In the first moments of a company, most of the founders only have one worry: to start selling and obtaining benefits in any way. When you have only a handful of customers, keeping your sales process under control is relatively simple. But as the company grows, managing a growing mass of leads in different stages of the buying process becomes increasingly complex. If you want to sell more and more effectively, you need to optimize the process. And for that, you need a CRM.
CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management. CRM software is a program that allows multiple members of a team to manage relationships with customers, sales processes and marketing of the company. By having all the data in one place, processes are optimized, it is easier to detect errors, saves time and ultimately more sales are achieved.
When you're starting out, your sales process can be as simple as an idea written down on a napkin... but if you have to coordinate with a team, you will need a more effective method. With these programs, you can document all stages from initial contact to sale and your team will always know what to do at all times.
If each sales rep goes about his business, you end up having as many sales processes as sellers. Thanks to CRM, you can standardize interactions between vendors and customers, which will not only give consistency to customer relations but will also help you save time.
Before implementing a CRM, most sales teams used Excel. And although the formulas and macros can do wonders, entering the data one by one is a long and frustrating process. If you simplify the process with CRM sales, your team can devote that time to getting new leads.
According to a MarketWatch study, 88% of spreadsheets contain errors. If you use them as a basis for your decisions, do not be surprised if your calculations fail. Instead, with a CRM you will see all your sales and leads much more accurately.
If your sales reps are achieving your goals, you can reward them for it, and if they are falling short you’ll be able to see and solve the problem in time.
Having different sources of information can drive you crazy when looking for the information you need. But if all the information about your customers is stored in a single program, your life will be much easier.
If you need to know how are the sales results for the quarter are going, you will not have to ask all your sales reps, just consult the CRM.
Imagine you have a person in the sales department that has been creating the sales Excel and knows exactly how it works. While that person is working in your company, finding out how things are going is as easy as asking. But the day he or she goes is the day chaos begins to reign. To prevent this from happening, you need to have an infrastructure set in place that everyone understands and that does not depend on one person.
CRM is mainly used in sales, but other areas of the company may also be interested in having information about customers. And with this system, they can have a look with just a few clicks.
So you're convinced you need a CRM to improve your sales process. The next question is: which one? There is so much variety in the market that deciding can be a challenge.
To be sure you will get it right, the first things you need to have clear are the following aspects of the sales of your company:
Once you have all this clear, it is time to review the program itself. To find out which CRM is perfect for you, my recommendation is that you focus on these features: