CRM as an Extension of Your Brain
I don’t think of CRM as an application or admin tool. I think about it as an extension of my brain—almost like a team member that I have sitting beside me who I can download a large amount of information to so that I don’t have to think about it. And that’s the way you should be thinking about CRM. Indeed, think about CRM as an extension, teammate, or additional employee.
CRM’s Myriads of Benefits
When you get used to utilizing CRM on a daily basis and putting all the details in there—your call notes, call attempts, contacts, opportunity stages, presentation materials, products you sell, or price sheets—you don’t have to remember such large amounts of intricate information. It just sits in the system. You can draw on it easily from any device when you need it. You can use reports and data to help guide you where you should be selling, what you should be working on, what leads you should be creating or getting rid of, or where you are in your pipeline and quoted development. It acts as a secondary thinking source for you, but only if you use it correctly.
I find that those salespeople who use CRM completely and effectively do outsell those that don’t. Even if they have help with their CRM, they outsell those who don’t. Why? Because they are better organized and have more access to realtime data than those who are trying to rely on their memory.
Use your CRM. Think about it as a tool like a teammate. It will help you create a nonstop sales boom.
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Hi Colleen, I have been following you for a few years now, found out about you through Lisa Larter. So many of your vlogs have gone in to my swipe file!
I just wanted to reach out and say that I find your videos and transcripts so helpful to me, from a sales perspective, but also from a messaging standpoint for me in my consulting practice. I work with the accounting and finance side of things and sometimes all I have to do is interchange sales team with accounting team and we’re all set.
So thanks so much for the work you do and all the free information you provide. I look forward to seeing you in my inbox every Monday.
Colleen,
One of the problems I have with CRM programs is the overall time involved with inputting information. I am an on-road salesman that makes 15-20 sales calls per day. The time involved with inputting the information extends my travel time by 75-120 minutes per day.
The information is great to have, but at what cost?
Jack – If you are on the road that often visiting 15-20 clients a day your company must invest in a mobile tool ideally that is voice enabled so that you can do quick updates after each call. That will make your work more efficient. There should never be a cost to CRM. if you are not able to use it as a sales growth tool than its’ being used incorrectly. CRM should house information that helps you drive sales, not information that creates an administrative burden. The data input should help you and your company make decisions such as; what products should they be buying? Buying trends overtime, seasonal / regional issues that could effect buying. Product matches. Competitive information. Notes from your last conversation. Marketing materials sent out and their response rates etc….
Thanks for being here Monique!
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