The benefits don't end there. Sales people can bring together virtual teams to whip a proposal into shape, and then fire it off to the client using electronic mail. Responses to RFP's and RFQ's can happen in minutes or hours instead of days. Oh, one more thing. Look at the way different financial institutions such as banks and credit unions are using loan calculators on their Web sites.
Folks visit the site when it's convenient.
Most of the visits are at night and on weekends - times when the financial institution's offices are closed. The visitors try out different kinds of loan configurations using the loan calculators. On the next day that the office is open, loan officers and sales folk can find out who was running the loan calculator and follow up on the lead that that interest represents. There are lots more powerful, practical, and proven examples of ways that companies are boosting profits using Net and Web technology. Most of them don't have a thing to do with actually selling something on the Web site.