For modern days sales teams, a platform to hold information about customers and manage sales opportunities is not enough. Today's sales teams require smart solutions that would make their work easy and effective. As companies implement modern CRM platforms, SAP has developed many innovations to their sales management solution.

One of them is SAP Sales Cloud Version 2 that is equipped with modern cloud-based technology, new user experience, automation and AI features for sales processes.

While both SAP Sales Cloud and SAP Sales Cloud Version 2 offer customer relationship management and sales automation, there are many differences between these two solutions regarding their technology, workflows, intelligence, and mobility.

1. Divergence in the Generation and Architecture of the Product

The initial SAP Sales Cloud product is meant to be used by organizations for managing their customer relations, sales activities, and leads and opportunities in one unified CRM system. It offers necessary functionalities for sales representatives and managers in terms of account management, sales pipeline, forecasting and customer interaction.

The second version of SAP Sales Cloud represents the latest incarnation of the SAP CRM solution.The architecture of the product is based on cloud-native microservices architecture. It offers much more flexibility and scalability compared to the previous generation.

Unlike the traditional architecture, it allows for API-based integration and better adaptation of specific business processes. It also allows for integration with SAP S/4HANA, Microsoft Teams and other business applications.

2. User Experience & Navigation

User experience is yet another distinguishing feature of the two generations.

The legacy SAP Sales Cloud offers an organized interface where customers can control their customer data, activities, accounts and opportunities. In some cases, salespeople who use various apps might need to go through a series of different screens while performing such activities.

With SAP Sales Cloud Version 2, there has been an attempt made towards a more streamlined and productivity-oriented approach. This updated generation offers a modern interface that comes with maximized workspaces, better navigation and global search functionalities.

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This new interface gives salespeople better access to all customer information, opportunities, tasks and interaction history. There is improved task management, calendar features and support for integration with Microsoft Outlook and Google Mail.

Such enhancements ensure less unnecessary navigation and more interactions with clients.

3. Sales Workflows and Guided Selling

Both solutions include sales workflows that consist of lead management, opportunity management, customer engagement and sales pipeline management.

SAP Sales Cloud Version 2 offers additional guided selling functionality.

Guided selling helps sales representatives to proceed with leads and opportunities in a more structured manner by offering advice on what step to take further, rather than using their own experience exclusively.

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Features available in Version 2 include dynamic playbooks, intelligent signals and engagement insights. These tools allow the representatives to detect opportunities, analyze customer interaction and manage sales process stages.

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Additionally, the solution includes enhanced quotes management, workflow automation, approvals and notifications.

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Pipeline Manager and Pipeline Flow are available for sales managers to track opportunities in the pipeline.

4. Capabilities of AI and Relationship Intelligence

Artificial intelligence is regarded to be one of the most sophisticated and highly valued parts of SAP Sales Cloud Version 2.

CRM systems, as a rule, focus on the issue of collecting customer data. However, the new CRM system not only improves the existing functionality but also adds the possibility of AI and generative AI which help sales representatives to make reasonable decisions.

• Some key capabilities:Email composition with the help of AI helps in writing customer emails.
• Account summarization: enables creating account summaries.
• Insights into lead and deals: enables getting relevant insights with the use of machine learning.
• Relationship intelligence: enables us to understand the relationships of customers.
• Pipeline analysis: enables to plan sales and analyze pipelines.

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Moreover, SAP can provide some AI capabilities due to CX AI Toolkit and Joule.

5. Forecasting and Sales Performance Management

A forecast may assist an organisation in managing its income target, resource allocation, and performance.

The initial version of SAP Sales Cloud offers the ability to forecast sales and offer pipeline insights, so that managers can monitor opportunities and predict revenue.

But SAP Sales Cloud 2 makes forecasting and pipeline insight better through its enhanced ability to offer such forecasting, pipeline insight, and scenario planning.

Managers would be able to evaluate the performance of the forecast, pipeline analysis, and identify possible discrepancies between forecast and actual results.

Forecast Tracker and Pipeline Manager will help organisations understand better the sales performance. The SAP Analytics Cloud functionality allows reporting, dashboard, and KPI analysis.

As a result, managers would be able to make better decisions and react more quickly to any changes in sales performance.

6. Mobile Functionality and Field Sales

The mobile reach becomes especially crucial for those in sales as they have to frequently visit clients, attend meetings or operate out of office premises.

Version 2 of SAP Sales Cloud provides native mobile apps for both iOS and Android platforms. Salespeople get an opportunity to access customer details, manage appointments, activities and carry out guided selling while on the go.

Its mobile features include calendar views, activities management, customer insight, notifications and sales transactions.

This makes sure that field sales personnel stay connected with their colleagues and update themselves without relying only on desktop connectivity.

What Solution Must Be Adopted by the Companies?

It all depends on the current state of the company’s customer management system and its future goals.

For companies that use SAP Sales Cloud originally, it will be helpful for the processes they already have. Yet, companies that strive for new architecture, guided selling tools, artificial intelligence and mobile experience need to evaluate SAP Sales Cloud Version 2.

There is some pre-check to be done before switching to a new solution.

Learn SAP Sales Cloud with Prompt Edify

The key differences between classic CRM software and the latest cloud sales solutions must be understood by those people engaged in SAP consulting, sales and business technology.

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If you want to learn about SAP Sales Cloud, find out more about Version 2 features or advance your SAP career, get in touch with Prompt Edify.