How Salesforce’s Automated Global Sanctions Screening Feature Enhances Sales Productivity

The idea of having to conduct Global Sanctions Screening is often met with a collective groan if you ask the sales department of most businesses today. Many see the process as an onerous effort and a sunken cost that does nothing for the company but slows down the selling cycle. With the United States using more geopolitical sanctions now more than ever, the question arises of how much these new regulations will impact the business sector.

And, to be fair, it can be an inefficient process if done manually. Screening for restricted parties takes a lot of effort with required input from the compliance/legal department, and the sales team is often frustrated by these extra steps.

Let’s discuss the drawbacks to most Denied Party Screening processes today and how automated solutions solve those problems.

Imagine this scenario: your sales team has just landed a legendary deal and has just finished final negotiations. Right before celebrations take place, the legal compliance department abruptly interjects claiming that the third-party is actually on a government watch list of restricted entities and that the deal will have to be postponed or even canceled.

While a bit dramatized, this scenario is not far from reality. Governments have long required businesses to screen against denied parties lists. The situation has become more complex recently with the authorities also issuing sanctions guidelines and putting the responsibility of staying compliant on the companies themselves. Because of these factors, Global Sanctions Searches to weed out the so called bad actors can take significant time to complete without a workflow and some form of automation.

Because technology is so prevalent in our every day personal and business lives, it makes sense to think that there ought to be a better way to achieve export compliance more easily and efficiently, especially where digital enterprise tools are commonplace in most organizations.

Did you know that in addition to monitoring interactions with clients, a customer relationship management (CRM) platform can also assist in Restricted Party Screening? For instance, integrating screening into Salesforce can provide third-party risk management and denied party screening.

With automated screening straightforward to achieve, this modern approach is far less taxing on your staff members and minimizes the negative impact on your business.

Some of the benefits include:

• Speed and timing: Going back to our scenario earlier, Salesforce manages screening in such a way that it takes place throughout the sales process as leads, contacts and accounts are created or updated. This way, should any issue arise, all parties concerned will know about it immediately, and management can take action before any more time is wasted on a prospect  that could be a restricted party.
• Comprehensive screening: Screening lists and sanctions change constantly. The automated nature of digital screening tools ensures that you are always working with the most up-to-date copy of the government watch list and the latest regulatory environment. This helps make sure that no-one can fall through the cracks.
• Convenient integration with the CRM platform you likely already use. The result is a seamless experience where screening, alerts, data and analytics can be shared across the organization without any barriers.

It’s a combination of these benefits that makes Salesforce screening accelerate sales productivity. From the sales team’s perspective, the screening has already been done.

And that’s why integrated Salesforce sanctions screening is such a powerful business tool now. Not only are you getting automated and comprehensive compliance, but you are also lifting a weight off the sales department and actually increasing sales velocity as a result.

As more sanctions are being used in geopolitics, the cost to companies is likely to rise. Stay on top of the competition by adopting solutions like Descartes and Salesforce. Integrated automation is key to avoiding the costly penalties of noncompliance, as well as the loss in trust with your clients and business partners.

Enterprise-grade platforms like these are incredibly flexible and modular, allowing you to tailor the solution to the specific needs of your organization and save on costs by picking and choosing only what you need. Get started today.

You might also be interested in our white paper on Performing Effective and Comprehensive Denied Party Screening Within the Salesforce CRM or you can visit our Salesforce screening resource center.

To help manage compliance risk more effectively, Descartes provides a range of denied party screening and 3^rd party risk management solutions, including straightforward integration and Salesforce.

By utilizing our robust solutions, organizations can strengthen their compliance processes, enhance their competitive edge, and increase sales velocity.