Sales automation — handling leads from your phone

Automate the collection of falling leads from various tools and sources

If your marketing department runs multiple campaigns at the same time, you know that the more channels you have, the better your chances of getting leads. Unfortunately, this also comes with a high risk that some queries will be overlooked — sellers don't always have the time to log into all the apps and keep an eye on the leads that appear. How can marketing and sales automation tools help them do this?

Automatic lead collection allows you to sort out the chaos in the lead generation process associated with using multiple channels simultaneously. Deploy a system that integrates all sources of communication with customers (from the form on the website, through chatbots, social media, marketplaces and even SMS messages) in one place. In addition, thanks to sales automation, sellers can receive personalized notifications on the company messenger (we will talk more about this solution later in the article). This way, no lead will miss your team's attention, and the sales department can react almost instantaneously — without having to manually search through all the tools used in your campaigns.

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As we already wrote in our article on bidding automation:

78% of customers buy from the company that answers their inquiry first. Source: LeanData

So if you want to increase sales efficiency in your business, you need to provide your potential customers with instant answers to their inquiries, and automation of sales processes can help you with this. Read the case study below and find out how this solution helped our client.

Case Study — Accelerating Lead Processing Effectively with Automation

A customer from the service industry came to us, who was facing a low conversion of leads to customers. The analysis of the data carried out by the management team showed that the acquisition of leads by the marketing department is carried out in the correct way. However, despite the high quality of the leads, the marketing activities carried out did not bring results. It turned out that one of the key problems was the too long waiting time of the customer for the first contact from the seller after filling out the form on the website — the so-called lead taking. A new, clearly defined goal was to reduce this time to a maximum of 15 minutes.

The company used Livespace CRM, which was used to handle leads already qualified as SQL (Sales Qualified Leads). However, in practice, the same system was also used for the initial qualification of MQL (Marketing Qualified Leads), even though it was not intended for this purpose. As a result, the lead nurturing process was scattered, inefficient, and difficult to analyze, especially when it comes to response time and per vendor conversion.

The client needed lead automation, which would allow:

• fast, semi-automatic MQL-i qualification outside of the main CRM,
• constant monitoring of the time of first contact with the lead,
• a clear dashboard showing conversion and sales performance data.

In response to these needs, we designed an integrated MQL qualification environment, based on Airtable, n8n and Slack. The system consists of:

• Form integration with Airtable — all contact forms on the customer's website have been connected to the database in Airtable, where queries are automatically entered as new records (MQL).
• Automatically generate notifications in Slack — with n8n, we created an automation path that, with each new MQL from a marketing campaign, sends a notification to the sales channel on Slack. The MQL is automatically assigned to the next available trader according to the established rotation.
• Direct Slack Qualification Salespeople can decide with one click whether a lead is ready to be passed to the CRM system as SQL or whether it should be rejected. There was also an “take” button, which is used to record the moment of the start of a contact, which allows further analysis of data and sales results. Integration with CRM and Slack systems means that the relationship with customers can take place entirely from the mobile application.
• Monitoring and analytics — all information (moments of assignment, taking, qualification decisions) are recorded in the database. Thanks to this, it is possible to create clear dashboards presenting: average time of first contact with MQL, conversion of MQL to SQL and the effectiveness of individual traders in time and number of qualified leads. This solution simplifies effective data management and analysis, allowing the company to make informed decisions and build effective marketing strategies.

The effects of the sales automation implemented by us:

• Reduce the time of generating statements and reports by 90%.
• Better decisions in a data-driven model.
• Increase motivation in the sales department.

Smart notifications and lead handling in the CRM system from the company messenger — also in the mobile version

The integration of marketing campaigns with CRM and company messenger not only increases the speed of response to emerging queries, but can also save your salespeople a lot of time. Change your company's sales channel in the process management center so that all lead support can be done from a single application (mobile or web).2

7 sales processes that you can automate and optimize with instant messenger:

1. The appearance of the lead and the assignment of the responsible person

About how important the time of first contact with the lead is, we have already written before. Thanks to the integration of forms with the messenger, new queries immediately go to the appropriate channel - and most importantly - can be automatically assigned to a specific employee according to the established scheme. The team does not have to wonder who should call or make an appointment, so the response to the inquiry is immediate.

2. Change of responsibility to another person in the sales department

If for any reason a change of lead keeper is needed, traders can forward the contact to another person on the team with a single click. The automation system immediately notifies the new maintainer about the assigned lead — without having to log in to external tools.

3. Changing the status of the lead in the sales funnel

Instead of switching between tools, the trader can change the status of the lead (e.g. from “Landed” to “Lead Taken”, “Qualified”, “Rejected”) directly from the messenger — by clicking on the drop-down list below the message. Thanks to integration with your CRM system or database, the status will automatically update.

4. Sending emails from instant messenger

The seller can quickly send a predefined email to the lead without leaving the messenger — using the button when notifying of a new request. The system automatically bases the data from the form or CRM, thanks to which the mail is personalized and ready to be sent in a few seconds and without logging into the mail agent. If more individual answers are required, it is also possible to create semi-automatic messages - the trader writes the content “from scratch” from the messenger level, and the contact details and context of the lead are automatically supplemented. The connection of the messenger with the mailbox, significantly reduces the service time and eliminates the need to juggle applications. Importantly, every message sent can be saved in the CRM system, so that the contact history is available to other team members. This simplifies the work in case the lead needs to be transferred or taken over by another trader.

5. SMS sending and quick call to the lead

Thanks to the implementation of automation of sales processes, from the messenger you can also send SMS to the client or start a telephone conversation. And all this thanks to the integration with a VoIP PBX (a virtual telephone exchange that uses the Internet network to transmit voice calls). The automation system can add ready-made message content or suggest a contact at the right time. As with emails, conversations and text messages can be automatically archived.

6. Automatic generation of phone call summary

If your salespeople often talk to customers on the phone, surely you know how important it is to prepare notes with such support. However, manual listing is time-consuming and error-prone, and additionally distracts the seller's attention from the merits of the conversation. With the implementation of sales automation and integration with the recording transcription tool, once the call is completed, the salesperson can generate a summary of the conversation. Then the information goes directly to the system — as a note in CRM or an entry in the database. Thanks to this, the entire team has access to current knowledge of the conversations held, without the need to write long reports or verbally share information.

7. Automatic sending of commercial offer and follow-ups from the messenger

Once qualified and familiar with the needs of the lead, the salesperson can send a tailored sales offer with one click in Slack — without having to open a CRM system, search templates or create an email “from scratch”. Thanks to this, the client receives an SMS notification with a link to the offer, which increases the chance to quickly get acquainted with the proposal. In addition, from the messenger, it is also possible to set up automatic emails to the client with any content prepared in advance (e.g. with questions about familiarization with the offer) - the so-called follow-up. Implement sales automation and assure your business that no activity will “get lost” in the hustle and bustle of everyday tasks.

If you want to respond quickly to customer inquiries, automatic notifications are a solution worth implementing. Thanks to the integration with the company messenger - also in the mobile version - you will always be up to date, regardless of the place and time. This is a real time saving and a chance to close sales more effectively. Lead handling has never been so convenient and intuitive. You can find out more about our sales automation services here: https://www.sagiton.pl/en/industries/services-automation-sales-marketing

Sales automation and phone calls — can they be automated?

In many companies, especially in the B2B sector, sales are based almost entirely on telephone calls. This is still one of the most effective ways to nurture lead and understand the needs of the client. Problems, on the other hand, can arise when the sales team grows and the number of connections increases - this can lead to the fact that:

• we do not know how many calls each trader makes,
• conversations are not recorded or summarized,
• Therefore, it is difficult for us to assess the quality and effectiveness of contacts,
• the transfer of affairs between traders either does not take place at all, or it is very chaotic,
• all telephone contact becomes an invisible part of the funnel, to which no one has access.

What could be the effect of this? Phone calls fall into the “gray area” of the sales process — they cannot be analyzed, measured or improved. Therefore, in modern companies, VoIP technology, which we wrote about earlier, is becoming more and more popular. It allows the implementation of a series of sales automation to improve the daily work of sales teams.

Call Management Center — CRM Sales Automation

As Sagiton, we ourselves faced the difficulties of measuring the effectiveness of sales processes that take place over the phone. Therefore, first for our own use and then for several of our customers, we have implemented a tool we call CRM Sales Automation. It is based on the low-code Airtable solution, thanks to which we can easily expand it with further functionalities and create automations tailored to specific processes and the needs of a given company.

In the standard version of our CRM system, you will find:

Call recording and call list view

Thanks to the integration of the phone with CRM, every call made by the salesperson is automatically recorded and saved. Calls go to an ordered list, which shows: date, duration, number of the interlocutor and the name of the trader. This allows not only to control the activity of the team, but also to return to marked, key conversations - for example in case of complaints or the need for deeper analysis.

AI Conversation Summary

After the conversation is over, the CRM system can automatically generate its summary, so you don't have to waste time writing notes. AI captures the most important information: customer needs, findings, potential objections, next steps. Everything goes into CRM and is available to the entire team — even when the lead goes to another vendor. The seller may also use such summaries in emails sent to customers.

Send and receive SMS from CRM

Immediately after the conversation, the trader can send an SMS with confirmation of the arrangements, a link to the offer or a reminder of the appointment - without leaving the system. Outgoing SMS and possible responses from the customer go directly to the CRM, which provides a full context of communication and facilitates further actions.

Optimize communication with your team

If a trader needs support or wants to pass the conversation on to another team member, they can do so in seconds. The call can be tagged and assigned to another seller asking for help. Everything is done in one tool — no emails, no switching between messengers and above all without guessing who should take care of the case.

Integration with an external CRM system

CRM Sales Automation can act as a standalone tool or be fully integrated into your company's CRM system (e.g. Livespace, HubSpot, Pipedrive). Thanks to this, data on conversations, notes, statuses and SMS go to the main sales system, and the whole team works on a single version of the data.

Dashboards with chat statistics

With clear dashboards, managers can see exactly who is talking how much, what the average call times are, which calls were effective, and how many customers have moved to the next stage of the funnel after the phone call. It is a tool not only for control, but above all for making better decisions based on data.

Phone calls are one of those elements of a trader's job that seem difficult — if not impossible — to automate. After all, this is a lively conversation, nuances, context, emotions. And yet, tools like Sagiton Sales Automation CRM show that this part of sales can be optimized. If your team takes a lot of time and energy to work with your phone every day, it's worth checking out how this solution can make it easier.

In conclusion — what and when is it profitable to implement to increase efficiency in your company?

If your salespeople spend hours manually entering data, flipping between systems, and creating notes after each conversation, it's a sign that it's time to change things up. Automating sales processes — from lead collection, to communication, to conversation analysis — allows you to regain time and focus on what matters most: the customer. Automation tools and software such as CRM Sales Automation simplify everyday work and eliminate repetitive tasks. Even telephone conversations, which for a long time seemed “unmovable”, today can be monitored, analyzed and integrated with the rest of the sales system. If you want to have more control over your funnel, respond faster to queries and increase team efficiency — this is a solution worth testing.

Not sure where to start with automation or what's really slowing down your sales team? Write to us and schedule a free consultation. During the conversation, you will tell us about the problems facing your company, and we will help you find solutions tailored to your processes.