It’s the start of a new year, and typically a new set of goals and opportunities for industrial distributors and manufacturers.
We’ve put together three resolutions you should make to get more out of your CRM system in 2017:
1. Put focus on the front end of the sales cycle.
Most companies in the industrial sales world are managing their businesses from the back end of the sales cycle – quotes and orders. To gain a competitive edge, commit to growing your focus on the front end in 2017. That starts with an honest look at how you manage leads and opportunities. This is where sales are won. How do you generate leads? How do you evaluate opportunities? What percentage of your opportunities turn into quotes?
Selltis was designed to help companies do just this. Learn more about the importance of putting process before technology in this blog: Process Before Technology: The Key to ROI from CRM
2. Prioritize proactive over reactive.
When your team simply documents and acts on opportunities they discover in the field, that’s an example of being reactive. There’s nothing wrong with it – and you certainly need to do that. But in 2017, consider ways to be more proactive. Uncover new opportunities within your existing and potential accounts, and go after them. CRM can help you facilitate this.
Learn more about how to switch from a reactive to a proactive mindset in this blog: Reactive vs. Proactive Sales Opportunity Management
3. Make training a priority.
Training often takes a back seat after a CRM system is implemented, but it is still critical to getting ROI after CRM long after you say go. In 2017, schedule regular CRM training meetings; even a monthly 30-minute Q&A on the system’s functionality will go a long way to increasing engagement and buy-in. We’re big fans of starting slow, and growing. Incremental improvements can yield big returns over time.
Learn more about making training more than a one-time event.
We can help you put processes around CRM to ensure you get the most from your system. Selltis CRM is designed with industrial sales organizations in mind. Call us or email for a free demo.