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.
