Experts say that the backend process is quite difficult and explaining this might be a little challenging but there is a lot of automation involved. Every time we contact someone by using the website, make a purchase or simply seek guidance there is a high chance that we are getting an answer generated by an automation tool.
In most of these cases, we end up talking to more than 3-5 online automation tools every time we try to make a transaction. However, the most astonishing thing is that we hardly detect the difference. Even when we receive an instant automated response most of us can’t tell the difference unless it is mentioned in the message.
This is mainly because even though we have evolved and shifted to a digital era, we still crave human interaction when we choose to shop online. To make sure people no longer have to crave that feeling, automated tools were designed that mainly mimic human behaviour to ensure that you can conduct a conversation without any hassle and engage any resource 24/7.
Almost all businesses, regardless of the business model and requirements, need a human touch. This touch helps them handle their prospects according to human nature.
However, so many tasks in the business include scoring leads, gathering prospects, or just simple outreach. These tasks when done manually will have a human touch, but they can be tiring and time-consuming. As a result, the business will suffer, and the efficiency will be very low.
The best thing is that these tasks do not require too much customization and they don’t affect the customer directly, so most people use automation tools. From scraping data to assembling prospects lists to making campaign calendars, sorting details of stats, and much more, you now have automation tools for everything.
With the help of these automation tools, you will be able to run campaigns with thousands of prospects at a time without wasting your time on details. With the help of these automation tools, you will be using calendar notices and then nurturing your leads into sequence with just one click. This will save you a lot of time and resources. Most companies are now taking help from these automation tools and shifting their resources to create tasks and eliminate these boring, repetitive, and mundane day-to-day tasks.
What Are Sales Automation Tools and How Are They Used?
With so many benefits, small businesses are ditching the old-school methods of generating sales via manual connection-making and traditional marketing. However, with sales automation tools available in the market, companies are now shifting completely to automation.
To understand the process, you might need to know how sales work.
Let’s imagine you get a sale. This will be entered as the task and the sales automation tool will simply enter it in the calendar notice and this will then run the lead nurturing email. The campaign needs to be sorted and arranged according to your requirement and the requirement of your business.
After you set the automated step, the software then becomes fully independent and triggers a reaction that you have already sorted in your campaign. After that, each step is accrued out on its own without any human intervention. A simple example is that you want to use a LinkedIn automation tool to run an outreach campaign. Now after you have sorted your prospect list by scraping data and connections with the help of a LinkedIn sales navigator you need to design a campaign flow.
For each step, you will determine the next step that will trigger a reaction. So, if you select a connection request, you also need to select what happens after the connection request is accepted. To instruct both scenarios you need to have an If logic statement. So, in this scenario, you have to offer an answer to the software about what will happen if the request is accepted and what if it never gets accepted.
Eventually, for each scenario, you will have different trigger answers that will relay your message and complete the communication cycle. This will help you save time as well as human effort.
If you want to compete in such a competitive environment, you need to recognize the need of your business so you can help grow the business to its maximum potential. However, with so many different marketing and sales automation tools in the market, you might struggle with finding the best tool unless you know what you are looking for.
Most beginners start by looking at the prices without understanding that your priority should be valued, not price. For beginner who is struggling to find the best automation tool, we have listed some important steps that can help them know which automation tool will be ideal for their business.
Know The Requirements of Your Business
Most people forget that when you are looking for a good automation tool you are not just looking for something that will fit any business, instead you need to look for something that will fit your business model. Start by looking at your business model. If your business model is B2B, you need a good LinkedIn automation tool and a good email automation tool.
However, some of the best automation tools available in the market offer a multichannel solution so you don’t have to get a LinkedIn automation tool and an email automation tool separately. Similarly, if your business is B2C this means you might need a LinkedIn automation tool along with other social media sales campaign automation tools.
Apart from the business model, you also need to look at the features that are offered by the automation tool. Some automation tools will help you run a LinkedIn campaign separately and if you are running a campaign, you will not be able to pause it. On the contrary, if you are running an email campaign you will not be allowed to run a Linkedin campaign with the same dashboard.
However, some of the best LinkedIn automation tools like LinkedCamp will not only allow you better control by helping you pause the campaign at any time, but this will also offer you control by allowing you to set your campaign flow. Even if you are trying to run multiple campaigns at the same time, LinkedCamp will offer you the facility of running multiple campaigns on different platforms simultaneously.
Know the Requirement for Your Automation
Automation through automation tools can be of different types and depending on your goal you can select the tool that suits your needs.
Let’s say you want to run a campaign that will allow you to scan prospects from online LinkedIn events and get to know them and then lead them to a phone call and finally to a business transaction. You can do that manually or you can use an automation tool for that so you can save time and run the process effectively. To make this possible you need to look at an automation tool that offers you these features:
- Help you shortlist qualifying leads that can be converted into sales later.
- Help you nurture leads with the help of an automated content marketing tool for reliability and brand building
- Help you schedule the process along with the logical steps that follow including logical loops.
- You also need help with the message that will bring better action so your prospects can relate to your brand.
Finally, you will need a tool that will not just help you run a campaign on one platform but also on multiple platforms.
Look At the Market
Now that you know what you need, it’s time to explore the options available in the market. If you are looking for a good LinkedIn automation tool that offers you better control over your campaign, you need to see all the LinkedIn automation tools that you can find.
This will involve cloud based LinkedIn automation tools, application-based LinkedIn automation tools as well as simple chrome extensions that work as LinkedIn automation tools.
This will help you know what is currently available in the market. Now that you know your needs and the best possible options in the market, you will have a list that you can compare. Looking at the features is very important because this will help you know which kind of LinkedIn automation tool will be ideal for you.
Most people end up prioritizing the features which is also a good option but for the first round try to look at all the available automation tools for all the features that your business requires. In some cases, you might end up with all the features whereas there will be a few instances where you might not be able to find an exact match but by using third-party tools you can make up for that feature.
All these things must be kept in mind.
Compare the Value
After the quick first scan, now it’s time to look at the value. Most people confuse the term value with price. This is mainly because the price will only offer you the comparison based on money, but the value will help you compare the price along with the features.
While selecting a good LinkedIn automation tool you need to look at a tool that is affordable yet offers all the features that you need for your business. In case, it doesn’t have all the features, look for the integration option so you can use a third-party tool just for that feature.
Check the Tool via Demo
Finally, when you have narrowed down your options to at least three, it’s time to get a demo.
Most of the automation tools offer free demos for at least a week. You can try all the options and then compare them to see which one has more features. Most of the LinkedIn automation tools have more or less the same features or they at least market their LinkedIn automation tools to be the best however, they might not be as user-friendly as most of these brands claim.
When you are looking at features, keep in mind that you can not be spending time setting the tool, instead, you need something seamless, quick, and easy to use. When you utilize your demo period, make sure to list down the pros and cons accordingly so you can later choose what’s best for your business.
Bottom Line
To sum it all up, it all comes down to the way you analyze the automation tool and the requirements of your business. You need to start by understanding the requirements of your business. Once you have that in mind, look at the features offered by the automation tool. Now, you will have two lists so you can compare both by looking at the automation tools that are available in the market right now.
Finally, you need to look at the value so you are not wasting your time and money on an automation tool that will not bring you any sales or generate any leads.
