Coordinating sales functions between Indigo's U.S. and European sales operations came later. Everyone was committed to the solution. And it works for Indigo America. But not all sales reps used either system. In the two years since Indigo implemented Siebel, Ben-Zion says it has begun to use the system fully.
Management can log on to the Web site and find pipeline information.
Although companies say they can see benefits from implementing sales-force automation tools, most don't justify the return on investment in hard dollars. But getting rid of headaches and making things go smoothly are more-compelling reasons for implementing an SFA tool. Each SFA tool or tool suite provides many of the same core functions, such as contact and sales pipeline management. Nantucket Nectars' Farris is a fan of packages that calculate sales commissions. Online calculations that reps can access will increase productivity, he adds.