In my previous career in sales I was a user of many leading CRM applications in addition to a homegrown solution I helped my IT organization develop. There’s no doubt that CRM can drive significant value to the organization as a whole when implemented successfully, however when I was in sales you’d never hear me admit it. At the end of a long week on the phone or in meetings, entering data and checking boxes was not high on my priority list, regardless of how much value my VP and Executives received from it. I did it because it was mandated from the top down, and I didn’t want to get “the call” from my manager. Almost every prospect or client I speak with today has asked how they can drive higher adoption of their CRM, without having to make “the calls”.
I read an article this summer in CRMBuyer called the The Carrot, the Stick and Other Sales Effectiveness Strategies, which has some interesting takes on getting employees on board by presenting “carrots” of value to end users, which I would consider Enabled CRM. “The 2009 SFA Report: Best-in-Class Strategies for Increasing Returns on SFA Investments” also has some valuable insights into why companies have not achieved the adoption and ROI on CRM investments. Two statistics I believe extremely important in this report by Alex Jefferies are:
- 34 percent of end-users surveyed are unsatisfied with the effect their SFA tool has on sales productivity
- 61 percent of survey respondents believe the need to improve sales effectiveness
In the interviews I have done with sellers at million and billion dollar companies alike, I’ve heard many quotes that support these statistics. Sellers do not want more fields, workflows, or gates unless they give them more time back in the day to sell, and help them have better conversations. I’ve also had the privilege of working with clients who have enabled their CRM system to drastically improve both the efficiency and effectiveness of their sellers. In many cases this has actually improved not only the adoption of CRM, but also the quality of the information residing in it. Some key lessons I’ve learned in working with these clients are:
Every lead is precious and we need to help our sellers turn them into opportunities.
First impressions can be your last. Nurturing leads is something Marketing has traditionally done well, however that nurturing is all for not if the first call goes poorly. Enabled CRM delivers lead specific kits of content, however more importantly just in time coaching and messaging that is relevant to that lead while on the phone.
Make sure that every field is meaningful from a reporting, but also a selling perspective.
If a seller inputs the industry, competitor, or sales stage fields, what do they get in return? In most cases it’s only a more targeted marketing campaign down the road or a hygiene award from sales ops. Enabled CRM instantaneously serves up the best assets relevant to each of these, whether that’s content, knowledge, or even the right people. Some examples you may find valuable are:
- Statistics or the most relevant client stories to tell for an opportunities industry.
- The best subject matter experts to answer a question based on the product I am positioning
- The most relevant materials at each stage of the sales process to move the deal forward.
New opportunities need targeted messaging and content
If we are going to differentiate from every other competitor with the same opportunity in their CRM system, or compel a buyer to risk their position in a company to champion a new initiative, the messaging has to be on point. Enabled CRM automatically targets sales assets such as letters, brochures, presentations, and proposals directly from CRM data and never asks the seller to re input information twice.
We need to help our sellers retain existing accounts and find opportunities for growth
Sellers face new challenges in today’s economy justifying recurring business. One way in which many clients enable this justification is through a cadence of meetings with these clients including documents like quarterly business reviews or QBR’s. Data integration from existing purchase history, cost savings, ROI, and other points of value can be seamlessly integrated from CRM data (along with other systems) to build these documents saving reps countless hours of time. Additionally, this data can also be used to serve up the best cross sell messaging to grow business in an account.
These are just a few lessons I’ve learned and I would love to hear other initiatives companies are implementing to help enable sellers directly from their CRM system. Each client walks before they run, however regardless of the CRM system you have implemented there is an opportunity to drive higher value to your sellers and make a larger impact on revenue generation. The bottom line is you can’t mandate adoption of a CRM system, you have to enable it.
