The idea of setting up an automatic sales funnel is one that many salespeople do not think of. It is also very likely that a lot of them do not even really understand what setting up an automatic sales funnel actually means. In short, it is done by using customer relationship management (CRM) software to automatically send out direct mail pieces, holiday cards, or other specific announcements to important prospects. One software program, called Infusion, does this, but there are others as well. It is important, when setting up an automatic sales funnel, to find the best program for the salesperson and what he or she is looking to accomplish.



Most of these software programs work very well for setting up an automatic sales funnel, because a salesperson can input enough information to allow the program to ?remember? important dates and why the date is important. In other words, customers do not want to get an anniversary card on their birthday or a congratulations for an event that was not a happy one. Because of this, salespeople must be careful when setting up an automatic sales funnel so that they put in the right information. They should also be careful that they do not use the sales funnel to send out ?spam? emails, such as using each and every holiday, however insignificant it may be, to send out something trying to sell more products or services.

One of the things that makes a CRM program robust, is that it's not only good at reminding you of things, but it's also a capable lead management program. What I mean by that is that some CRM programs are more geared towards management and reporting. What you want your program to do is allow you to define your ideal sales cycle, input that into the system once, and then be able to add prospects to that cycle. So if you determine that you want 5 contacts before your first sales call, you want to make sure that you don't have to input the reminders for every prospect you call, you want to be able to set that prospect on the ?prospect track? and have letters and communications go out automatically. This will save tremendous time and energy on your part.

When setting up an automatic sales funnel, sales people should also be sure that the people who are receiving these emails want to receive them. If they have not agreed to receive emails from the company, they should not be included. This is true for major holidays, and also for ?personal holidays? such as birthdays, etc. By setting up an automatic sales funnel in the right way, the largest number of prospects can be marketed to without upsetting individuals that do not want to receive company emails. This is a fantastic way to grow your sales automatically. The more that you can automate in your process, the more that your company's sales and personal sales will grow. If you can automate these things, you are eliminating a point that most people fail on, which is consistent follow up.