this score readily available, Sales Representatives can make informed decisions and allocate their resources effectively to focus on leads with higher chances of success.

The Insights section of the overview tab displays the following information about the lead score.

1. Score: A score returned from machine learning service, ranges from 0 to 99.
2. Dynamic Key Factors: Adaptive factors that can change, categorized as most influencing (green) or least influencing (red). Each displays up to three factors, with a maximum of six.
3. Static Key Factors: Non-changing factors categorized as most influencing (green) or least influencing (red). Each displays up to three factors, with a maximum of six.
4. Score Trend: A graphical representation of score trends.