Best Sales Force Automation Software in 2026

Sales force automation (SFA) is part of a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software solution. SFA tools provide visibility, automation, and structure to vital online selling processes like sales order processing, opportunity management, activity management, contact management, and account management. Choosing the best Sales Force Automation tools for small business organizations or enterprises, however, is a challenging task that requires many aspects to be taken into account, such as the ones mentioned in this buyer’s guide.

A good course of action is to sign up for at least a few free trial plans or demo from leading sales force automation providers. With that method, you will have the opportunity to test the list of important elements and you will get a good comparison of the features of the tested sales force automation tools. The best thing to do when choosing the best Sales Force Automation tool is to try programs that currently have impressive SmartScore rankings and Customer Satisfaction Rating in our sales force automation software reviews, as for instance our Handshake reviews and Salesboom CRM. 

Depending on the features they need, SFA buyers can be categorized into the following types:

• Direct sellers that sell via telesales teams and direct field reps.
• Channel sellers that sell via channel partners.
• Enterprise buyers that sell through both direct sales and channel partners.
• Small businesses that are looking to upgrade beyond storing contact and interaction details in shared spreadsheets and email inboxes.

Channel and enterprise buyers need specialized features for sending and monitoring leads across various units within the company. They would like to integrate the SFA software with other platforms like accounting, payroll, etc. Direct sellers and small businesses would also consider integrations. For example, email integration is important for all types of buyers.

• Handshake: A popular wholesale sales order management tool that allows teams to write and receive orders on their mobile devices, handle customers, and streamline the order fulfillment process.
• LiveHive: A popular acceleration platform that promoted growth, improves sales and boosts customer engagement with automated contact sharing capabilities and deep analytics.
• Skyward CRM: A popular sales force automation platform designed for small and mid-sized businesses which can be deployed both on-premise and as a SaaS solution.
• Salesboom CRM: A cloud-based sales force automation tool that also caters the CRM needs of small, medium, and large businesses.

There are many different types of sales force automation software tools, varying from free and basic suites to ultra costly and accurate programs. Features can also be categorization criteria, as certain programs do nothing but summarize leads, while others are more robust and they automate sales insights and enable multichannel sales, track the entire sales cycle, and even do some custom branding. Deployment is also an important factor based on which there are:

• On-premise sales force automation systems. These are covered with a single license and are hosted on the client’s local server. They qualify as the most expensive ones, due to the fact that they require complex setup and occasionally some hardware installation.
• Software-as-a-service (SaaS) sales force automation systems. These are usually paid per month and are hosted on the vendor’s server. The business owner is not responsible for installation, updating, and maintenance.
• Cloud-hosted sales force automation systems. Most of these offer free basic plans and qualify as the most affordable ones due to their universal access and the fact that the client doesn’t need to update them or to pay for maintenance.
• Allied Services. Organizations usually have automation systems in place but they may need more to scale their operations. These services usually take part in the automation process, up to 60%. These service providers are in-charge of fine-tuning existing sales processes to better fit the business’ goals.

Our in-depth comparisons indicate that these are the features to expect from your next sales force automation system:

Integration. Integration is an important functionality. You might wish to integrate the data you currently have in your legacy systems with the SFA solution you are looking to buy. The SFA software should allow you to do this easily.

Flexibility. The software should be flexible so that you can tweak it to suit your sales processes and workflow. It should also be easily configurable to allow you to modify and update it smoothly without needing to call technicians for programming help.

Customizable Reports. Another key feature is customizable reports which give you a good insight into your sales processes and marketing campaigns. Apart from standard reports, you should be able to customize and generate your own reports to make informed decisions.

Scalability. Scalability is also important. Can the system keep up with your business growth? If you wish to grow from 10 sales reps today to 100 in the future, is the system scalable to enable you to easily add more to the number of users?

There are also few advanced features that can make the difference between good and great sales force automation systems, such as:

• Customer profitability analysis
• Business intelligence analysis
• Digital dashboards
• Activity workflow manager
• Mobile support
• Pipeline analysis
• Sales performance management
• Quote and order processing
• Competitive intelligence
• Territory realignment and management
• Call center software integration
• Social media integration
• Account management
• Contract management
• Document management
• Lead management
• Pipeline management
• Order management

SFA systems offer contact management features to help you monitor all interactions with your clients. The contact management includes names, phone numbers, addresses, resources, data, description of the contacts, and follow-up steps with each contact. The feature ensures you contact customers only when required and helps to avoid over-contacting as well as accidental omissions. SFA software offers an all-round view of all interactions and activities between your company and customers. As part of an integrated CRM solution, the 360-degree view includes customer support and marketing interactions with the client.

SFA software also offers a lead tracking feature to maintain sales leads obtained through marketing and sales campaigns, outbound calls, mass mailing, website visits etc. This feature includes data on customers’ purchase behavior to improve up-selling and cross-selling to them. Other important components of SFA systems are sales forecasting, order management, and product knowledge. For team-based selling and group scheduling, SFA software offers integrated scheduling for sales team members as well as calendar and email synchronization.

While many solutions claim to fit many workflows and processes, there are some factors that you want to take into account before finalizing your purchase. Here are a few:

• Scalability – The reason you are automating your processes is to free up time and budget for your next endeavors. As such, a plan to scale your automation once your business grows can maximize your revenue in the long run.
• Support of existing systems – Automation services largely rely on the type of system and technology that you are currently using. While sales force processes are customizable, you may have specific requirements for automation. That means you need to consult your potential service provider if they can accommodate your specific needs.
• User-friendly interface – You also need to consider if you and your team need training before you can use the automation system. Onboarding processes take time away from your core business needs.

Sales force automation tools come in different forms and types. As such, they are also available in various pricing packages such as:

• Per feature – One of the most common pricing tiers. You typically pay for the features that you need from the most basic to advanced. They usually organize their packages based on the needs of various business sizes.
• Per user – In combination with the previous tier, most service providers charge per user per month. The pricing also varies with the type of features that you want to use.
• Bundled services – Some sales force automation tools are part of bigger systems that cater to various business needs from marketing to support. These providers usually offer bundle services together, which can be economical if you are looking for other apps as well.