ABSTRACT

Sales force automation tools, sales manager applications, product configura­ tion engines and presentation tools are leading the march toward CRM. The busi­ ness community views such products as a way to not only increase their sales force's productivity, but also contain and maybe even decrease the rising cost of sales. According to industry figures, the average cost of a direct sales call runs over $200 and continues to rise. As illustration: A late 2001, the monthly periodical, Sales and Marketing Management, conducted a survey o f large, midsize and smaller companies and found that it costs an average of $189.75 to send a sales representative out on a sales call. In a February 2001 press release, Compaq Computer stated that cost analysis indicates that person-to-person selling can cost a vendor from $600 to $900 per sale.