I visit with business owners everyday who approach me asking how they should implement a CRM platform. But before they ask, “How?” they really need to be asking “Why?” In other words, why use a CRM? What problem would a CRM solve for their organization?
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is more than a technology platform. It’s really an approach to managing a company’s interactions with current and future customers. It usually involves using technology to organize, automate, and synchronize sales, marketing, customer service, and technical support.
My first question to prospective clients is always, “What business problem would a CRM solve for you?” A lot of times the answer is “To see more of my sales team’s activities,” or even “To get more visibility into our sales pipeline.”
I always follow up with the question “how can we help your sales team be more productive and more effective?”
There has to be a balance in the organization between management and effectiveness. If a business owner wants to be “big brother” to his employees, they’re going to fight the implementation of a CRM and it won’t be utilized to its full capabilities. Sales professionals are not going to help business executives manage them more closely if there’s nothing in it for them.
I’ve never met with a company that was solely interested in implementing a CRM for the purpose of improving productivity and benefiting the field salespeople. It’s always been the other way around, with the perceived benefit being geared more towards management. Striking a balance between those two means there has to be some consideration for employee effectiveness.
If I’m a sales manager, I do want more visibility into my sales team’s day-to-day activities. But I also need to ask myself how I’m making their day-to-day activities easier on them. How am I helping them achieve their goals?
Sales management and sales professionals share common goals:
- Driving incremental revenue
- Attaining sales commissions and bonuses
- Acquiring and retaining customers
Once you have a healthy respect for sales professional’s goals, it’s really just a matter of figuring how to make those goals work for the organization.
My team at PSC Group is experts in helping organizations successfully implement CRM solutions and use them to their full capabilities with 100% participation. If you’re interested in learning more about how my team can help your business, call us today (913) 234-8172.