Four Reasons Why Your CRM Does not Work At Full Strength

One of the most effective ways to waste money while automating a small business is to buy a good CRM system, but do not work with the full range of its capabilities. Using a CRM-system in a limited format reduces the business effectiveness. It does not allow you to sell better and suspends company developing.

Mistake #1: you refuse mobility

When you purchase a CRM system, which “ties” sales managers to their workplace, you encourage them to work with old methods — a pen with paper and electronic applications like Excel. Sellers want to have the opportunity to prepare for the conversation with the client wherever they are: stuck in a traffic jam or go from one meeting to another.

The same thing happens with entering data into CRM. Why should you wait to return to the office to note some important information? The mobile version of the program improves the quality of the entered data. With a mobile application, sellers can immediately note information in the CRM at the end of the meeting. No more encrypted jot down, and mysterious phones on the contact list. That’s why our business card reader is so popular among our users.

Mistake #2: you did not form the general rules working with CRM.

The use of intuitive CRM-systems may not require special preparation, but employees definitely need competent guidance. Why? Because people think differently. If you put eight different people in front of a problem, it’s guaranteed they do approach it in eight different ways. Of course, various types of thinking are what you want from your team to communicate with customers around the world. Moreover, the difference in thinking also means that different things will be used:

• The terms. What do you mean by the word “buyer”? Does this mean absolutely the same thing as the “client”?
• Levels of detailing. The customer company has an HR-director, there is a director of the HR department, there is a director for HR … Wait, is this not the same person?
• Details of customer information. Is it useful to write down his birthdate or is it enough name and company name?

Incorrect filling of data by one employee forces colleagues to waste time on clarifying the information.

Mistake #3: you don’t automate routine processes

So, you have purchased CRM and now use it to work with contacts and to visualize the sales funnel. Give yourself an answer: how do customer data get into the system? Do your salespeople do transactions by themselves and tap each number manually?

Nothing kills the speed of work and initiative of employees so fast that routine tasks do. Especially if it could be done by the program.Automation is the foundation of CRM. The program can rid your workers of performing these routine tasks:

• creation of leads and data entry;
• email-mailing and advertising in social networks;
• tasks for managers — when the transaction is transitioned to a new stage, the manager receives the task of interacting with the client;
• dial a phone number and record a conversation.

Mistake #4: you are not tracking the statistics completely

CRM-system provides statistics and analytics. With their help, you can set working goals and track the process of their execution.

• Closing the completed stage gives confidence to the employee.
• Setting tasks helps with time management. It will be easier for employees to focus on more important tasks.
• Measuring work processes will show how the business is developing. Try different approaches and then compare which one works best.

Do not forget to teach your team to work with CRM for more effective communication. They should not learn it intuitively. If the sales department does not have enough knowledge, employees will not feel confident during the call. And if salespeople are constantly not sure of themselves, they will be lost in work.