As a business owner, being aware of the different tools available to you should figure high on your list of priorities. One such tool that you should never underestimate, let alone ignore is a CRM software. Though features tend to change from software to software, sales force automation (SFA) is a feature that is often appreciated by many people.

So what exactly is SFA? According to Webopedia, SFA is “a technique of using software to automate the business tasks of sales”. In other words, SFA completely automates the sales process that a sales person perform. From contact management to sales team performance evaluation, this software is there to maximize a business’ sales efficiency. As the article above mentioned, CRM and SFA are often interchanged, even though CRM does not always include SFA features.

With that being said, what are the best CRM software for sales force automation?

Of course, it would be impossible to write this kind of article without including Salesforce, one of the leading CRM software in the market today. Though it is aimed towards more established businesses, there are a number of small businesses seeking to experience Salesforce’ numerous features. This can be both a good and a bad thing. As we like to say, less is often better, and Salesforce can often prove to be quite difficult to handle. If you are able to overlook Salesforce’s monthly fee, however, you will have a very good tool in your hands… albeit a slightly complicated one.

Another software that is quite popular among businesses is Infusionsoft. Known for its unique and advanced features (think e-commerce and electronic order forms), Infusionsoft targets small businesses and is generally more affordable than Salesforce. If you are unsure of where to go from there, we encourage you to give this software a try as it very efficient and powerful.

The BEST CRM Software For Lead Management and Sales Force Automation

In our humble opinion when it comes strictly to lead management and sales automation the tool we think is the best is ClickHook.  It is SO simple to use and the team who run ClickHook will be happy to help you integrate it with all your web forms on your site so that your leads automatically go into your work-flows.

What makes ClickHook so unique is the idea of being able to create unlimited work-flows with custom stages.  So you can essentially setup a work-flow for each lead source or service you offer and track your leads that way.

As we mentioned before it is incredibly easy to use and is definitely worth giving it a go.

Editors note: ClickHook has recently updated their website and their lead management tool.  They are now doing a “hands-on” approach whereby they provide BOTH lead generation and lead management services.  If you are interested in just the lead management software then you need to contact them on their website.