CRM from a salesperson's experience
In my life I have participated in the implementation of a CRM system from the software supplier's side, as well as a sales representative in a team where new tools were implemented.
Personally, I can't imagine working without such software. I remember one place, almost 10 years ago, where you worked on Excel and your notes in a notebook. It was terribly inconvenient. Of course, there were stories where I contacted the same person as a colleague, or vice versa. This made the client impatient, created an extremely unprofessional image of the company. Additionally, the lack of a centralized database meant that notes were lost or that preparing for a conversation or meeting took a very long time due to the time needed to find them.
Another process I had the opportunity to participate in was an implementation carried out when the CRM system was already in the company, but there were no tools to automate the activities. Each task ireland business email list had to be "unclicked" in several places, then add a note, create a new task, etc. A lot of clicking... I had email drafts saved in Word or Gmail. It was a higher level, but I still had to search for information in various folders, etc. It worked somehow, but it was not optimally convenient and fast. Hence, I am not surprised that salespeople are reluctant to use CRM, since they have to click so much in their system.
Establishing a sales opportunity or generating an offer also took a very long time. In such moments, a complicated CRM can have a real impact on the company's results. The customer's emotions reach their peak after the presentation. They know that they need our product, they are waiting for the contract and can sign it right away. Every minute reduces their enthusiasm and if they do not receive the contract within 5 minutes, they will do something else. They will return to what they promised to review and sign the next day or even later... Which, as you can easily guess, is not a dream situation in sales.
In this article , I wrote about the features that, in my opinion, a CRM that supports rather than annoys should have, based on my own experience .
How to convince salespeople to implement CRM?
So how can you convince your sales staff that CRM is a help and not a nuisance?
The first and most important thing is to choose a solution that will realistically meet expectations and that can be adapted to the processes in the company. Determine exactly what processes will be implemented using the new tools, what functions you need. Talk to employees about what routine, repetitive activities take up the most time. If they know that CRM will help them with specific tasks they have indicated, they will certainly welcome it more willingly.
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You also need to keep in mind that most people are visual learners. Although it sounds childish, if employees think that the system looks archaic or unattractive, they will not want to spend much time there. Therefore, make sure that the CRM has a friendly and modern interface .
Next, to convince salespeople to use the CRM system or change it, it is important to show them the real results that they will achieve thanks to it . This may seem trivial, but it is good for the project leader, preferably a high-ranking person in the company hierarchy, who enjoys respect, to show salespeople that, for example:
Now, to call their client list, they have to open X tabs and click multiple times to open, save, add a new task, etc. After introducing CRM with a prospecting module, they will be able to do it much faster.
Of course, I can't enter exact values of "clicks" or cards here, because the processes may differ depending on the company. Nevertheless, the benefits are usually very measurable:
This may mean less data entry time, which means more time spent contacting customers, which equals higher commission.
It may be a more enjoyable job, so a better mood, which also equals a higher commission.
Typically, the main task of a salesperson is sales, so skillfully conveying information about the use of CRM to increase sales is crucial in this case.
There are also other benefits that are worth presenting. Many salespeople know the moment when the end of the month or quarter is approaching, and there is still a lot left to reach the sales goal. This is when the frantic browsing of customers and wondering where to call to close the deal before the end of the period begins. When using CRM correctly, each salesperson can create a report for themselves that shows when they contacted whom, or determine the potential of an opportunity and who is worth reminding when.
It is worth arguing that CRM can be a digital assistant, a helper that makes administrative work easier. CRM is supposed to show and help salespeople understand where they are in the sales process and what they need to do to get to where they want to be. That is why it is important for sales funnels in CRM to be well-tailored, legible and intuitive.
If you need some advice on other CRM features that are useful from a sales perspective and are worth mentioning, I've gathered what I consider to be the most useful HubSpot features for salespeople here .
Employee-friendly CRM implementation
Another issue is ensuring proper implementation of the system.
If a rep has to learn how to use new software, they will likely be slower for the first month or so, maybe longer (because they won't be able to see what's where, etc.).
At this point, resistance may arise and the thought that I am going back to the old way of working, I do not have the strength and time to learn something new. It seems to me that I am currently losing money, so the fact that it will be easier for me someday is so distant that I would rather earn money this month. Maybe I will learn next month... such a situation can drag on almost forever.
