Summary: Businesses are making additional efforts to foster smooth communication with their customers and optimizing business workflows to survive the current competitive landscape. Businesses need to switch to automated platforms to simplify their operations and facilitate smooth communication with their customers as well as internal teams. Sales teams need to be trained to get the optimal benefits of CRM solutions. Let's see how.
Some Interesting Facts & Statistics about CRM
- CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software is the most significant software industry globally, forecast to reach more than USD 80 billion in revenue by the year 2025.
Biggest single hindrance to effective CRM implementation is unquestionably – user adoption. Numerous CRM executions fail not because of technical glitches, but rather, because the sales team is not willing to use the system and making the most out of it.
No matter how strong your strategy is, how innovative technology you adopt, if your sales team doesn't keep the organization's data up to date, the entire project will fail eventually. Once you implement CRM into your existing technology ecosystem, you need to put additional efforts to understand and get familiar with it mainly in the first couple of months.
Before CRM implementation, you should communicate with your sales team to explain why CRM is essential for the company as a whole and to them as individuals. CRM is beyond something that stimulates interactions between business and its customers.
It's way more useful than sending marketing emails to the existing customers and prospective buyers. It's vital that you should cover all business benefits while answering the questions that your sales reps will want answering.
Tell Your Sales Team How CRM Benefits Them
Before you initiate training sessions for the sales team to help them get along with the new CRM system potentially, you need to explain the benefits that each one of it will derive. Consider that you are selling CRM to the sales team as you would sell it to your customers – at the end of the day, everyone wants to know the benefits.
Once you succeed with the implementation process, tell your teams to explore the benefits of the CRM system on their own. Let them play with it to understand its importance and benefits. Give them enough time to understand that CRM can:
- Set reminders for sales follow up calls and appointments.
- Save the time that they spend searching for contact details.
- Streamline lead generation process to gain a competitive advantage.
- Monitor and track selling patterns to find out the most effective strategies.
- Eliminate complexities involved in preparing end-of-the-month reports.
- Get social media details of the potential prospects and their businesses.
- Retrieve data from disparate sources and present it in a meaningful manner.
If your sales team is still adamant about adopting the new CRM system, tell them that both- the business and reps are going to gain extended benefits from the solution. These benefits include, but are not limited to more significant insights, increased revenue generation, higher productivity, sales alignment, and of course, shorter sales cycle.
Involve Sales Reps in the CRM Purchase Process
Companies often choose the CRM system without involving the people who will be utilizing it for streamlining business processes.
Yes, you guessed it right!
We are talking about sales representatives as they are the one who will be using the software for improving and promoting sales.
When your sales reps are involved in the purchase decision, it simplifies the selection process. And after final implementation, sales staff will take the initiative to make use of the CRM.
Make Sure That CRM is Tailor-Made for Your Team
Choose a CRM that best aligns to your business requirements and is easy to use for all the internal teams. Analyze your business objectives and ask yourself a few questions before deciding a solution for your organization.
As a smart business, you must select an intelligent CRM solution that streamlines your business operations. Your CRM platform must integrate all the features that your business needs to accomplish its goals. Also, it must support easy integrations with other applications and systems.
Leverage CRM Videos & Knowledge Base Articles
CRM vendors usually invest a lot of time in developing helpful resources for making it easier for users. Make sure that eBooks, videos, articles, and knowledge base are readily available to you. Don't forget to share it with your sales team to help them understand the new technology. Take advantage of the study material for educating your sales teams about the new CRM.
In addition to the documentation provided by the vendor, you can research the web to gather extensive information on CRM technology. You can prepare notes on how to use the CRM effectively and explain it to other users.
If Required, Hire CRM Specialists for Training Reps
Hiring an expert CRM specialist will help your team to understand all the aspects of the CRM effectively. This will not put additional pressure on you as the team will learn to use the new system quickly. The CRM Specialist can provide extensive training on the solution by simplifying the integrated processes.
Moreover, the specialist can provide extensive documentation that will result in simplifying the learning process. Your sales team can gain access to additional guides and manuals which could be of much help.
Go for Cloud-Based CRM System to Promote Learning
Make the CRM system easily accessible to the internal teams so that they can experiment with its features and functions. Cloud-based CRM systems provide the flexibility to use it from anywhere, anytime.
If you select a Cloud-based software, your staff can get access to the features even after office hours. It will allow the sales team members in exploring all functional aspects and discovering new features.
The more they experiment with the tool, the more they will learn about it. So, make sure that you select to implement a cloud solution to promote easy learning.
Give Your Sales Team Enough Time for Learning CRM
Always keep in mind that no two employees are the same; some may learn it in a matter of days; some may need time and other months to understand the software effectively.
If your employees need extra hours for getting along with the CRM, don't be panicked or don't underestimate their learning capabilities.
Offer them enough time and flexibility to learn the software till the moment they are confident to use it independently.
By asking repeatedly, they are actually eliminating the scope for errors when they will be working with the tool.
Leave Your Sales Staff with No Choice
Sounds exasperating? But that's necessary. You are not cheating your staff, but you are trying to transform your business processes by adopting something that will only bring sales and boost your revenue. If your teams are not ready to invest time in the training sessions for learning the CRM, tell them that it's the only option.
Take this technology transformation as the exclusive business-wide investment made for all; everyone will be involved in the success, at last.
Wipe all the traces of the legacy technology system so that the sales team can understand and adopt the technology with immense interest.
Slowly and steadily, your team members will understand that the technology is for their benefit. Even if, for a while, they think of any other alternative, they will ultimately understand that businesses are rapidly moving to CRM adoption.
No matter what is the size of the business, every one of using at least a particular type of CRM or other similar technology. So, every individual has to learn about it one day. It's better to start today.
Listen to Your Sales Staff for Feedback
Once your sales team is ready to go with the CRM, allow them enough time To test their expertise. Follow up with the team to check what features they like and dislike About the new system.
Listen to them if they are finding difficulty in some technical or functional aspects, address it carefully and try to provide the best possible resolution.
Maybe an additional training session from experts or colleagues can help them overcome the problem and navigate the CRM solution with greater ease.
Wrapping Up!
A number of CRM software are available in the market but make sure to select one that caters to your business needs. Automate your business processes seamlessly in no time and invest your time in optimizing other important tasks.
If you are in the unavoidable need of a CRM software that automates processes, maximizes business productivity and accelerates your revenue graph, then Deskera CRM is all you need for sustainable growth and expansion.
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