Sales tracking and reporting does more than just let you analyze your past sales efforts. With sales and customer tracking tools, you can strengthen customer relationships, improve responses to customer queries and build loyalty — and that usually adds up to increased sales.
Sales tracking software and systems help you manage and analyze sales data to spot trends that can lead to better results. Plus, sales tracking systems automate many tasks for salespeople, giving them more time to concentrate on selling rather than shuffling paperwork.
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done
Find sales tracking software to increase efficiencies and reduce costs
Generally referred to as customer relationship management (CRM) software or sales force automation (SFA) tools, sales tracking software helps businesses collect and analyze valuable data, such as customer contacts and purchase history, maintain profiles of customer preferences, improve communication channels, and identify new sales opportunities.
I recommend: Intuit’s QuickBase is a comprehensive management system for sales tracking and reporting.
ACT! is a popular customer management software solution that offers sales tracking and reporting solutions. Find additional CRM products for small businesses at the
Small Business CRM Directory.
Consider cutting edge industry standards for enterprise level sales tracking systems
Industry-standard features for sales tracking and reporting systems at the enterprise level include a contact manager to track leads; a database of information regarding different vertical industries, competitors and products; forecasting modules; localization support for international customers; and support for mobile devices.
I recommend: Microsoft Dynamics CRM and
Sage CRM are leading enterprise level sales tracking systems.
Locate essential sales tracking and reporting features for small business
At a minimum, the most basic sales tracking and reporting systems should have a contact database for lead generation, the ability to manage a group of related contacts at one customer, reporting and analytic capabilities and a report writer for standardized reports.
I recommend: Legrand Software offers industry respected sales tracking systems for small business.
Surado Solutions small business sales and customer tracking tools are also a solid, cost-efficient option. A directory of sales tracking vendors for small business can also be found in the
CRM software listings at Business.com.
Web-based sales and customer tracking tools offer a cost efficient alternative
Following the trend of many other applications, sales and customer tracking tools are increasingly being offered as software as a service or on-demand web applications. This means that you can access them through a web browser, making them more affordable, easier to implement and simpler to maintain.
I recommend: Salesforce.com is a leading provider of web-based sales tracking systems.
SalesInSync offers web-based sales lead management and contact management software. Large enterprise providers such as
Oracle and
SAP are now offering web-based solutions.
Augment sales tracking and reporting systems with consulting services
Consultants can help you find and implement the best sales tracking systems for your business.
I recommend: CRM Consultants Inc. offers a broad range of consulting services for sales tracking and reporting.
Salesforce.com offers a list of recommended consulting partners.
Sales tracking and reporting for call centers and phone sales
Sales tracking systems for inside sales teams and call centers include built-in automatic dialer, call recording, lead tracking and more.
I recommend: VanillaSoft offers an online demo and a 30-day free trial of its sales tracking systems for phone sales.
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