The CRM that will boost the performance of your sales force
What are the opinions on CRM? Which CRM should you choose? Some features are basic, but others are more sophisticated and can help you to be more efficient.
CRM: back to basics
Focus on sales
The priority need for the business and for an entrepreneur is sales. It is the customers who will keep the business going and sustain it over time. So the priority is :
- find customers
- keeping them
A classic CRM
To do this, you need to equip your business with a CRM: Customer Relationship Management software. This tool enables you to organise your sales approach in such a way as to make it effective. This involves :
- good prospect management: contact details, information, updates,
- segmentation of your database: filters to sort information according to geographical criteria, turnover, sector, etc.
These two functions are the foundations of CRM. But some software solutions go even further.
Finer segmentation...
...to filter the data
Any CRM will download your database. But not all of them offer the same functions for consulting it. And your data can quickly become very large, with customer files, prospect files and so on, making it difficult to find your way around. Access by alphabetical order is not necessarily the most relevant. For example, a sales rep preparing a tour in the Drôme region might want to export only contacts located in the 26 department.
...to analyse your conversion tunnel
The sales pipeline is made up of all your business in progress, more or less mature, and which you hope will come to fruition in the short, medium or long term. Analysing the content of this tunnel enables you to :
- assess your company's situation at a given point in time
- draw up an up-to-date forecast
Some CRMs also allow you to filter by quotation amount. This is particularly the case with TigerPro software. You can sort your pipe so that you only see the list of deals in progress for which the estimate is over five thousand euros.
... to organise your sales force
Segmentation is useful for more than just analytical purposes. By filtering the data, you can create a segment of contacts for whom you can set up specific actions. In this way, you can draft a standard email, for example, and decide to send it to just one type of lead - sales contact. In addition to these filters, some software packages are able to take into account the workloads and/or customer portfolios of your sales staff. With Initiative CRM, all the information is cross-referenced. So work and resources are organised efficiently.
... to optimise operations
The ability to enrich each customer file with information of all kinds not only enables them to be sorted according to precise criteria, but also ensures continuity in monitoring. Taking the example of a holiday period, it's easy for the person taking over to consult the history of the customer file. If the customer calls, all the information is available to provide an appropriate response.
A more relevant workflow
The finesse of the segmentation not only facilitates operations, but also has a strategic impact on the actions taken.
Lead workflow
When it comes to keeping your leads up to date, the watchword is undoubtedly " assiduity ". A prospect has told you to call back in a month, so you need to be there. But how do you manage when there are thirty or even fifty of them? This is where an effective process based on qualified segmentation makes all the difference. In your CRM tool, you fill in the return appointment form. And an alert is programmed to serve as a reminder in a month's time. Some software packages add it directly to your calendar, like Initiative CRM, which is synchronised with Google Calendar.
Customer workflow
Just as it's important to keep in touch with prospects, it's equally important to keep in touch with customers. Because in most cases, if a customer leaves you, it's because you haven't been able to keep them. You have to check in with them and keep in touch. Not easy when you've got your head in the sand... But here again, CRM is an invaluable tool. If you want to write to each of your customers at least every 60 days, you can set up the tool and it will take care of reminding you in good time.
Invoicing workflow
These functions, specific to CRM, are just as valuable in management. Some software packages have an integrated management module. With TigerPro, the database is directly interfaced with payment tracking. If an invoice is overdue, the tool takes care of sending a reminder e-mail: the guarantee of being up to date with your unpaid invoices, while spending a minimum of time and energy on it.
Having a CRM is good. Having a good one is better. Not all CRMs are created equal, nor do they go as far in terms of the finesse of segmentation or the relevance of workflows: features that not only add operational value, but also strategic value to your day-to-day sales organisation.
Article translated from French