In the early days of a business, most founders have only one concern: to start selling and gain benefits in any way. When you only have a few customers, controlling your sales process is relatively straightforward. But as the business grows, managing a growing mass of leads at different stages of the buying process becomes more and more complex. If you want to sell more and more efficiently, you need to optimise the process. And for that, you need a CRM.
What is the sales CRM?
CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management. Customer relationship management software is a program that allows multiple members of a team to manage:
- customer relations,
- the company’s sales and marketing processes.
By bringing all the data together in one place in the CRM, processes are optimised, it is easier to detect errors, save time and, ultimately, get more sales.
How does CRM optimise your sales?
CRM allows you to document your sales process
When you’re just starting out, your sales process can be as simple as an idea written on a napkin… but if you need to coordinate with a team, you’ll need a more efficient method. With these programs, you can document every step from the first contact to sales, and your team will always know what to do at all times.
You can create repeatable processes
If each sales rep is dedicated to their business, you get as many sales processes as you get salespeople. With CRM, you can standardise interactions between suppliers and customers, which will not only ensure consistency in customer relationships but also save you time.
You will automate and reduce data entry
Before setting up a CRM, most sales teams used Excel. And while formulas and macros can do wonders, entering data one by one is a long and frustrating process. If you simplify the process with CRM sales, your team can spend that time getting new leads.
Your prediction will be more precise
According to a study by a company, 88% of spreadsheets contain errors. If you use them as the basis for your decisions, don’t be surprised if your calculations fail. With CRM, you will see all your sales and prospects much more precisely.
You can better track goals
If your reps achieve your goals, you can reward them, and if they fail, you can see and fix the problem in time.
You will centralise all your sales information
Having different sources of information can drive you crazy when searching for the information you need. But if all the information about your customers is stored in one program, your life will be much easier.
You control the entire process without disturbing your employees
If you need to know how sales results are going for the quarter, you won’t have to ask all of your reps, just check out the CRM.
You will create a sustainable salesforce
Imagine having someone in sales who creates Excel and knows exactly how it works. While this person is working in your business, it’s also easy to find out how things are going. But the day he or she leaves is the day chaos begins to reign. To avoid this, you need to have an infrastructure in place that everyone understands and that doesn’t depend on one person.
You will make information about your customers more visible
CRM is primarily used in sales, but other areas of the business may be interested in customer information as well. And with this system, they can consult with a few clicks.
How can you choose the right CRM for your business?
There is so much variety of CRM on the market that deciding can be a challenge. To make sure you’re doing it right, the first things to clarify are the following aspects of your business’s sales:
- Define each step of the sales process from initial contact to closing.
- Plan your dedication: Keeping your clients is more productive than gaining new clients.
- Make sure your sales process reflects what is happening in reality.
Once everything is clear, it’s time to review the program itself. To find out which CRM is right for you, I recommend that you focus on these features:
Contact management. Relationships are essential to the sales process. You must therefore have all the information relating to your contacts in one place.
Lead and sales management. At what stage of the process are each of your contacts? This information is essential for the development of forecasts. So you need your CRM to show it as clearly and intuitively as possible.
Tracking interactions. As you develop a relationship with each of your contacts, you will accumulate dozens of interactions (emails, downloads of forms, requests for information, web applications interactions, etc.). Your CRM must have the capacity to store all of this data and access it easily.
Coordination of the sales team. Your CRM should match the size of your team and be ready to grow with it.
Integration with other programs and systems in your company. The best CRM in the world won’t help you if it isn’t compatible with what you already have.
About the Author
Utkarsh Tiwari is the founder of Esite Bucket. Esite Bucket is a leading software company that provides the best web development solutions in countries like the USA and Canada.