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SFA tools hold the potential to reduce sales costs: Khadim Batti, Whatfix

Khadim Batti, Co-founder and CEO, Whatfix goes into the top challenges of Sales Force Automation implementation

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DQINDIA Online
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Whatfix

It's no secret that Sales Force Automation (SFA) powers high-performing sales teams. Research shows that improved SFA adoption rates saved an average of $8.7 million. However, a lack of proper implementation, the need to educate and reduce sales teams on Sales Force Automation technologies are just some of the challenges that sales teams may encounter. Khadim Batti, Co-founder and CEO, Whatfix goes into the top challenges of SFA implementation and more importantly, the strategies and technologies that can be utilized to overcome them.

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DQ: How are SFA platforms being utilized differently in 2022 versus the past two years of the pandemic? How has Whatfix helped with SFA platforms during this time?



Khadim Batti: Sales Force Automation (SFA) platforms are being utilized in more or less the same way as they were used before the pandemic. Gartner considers SFA as a foundational technology implemented to automate an organization's core sales processes. This year, most companies have acknowledged that creating a consistent and self-serving training mechanism is the bedrock for a successful Salesforce implementation. Companies had overlooked this factor earlier, which ultimately led to lower Salesforce Adoption.



The Whatfix DAP enables sales teams to achieve better opportunity close rates, navigate complex sales processes,  shorten sales cycles, preserve high levels of data quality, and become an expert in salesforce applications - all while learning at their own pace, in the flow of work.

DQ: With the Great Resignation, are you seeing an influx of new employees having to be onboarded to SFA platforms? If so, what challenges does that bring for businesses?



Khadim Batti: The Great Resignation was significantly seen in the blue-collar industry, although it also impacted other industries. New employees feel unfit for the new job and hence head back to a familiar workplace. Such reverse migration is taking place mainly in client-facing roles in the technology, startup, and consumer industries. According to a NASSCOM study, about 90% of chief executives expect their hiring this year to remain the same or exceed that of 2021, with digital talent making up half of the new hires.



Thus, we can clearly see an influx when it comes to onboarding new employees to SFA platforms and here are some challenges that exist in this process: 

• The steep learning curve for users due to the highly customizable nature of SFA software and complex workflows 

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• Users vary in terms of tech savviness and learning capacity. Therefore a one-size-fits-all approach may not work

• Lack of bandwidth to provide on-demand support to resolve application usage questions  

• Lack of continuous training resulting in a lack of knowledge retention

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DQ: Can you share any metrics on how Whatfix is helping businesses with their SFA platforms? Are there any customers we can refer or mention?



Khadim Batti: Whatfix Digital Adoption Platform helps users automate Sales Force applications’ training, accelerating adoption, and reducing the burden on Salesforce owners.



Some metrics to consider are: 1) We has a proven track record of 45% reduction in support queries, 2) there is reduced time from onboarding to proficiency, 3) business leaders save money on training and support, 4) there is an 84% reduction in training content creation cost, 5) 30% reduction in knowledge discovery time, 6) we also provide 3x faster time to proficiency for a new employee



Some of our customers are: Experian, Grifols and Sophos. 

DQ: What makes SFA a good fit for Whatfix/Digital Adoption Platforms?

Khadim Batti:
SFA tools hold the potential to reduce sales costs by freeing up time spent on administration and reporting. It allows sales teams to unlock additional revenue opportunities through process automation across the sales cycle, making Whatfix DAP the best way application support and learning content is consumed across different platforms.

DQ: What other trends in SFA adoption are you seeing?

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Khadim Batti: Salesforce has managed to stay relevant since its inception. With an increase in demand for hybrid work, more organisations are looking at digital selling to stay afloat. Therefore, we can witness a visible increase in Salesforce usage to assist the remote sales team. Some of the trends we saw this year are:

• Customer Experience - At Whatfix, we have ensured that customer satisfaction is tracked to measure our internal sales performance. Our sales team is assessed based on the customer NPS score generated post-sale along with positive public reviews. According to a 2022  Salesforce report, nearly 90% of buyers say that the experience a company provides matters as much as products or services

• Artificial Intelligence - To create a better and more personalized experience for customers, integration of AI and SFA come together to help them understand better in terms of what they buy, how often, how much, their need for support, and more. 

• Mobility – Extending SFA systems beyond the desktop platform has become popular. Having accessibility from anywhere and anytime, especially in a post-pandemic world where remote work and distributed teams are more common than ever before.

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