It just keeps getting better!

Sales Cycle Manger On Demand Private Release version 1.6 rolled out this morning and offers some exciting new features and enhancements that make this Web-based sales opportunity management application even more powerful and easy-to-use.

Here’s a quick run-down of what’s been added. We’re already working on PR1.7, so there’s more great stuff to come.

Bonus: We are offering a special discount  to all early-adopters who join during the Private Release phase. Interested? click here.

Help and Documentation

We’ve added help pages and a documentation website to make life with Sales Cycle Manager even better. Have a look at http://help.salesways.com for instructions and more. Available today in English. Portuguese and German coming soon.

General User Guide
Admin & Setup Guide

Add Custom Products

If your organization offers consulting, project-based work, or custom services you can now quote each sales opportunity with a unique name, price and description, rather than choosing products from a set product list.

Document Management

You can now attach up to 10MB of files to each sales opportunity you are tracking. You can even upload files for each critical interaction that you record for your opportunities.
Add quotes, specifications, presentations, reports, anything you need. They are stored securely in encrypted format.

New Security Feature: Session Timeout

Left your computer on at the office? No problem. Your account is safe. Your session will automatically be logged out after a set amount of time. This option is configurable.

Enhanced Export

Export performance has been improved. It now takes less time than ever to pull a .csv file from your sales cycle planner view, forecast view or opportunities view (IBO List), or to export all of your data in one go.

User Roles

User roles are now displayed in each user profile. This helps managers and admins see who belongs to which team, division, territory or any other role you’ve set up for your organization.

Number Formats and Currencies

We’ve made it easier to choose the currency display and number formatting for your organization, as well as customized number formatting for each user in your account.

For more information, you can find a product description and data sheet here or contact SalesWays for a free live demo.

Will technology ever make the salesperson obsolete? In short, absolutely not.

This is a common refrain at every step in technological advancement. Back in the late 1990s, there were whispers of how Internet technology would remove the salesperson from the transaction between buyer and seller. Now, over a decade later, we know that is not the case.

For the buyer, Internet technology allows them to conduct research on their own (with popular and trusted review websites like CNET, and Consumer Reports), and go through early phases of their buying cycle without contacting any vendors.

But technology also plays a big role in helping the salesperson achieve their goals. Advances in technology help salespeople reach prospective customers better, and provide the tools to manage a salesperson’s day-to-day workload.

Technology is neither the buyer, nor the salesperson’s enemy; it facilitates both the buying and selling process. In fact, technology is even right at the core of what we do here at SalesWays. The sales tools we develop at SalesWays allow salespeople to expand their opportunity portfolio, driving up overall value, and bringing them the results they are looking for.

So, technology is not going to replace the salesperson or leave them behind; for those adopting the best tools, technology will propel them even further toward their goals.