CRM and Forecasting Tools… Do you hate them or love them?
I saw this graphic on LinkedIn, I had to download it and write a post.
The classic conversation in the sales office. You manager wants you to fill in so much paperwork, CRM, forecasting, account plans.As the sales rep all you want to do is be in front of your customers and close sales.
Do you believe the CRM is the lifeblood of the company. I do.
If you use a CRM properly, the business can flourish and you can be with your customers not only closing this deal but adding more value and closing additional sales quicker.
How can a great CRM / forecasting tool help you?
Sales Forecasting Once you record all your information, managing your opportunities should be fast, easy, accurate. Your manager can get real-time view of the team’s forecasts, meaning, if you keep you forecast up to date after each call, your forecast meeting will go from 1 hour to 10mins, the manager can do the analysis in the background and simply ask “how can I help you close?“
Contact Management Have a complete view of your customer’s profile, including activity history, key contacts, customer communications, and internal account discussions. If you are working in a mutli-discipline business with several sales reps calling on the same account, at last you can benefit from each other’s call and find Coaches and Influencers within your account. Your customer will also be impressed because they will see you working as ONE company than separate silo. (Customers HATE silo’s in companies!)
Lead Management A great CRM will also have an area to manage the marketing campaigns. The marketing team can easily target the right customers through the contact list, ensure the leads are recorded and action lists created. Lead can then be tracked closely within the opportunity pipeline. From tracking leads to sales closure, will ensure the right campaigns are targeted to your customers, meaning you will achieve your targets sooner.
Reports and Dashboards Some CRM's use Dashboards, these can be great for you as a sales rep, keeping you up to date on your funnel, your monthly targets and what calls you need to make this week. The Dashboards are even more important for your manager, offering a real-time picture of the business at a glance. The more information they have at their fingers the more they can move from manager to LEADER and help you close sales.
Front log Management Through having an accurate knowledge of the pipeline and closure dates and probabilities, the Business will have the right delivery team or products in place for your customers start date. Having the organisation “Delivery ready” is key to customer satisfaction, thereby ensuring additional new sales.
10 minutes a day is all it takes to update a CRM / Forecasting tool. Those 10 minutes will mean your Manager will support you in closing deals, not hassle you about what stage the deal is at!
Learn to LOVE your CRM tool and Happy Selling
