For sales reps, Salesforce is hoping to streamline everything about phone calls by bringing incoming and outgoing calls inside Sales Cloud.
Salesforce is bringing some needed efficiency to the sales process with the introduction of Lightning Voice, new phone capabilities built directly into its Lightning Sales Cloud.Typically, a sales rep picks up his or her phone, calls a number, takes notes in some capacity and then later, ideally, goes into Salesforce and logs the interaction.With Lighting Voice, the rep can dial the number from a keypad within the application, or even just click the number, if it's included with a sales lead's information. A note-taking section automatically pops up, and the details of the call (whom it was with, its length, the number) are automatically logged in Salesforce.That last step is a hassle for reps and one that's often forgotten or ignored, and because it is now automated, the entire process is made more efficient. A rep with a list of leads to call can move right from one to the next, without leaving the interface. "The huge benefits we see to sales reps are that, one, it's a great, integrated experience. Second is the productivity factor. And third is the reduction of data entry—everything is automatically entered, so you don't have to remember to do that," Will Moxley, senior vice president of product management and Sales Cloud at Salesforce, told eWEEK. Should a rep receive a call, it can be answered in Sales Cloud, and any information associated with the caller—such as his or her sales history or company news—can be launched with a click. Reps don't need to move between apps, but if they do, they can do it knowing their notes won't be deleted. Or, even if they don't take any notes, the call details are still logged.Additionally, when placing a call, a rep can choose to have it come from the contact's area code, which Moxley said dramatically increases pick-up rates. According to an October 2015 survey of 590 Salesforce users by Ebsta, a company that integrates Gmail inside of Salesforce, in an effort to improve data capture and reduce the need for data entry, 70 percent of those surveyed said their biggest challenge with Salesforce is data quality—basically, notes that don't include all the data they actually need.Additionally, 52 percent of the Salesforce administrators who were surveyed said the most important aspect of their role is improving productivity."Our goal was to remove barriers," said Salesforce's Moxley. "With Lightning Voice, with this breakthrough, we're connecting clients to what matters most to them—their customers."He added, "In the future, we'll do more to analyze the content of the call—we'll talk about that more at Dreamforce." Dreamforce is Salesforce's annual user conference, this year taking place Oct. 4-7 in San Francisco.Lightning Voice will be available in July in the United States and Canada for Salesforce Lightning Sales Cloud users with a Professional Edition subscription or higher. It will be priced at $45 per user per month for outbound calling, with the option of in-bound calling for an additional $5 per user per month.In May, Salesforce introduced software development kit Snap-Ins, which enable companies to add customer-service support to mobile applications or Websites.
- eWeek