Posts Tagged ‘CRM’
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009 by admin
Companies spend millions each year implementing technology and/or systems to help them manage and track customers. Their goal, besides client satisfaction, is to be able to capture customer intelligence that can then be utilized by marketing teams (to enhance collateral materials), sales team (to help prioritize outreach efforts), and executives (trying to forecast and wrap their arms around the dynamic sales process).
No matter what system an organization has implemented, I find that sales reps are still complaining about utilizing them. I’ve heard it all—everything from complaining how long it takes to key in all their information, to the cumbersome non-intuitive nature of the technology, to people being paranoid about posting their contacts in a centralized system and having competing team members steal their leads.
Despite all the complaining I’ve heard about CRM systems, I usually don’t get the REAL reason why sales people don’t appreciate them. The main issue, in my opinion, is that sales people are not convinced about how these CRM tools are helping THEM.
Trust me when I say that sales people are open to anything that will accelerate the sales process and help them close deals. Particularly during a complex sale that requires expertise and persistence to win major contracts. If sales people truly believed that in-house CRM systems did that, they would not have a problem utilizing them. So what’s the issue?
Every system has their particular nuances, but a common denominator I find is that these systems are not providing that real time information they need in order to meet their quota. Yes, the system helps them track their own activity (and that of their existing clients) but most sales people are judged by the new deals they are able to bring to the table. Sales people can’t regularly meet their quota by continuously up selling and penny-pinching existing clients—they need to add new ones on a regular basis. Most CRM systems don’t provide the real time data that they need to get new deals through the sales funnel and, if it doesn’t do this, it is not helping sales in the way they need.
So what do sales people do? They take matters into their own hands. They utilize external tools, rather than internal data, to get the information they need to close the deal. They update/review these systems when necessary—often at the end of the week/month when senior management is pulling a report. And ultimately they ensure the job of an individual inside the company whose goal is to force sales people to use a system they hate on a regular basis —I would hate to be that person!
Technology is evolving and CRM systems are continuously being enhanced to manage the changes in customer behaviors and the buying process. Companies need to look into these emerging and cutting edge enhancements in order to truly help sales get their job done.
I am proud to represent one of these tools, Compendian’s CIS, but there are many other tools out there. Sales people are driven and passionate about what they do and the most important thing you can do for your organization is provide them with the right tools that will direct that energy into boosting your bottom line.
Tags: CRM, Sales Analysis, Sales Enablement, Sales knowledge management
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Tuesday, December 15th, 2009 by admin
When it comes to sales management and personnel motivation, there is a right way and a wrong way to get results. The most successful management executives are those that realize a hierarchical, top-down approach is best. Set goals, train staff, sit back and wait for the revenues to roll in, right? Not so fast. Setting unilateral sales goals and demanding flawless execution doesn’t really work in the long term.
“People, especially salespeople, don’t like being dictated to,” says Joel Deceuster, founder of Deceuster & Associates, a consulting and business coaching firm. Rather than telling sales staff what to do, effective sales managers are inviting their sales people into the process. Yet managers are ultimately responsible to the front office for goal achievement and overall success, while also bridging the gap between corporate goals and staff achievement.
Sales managers today are overrun with new management techniques, unrealistic sales goals, harried sales people, and more information than they know what to do with. It can be hard to find solutions that allow them to achieve corporate sales expectations, while at the same time listening to their sales staff and responding to their needs.
Finding a solution that allows your organizations to capture sales best practices, competitive analysis and customer pain points is critical. A solution that allows sales staff to collaborate with management and peers to shorten the sales cycle and provides better consistency in sales performance is a must. After all my years as a sales executive, that’s why I am proud to represent a product like Compendian that does just that. But the point is that management needs to look into new innovative tools to make sure they are supporting and empowering the sales process.
Let’s face it; sales managers have a tough job. They have to be hard-nosed to get it done. But with the right solutions, and staff and management support, they can easily change tyranny to a benevolent dictatorship.
Tags: CRM, Sales Enablement, Sales Management, Sales Training
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Tuesday, December 15th, 2009 by admin
Traditional sales models focus solely on moving product and they push prospects to make an immediate purchase. In addition, salespersons have a get in and get out mentality—they focus on product features, negotiates a fair price, quickly write up the order, and turn fulfillment over to customer service. So what is wrong with this process?
It’s no longer working.
The economy aside, many sales organizations report that more than 2 out of 5 sales people were unable to meet sales goals and quotas in 2008. How many are exceeding sales goals? Anecdotal analysis says that 20% of the sales staff accounts for 60% of goal. But more likely, it’s 10% driving 80% of sales.
For those that disagree with me and think the “flipping clients” process is working, why aren’t more sales people more successful? If it works, why aren’t more sales goals being reached?
The model doesn’t work because the customer has been lost in the process. Customer touch points aren’t alignment across sales and marketing. Sales representatives forget about what drove a particular customer to purchase—-focusing not on their customer’s needs, but sales goals instead. Furthermore, clients are tired of feeling like another sales transaction — they want to feel their vendors are providing them with customized sales solutions that eliminate their pain points. This is true whether you are a small or large organization and handling direct or consultative selling.
In order to adjust to customer’s expectations, sales organizations will need to invest in solution platforms that better align their goals with a new customer centric buying process. Many organizations have implemented CRM systems like SalesForce and, while helping sales teams stay organize as well as track and forecast activity, it isn’t the sole solution that organizations need. You need to consider other tools that are designed to empower sales teams to gain key information, on demand, in order to help the client feel their business is important.
Competition has never been more fierce and keeping a client has never been as important as today in order to weather challenging times. Make sure you are strengthening your connection with your greatest asset, your customers, in order to keep a flow of repeat business to your organization.
Tags: CRM, Sales Analysis, Sales Enablement, Sales knowledge management, Sales Management, Sales Training
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Tuesday, December 15th, 2009 by admin
How many sales organizations spend a significant portion of their operational budget developing marketing and sales support materials only to have them sit in boxes unused? I recently read that large B2B marketing organizations spend approximately $10K in time and effort, per sales person, producing some 10 to 20,000 documents to support the sales process. However, most of these documents are never seen or utilized by sales! Basically, in these difficult times when organizations need to find businesses opportunities wherever they can, sales reps are not getting or utilizing the materials they need.
As a former sales executive, I am not surprised by this. Nor am I surprised by CSO Insights’ most recent Sales Performance Optimization survey. They reported that in 2008 the percentage of salespeople failing to hit their sales quota rose from 38.8% to 41.2%. In its summary, the CSO Insights survey said that one of the most important steps organizations could take in 2009 and beyond is improved sales effectiveness. Salespeople need to be more effective at selling, and standard CRM tools don’t solve the core issue here. Having managed large sales teams in the past, I can tell you that most sales people don’t need to make more calls —they need to make more GREAT sales calls.
I have seen firsthand the discrepancy between sales and marketing. The problem is that these teams are operating from different sources of data and not collaborating. Sales people are interfacing with clients, prospects and the marketplace –gathering important information to help them pinpoint their pitch. Marketing teams are generally working in a vacuum and focused on finding new ways of presenting the same old information and hoping a new look and feel or gimmick will capture the attention of a prospects. Marketing information is generally not adapting as quickly as the marketplace.
Clients are smarter than that and the marketplace is far too competitive for the disconnect between sales and marketing to continue in an organization that plans on surviving these difficult times. Clients have leaner budgets and are trying to make sure that the vendor they select truly understands them and their challenges. Trust me when I say that clients are looking beyond the gloss!
Like other sales executives, I am always looking for ways to shorten the sales cycle. Given this discrepancy between sales and marketing departments, throughout my career I have had to rely on myself (and often work double time) to reach my quota. I’ve had to work harder but, looking back, I didn’t necessarily work smarter.
Now, when I speak at seminars and conferences, I often share my experiences and propose strategies that can help create sales efficiency with the company and with sales reps. Approaches that make adjustments from the inside out! My experience is one of the reasons I am so passionate about Compendian and, if leaving a legacy of cooperation between sales and marketing makes up the tail end of my career, I will take it.
Tags: CRM, Sales Analysis, Sales Knowledge enablement, Sales Training
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