Any business will tell you that the very hard working heart of any successful business venture is the sales team. These, after all, are the frontliners who sortie out into the world to convert interested parties into buying parties. That being said, it’s also one of the most challenging teams anyone can ever be on. Is it any wonder why they have the highest attrition rates of any team in any business?
Key to keeping your sales team happy is to ensure that they have the right tools to get the job done. In order to figure out exactly what they need, you need to understand the challenges that they face. Here are the biggest challenges faced by any sales team—and how you should work to solve them.
Accurate Data Capture
One of the key tasks undertaken by any sales team is lead generation. While social media and email have made this relatively easy to do online, many still swear by the traditional way of doing things: going out there and talking to people. The key to success in any such foray is the ability to accurately capture the details of the person you’re talking to. While simple note taking is often enough for one on one contacts, it can get tedious when there are many potential leads and not enough time.
Many have turned to simple voice recording to get the detail captured easily, you still have to transcribe things later on. This isn’t ideal if you want your sales team to be agile and on their feet. A better solution that’s also quite modern is voice to CRM. This kind of solution takes transcription to a whole new level and allows for integration into a database that is readily managed. This leaves your sales team free to focus on generating quality leads.
Inventory Update
Another aspect of sales that many consider to be very tedious is the management of inventory. The problems are of the same level of intensity whether or not the sales are done online or in person. After all, sales can be a fast and fluid affair at the hands of a skilled salesperson. But this doesn’t excuse the need to be able to accurately manage stock and inventory levels. This is a lot tougher than most people imagine even with a fully equipped sales team. Errors can arise from exhaustion or human factors.
Voice to CRM is again an ideal solution here given that advances in technology have allowed for clearer identification of what’s being said at any given time. Of course, in this application, there’s a need to integrate with those responsible for managing your high value data. The solution then is to go for a provider who can deliver both accuracy and effective integration. This way, the software can capture and record information regarding each sale as it happens.
Administrative Tasks
A final challenge that actually seems at first like a mere inconvenience is the handling of administrative tasks. These include the aforementioned entry of data gathered whether they are from leads or actual sales. They can also include, however, the creation of relevant reports and even management of scheduling. The difficulty here is usually compounded by the need to navigate through a CRM.
Again, if you aren’t leveraging newer voice to CRM technology, you’re potentially losing out on over 60% of productivity that can otherwise go to sales. With an effective solutions provider, you can allow your sales team to essentially do all these things as they talk the talk and walk the walk—with less chance for accuracy and recall errors down the line.
Sales Performance Management
One area where voice-to-CRM truly shines, however, is in sales performance management. The biggest hindrance, after all, to this key component of ensuring that you have a top notch sales is not being able to keep tabs on the key performance indicators of your team. Now, in order for that to happen in a very efficient and effective way, you need to capture data very quickly and with as little error as possible.
This is where leveraging voice-to-CRM gets tricky. You need to ensure that the provider you’re getting has a reliable means to bridge between the data gathering point and your CRM as well as ensure a high degree of accuracy when it comes to sorting the data. Thankfully, this is something that you can ensure with a comprehensive demo call. So, if you’re offered one for free, it’s well worth it to try.
Remember, though that the key is partnering with a reliable provider of modern voice to CRM services. Be very discerning in your choice so you can be sure that you’re getting your money’s worth. A good way to work this out is to sit down with them to talk about the challenges that you yourself have observed. The right provider will steer the conversation towards finding the best solutions for you.
Pushing CRM Adoption
/in Articles, CRM AdoptionWhen it comes to CRM adoption, long term compliance is possible only through intrinsic motivation. Providing incentives can encourage users to take the first steps, but promoting those aspects of CRM that create real value and satisfaction for the end user provides the natural motivation necessary to keep a user engaged with the technology. Rewards are a good start but they are not a long term solution. The only way to maintain user adoption is by getting the users to see the value of CRM so they want to use it.
Reward Systems
When implementing a reward system, be sure to keep the goal of promoting the value of CRM front and center. This requires choosing tasks and rewards intelligently. For compensation based organizations, make it clear that the reward for CRM adoption will be a boost in sales and its associated boost in compensation. The reward is in the task itself. Further to this, and to help spread the word about CRM, consider rewarding users for their testimonies and sharing these reviews company wide. If shared in the right ways, these testimonies can change a company’s perception of CRM and do wonders to increase adoption rates.
Time-Based Programs
Another approach is to incentivize users to enter meeting activity same-day. Same day recall of meeting notes is significantly higher than even just one day of delayed entry. Capitalize on this by setting time-based objectives that result in a reward for timely note entry for an extended period of time (think over the course of a quarter, for example) to build a habit vs. short term workflow adjustment.
A Well Chosen CRM Is It’s Own Reward
Ultimately, the chosen CRM software, if used, should streamline your sales processes as well as provide valuable insights through reporting. This in and of itself has to be valuable enough to be a reward on its own for any short term reward program to be effective at encouraging long term user adoption. Focus on tasks and rewards that promote the value of CRM data when you first introduce the technology as part of your internal CRM marketing efforts — but once you get the word out, let the CRM be its own reward!
The Biggest Challenges Faced by Sales Teams and How to Solve Them
/in Articles, Sales Performance, Voice to CRMKey to keeping your sales team happy is to ensure that they have the right tools to get the job done. In order to figure out exactly what they need, you need to understand the challenges that they face. Here are the biggest challenges faced by any sales team—and how you should work to solve them.
Accurate Data Capture
One of the key tasks undertaken by any sales team is lead generation. While social media and email have made this relatively easy to do online, many still swear by the traditional way of doing things: going out there and talking to people. The key to success in any such foray is the ability to accurately capture the details of the person you’re talking to. While simple note taking is often enough for one on one contacts, it can get tedious when there are many potential leads and not enough time.
Many have turned to simple voice recording to get the detail captured easily, you still have to transcribe things later on. This isn’t ideal if you want your sales team to be agile and on their feet. A better solution that’s also quite modern is voice to CRM. This kind of solution takes transcription to a whole new level and allows for integration into a database that is readily managed. This leaves your sales team free to focus on generating quality leads.
Inventory Update
Another aspect of sales that many consider to be very tedious is the management of inventory. The problems are of the same level of intensity whether or not the sales are done online or in person. After all, sales can be a fast and fluid affair at the hands of a skilled salesperson. But this doesn’t excuse the need to be able to accurately manage stock and inventory levels. This is a lot tougher than most people imagine even with a fully equipped sales team. Errors can arise from exhaustion or human factors.
Voice to CRM is again an ideal solution here given that advances in technology have allowed for clearer identification of what’s being said at any given time. Of course, in this application, there’s a need to integrate with those responsible for managing your high value data. The solution then is to go for a provider who can deliver both accuracy and effective integration. This way, the software can capture and record information regarding each sale as it happens.
Administrative Tasks
A final challenge that actually seems at first like a mere inconvenience is the handling of administrative tasks. These include the aforementioned entry of data gathered whether they are from leads or actual sales. They can also include, however, the creation of relevant reports and even management of scheduling. The difficulty here is usually compounded by the need to navigate through a CRM.
Again, if you aren’t leveraging newer voice to CRM technology, you’re potentially losing out on over 60% of productivity that can otherwise go to sales. With an effective solutions provider, you can allow your sales team to essentially do all these things as they talk the talk and walk the walk—with less chance for accuracy and recall errors down the line.
Sales Performance Management
One area where voice-to-CRM truly shines, however, is in sales performance management. The biggest hindrance, after all, to this key component of ensuring that you have a top notch sales is not being able to keep tabs on the key performance indicators of your team. Now, in order for that to happen in a very efficient and effective way, you need to capture data very quickly and with as little error as possible.
This is where leveraging voice-to-CRM gets tricky. You need to ensure that the provider you’re getting has a reliable means to bridge between the data gathering point and your CRM as well as ensure a high degree of accuracy when it comes to sorting the data. Thankfully, this is something that you can ensure with a comprehensive demo call. So, if you’re offered one for free, it’s well worth it to try.
Remember, though that the key is partnering with a reliable provider of modern voice to CRM services. Be very discerning in your choice so you can be sure that you’re getting your money’s worth. A good way to work this out is to sit down with them to talk about the challenges that you yourself have observed. The right provider will steer the conversation towards finding the best solutions for you.
How to Improve CRM User Adoption
/in Articles, CRM AdoptionBe Proactive!
The best time to start your messaging is before you roll out your chosen technology. Develop best practices and routine guides and setup a support team to ensure your team is equipped to face this new challenge. Clearly communicate these best practices. If you have already established your CRM solution, and you have not implemented these tools, there is no time like the present. Find a group of Super Users to help you set up a support team and develop a routine guide. Start today!
With these important foundational tools in place, schedule regular CRM check-ins with your team. Pick a recurring time to have a quick informal one-on-one meetings with sales reps to ask about their CRM activity. Share tips, and help to show them the value of the data they entered by highlighting features and reporting that make this data more useable. Make a priority of these meetings to highlight the rep’s gripes and perceived weaknesses in the technology or process. Take these comments back to your support team and sincerely consider them. Followup on these at your next check-in with the rep.
Don’t let these meetings slide. Checking in regularly and consistently allows you to catch problem habits so they don’t have time to build. Stay on top of your CRM by tweaking your solution, and your routine guide as you receive feedback and learn more about the technology. Stay on top of your team. Don’t let sales reps off the hook for refusal to adopt even if they are making sales (*link). A good support team will help you maintain your CRM vision for the long term (*link).
Be Positive!
When you discover a Super User, make sure to praise and highlight their skills. Team leaders will be less likely to be perceived as ‘naggy’ if they make an effort to keep their messaging positive by focusing on rewards rather than responsibilities. Try incorporating gaming and intelligent rewards (*link). Use reporting to spotlight sales achievements and communicate to your team how you used CRM analytics to uncover the achievement.
Be Realistic!
Make sure that you fairly and honestly consider the administrative burden that you are placing on your sales team with the implementation of a CRM solution. Be reasonable in your requirements, and if there is a serious administrative burden, one that outweighs the payoff, it is wise to consider services and CRM add-ons that can alleviate this burden. There are AI and Voice to CRM services available to support your team.
Be Supportive!
Proactive, consistent, positive, and realistic are the qualities you need to be a supportive leader. In short, with a well chosen CRM and a supportive Team Lead your sales team will be CRM Super Users before too long!
Why is CRM Important
/in ArticlesCRM (Customer Relationship Management) technology is a widely popular sales enablement tool that allows you to track key details and activities about your customers and opportunities, clarifying your sales process in order to move your reps through the pipeline more efficiently, thus generating increased sales and increased revenue. Simply put: CRM helps you organize and leverage complex data. Today, some form of CRM solution is recommended in almost every sales enablement plan. Why is CRM so popular? For one thing: it works. Companies that have high CRM adoption rates among sales reps show increased efficiency and increased revenue (Source: Nucleus Research https://nucleusresearch.com/research/single/crm-pays-back-8-71-for-every-dollar-spent/).
Let’s look more closely at some of the valuable insights that Customer Relationship Management technology can provide for your company.
LEARN ABOUT YOUR CUSTOMERS
Successful selling is all about expertly managing your customer interactions. Customer Relationship Management Solutions provide an intelligent framework for doing just that. Your customer details and interactions come together to create customer profiles that offer a new way to visualize customer retention.
KNOW THE STATUS OF YOUR PIPELINE
Customer Relationship Management technology helps you to easily visualize your sales pipeline at any given moment. Know how many deals you’ve won; how many deals you’ve lost; and see details about deals in progress all in one place. Information about clients and tasks is shared seamlessly between teams and team members to keep track of deadlines and next steps.
OPTIMIZE SALES PROCESSES
Many CRM solutions include some level of automated data entry and email marketing, freeing up your sales team to score more leads. Reminders guide sales reps along the sales pipeline efficiently, resulting in less missed opportunities. Collecting and storing data allows you to track the conversations and marketing materials that lead to conversions, and generating reports provides a wealth of valuable information about deals won and lost.
GET THE WHOLE PICTURE WITH CRM
CRM data can give you a clear picture of your customers and sales pipeline, shared across all teams, thus providing you with insight into your sales processes that can ultimately lead to higher conversions. What was once millions of bits of unconnected data, harnessed by CRM technology becomes a robust and living picture window into your company’s lifeline.
CRM is the Heart of some of the most Successful Businesses
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