As another year comes to an end, it’s a good time to reflect on a number of themes I’ve been hearing when talking to industrial manufacturers and distributors. Some of these conversations happened during webinars, others during in-person meetings, and many came from informal polling at a recent trade show.
Usage of CRM Systems
The majority (over 75%) of companies I spoke with, regardless of size, have some sort of CRM/sales system, although almost one out of four had a “homegrown” system, which always makes me wonder. Several of these custom, proprietary systems sounded robust, flexible and perfectly tailored to the needs of the sales team; others sounded more like a patchwork of Band-Aids.
Interesting to me was how many of the companies with CRM systems had either recently changed from one system to another, or were actively shopping for a new system. For a few, the change was a mandate from the parent company or because a new ERP system had a “CRM module.” For the majority, they just hadn’t been getting the results they wanted, so they changed software.
Speaking of results, of those I asked with CRM systems, 31% said they were satisfied with the ROI they were getting. I could tell they were genuinely engaged with the system, getting widespread usage from users, and pulling the data out of the system that they were looking for. But what about the other 70%?
Wish List for 2017
Since it is the time of year for putting shopping lists together, I asked everyone I spoke to what they would ideally like to see in their sales system, whether it was a CRM system, spreadsheets, or index cards. A few items came up over and over again:
- Integration with the ERP system. At least half of the companies are seeking a single system that shows sales history, quotes, and growth-oriented elements like leads and opportunities.
- Easier, faster data entry is on the lists of many companies. Mobile input using smartphones and possibly even voice commands would be ideal for outside salespeople.
- A related wish to the mobile solution is to reduce the amount of time salespeople spend entering information into the CRM system. Simplification of required fields and swapping typing with drop-down lists or buttons was mentioned several times.
[Editorial comment: I’ve often heard the gripe against CRM systems (usually from people used to manual or no systems and/or who don’t like typing on computers) that “my salespeople need to be out in front of customers, not working at a computer.” My response is that while we certainly want to make time spent in front of a computer efficient and valuable, there is no substitute for the time spent preparing BEFORE visiting a customer. Especially if your sales cycle is lengthy and complex, the quality time you spend reviewing past notes, learning if anyone else at your company has had contact with your customer, and generally preparing your agenda and meeting goals – these things differentiate the professional salesperson. The trick is using a CRM system to make this preparation faster and better (see New Year’s Resolution below.]
New Year’s Resolution
Looking forward, I’d like to give a plug for more and better training for all users of CRM, especially outside sales. Over and over again I have heard comments from users that they wish they knew how to do functions that I knew were pretty basic. I think that several of the companies switching from one CRM to another possibly could have avoided the transition with better training. Companies complained that the users weren’t inputting enough information, instead of training the users in shortcuts and faster ways to do things.
n closing, there were two training best practices I’ve encountered:
- After initial training (classroom, not web), conduct biweekly coaching sessions via web meetings to reinforce proper methods and to answer problems. Also, monitor data entry and provide individual coaching to those who make repeated entry errors.
- Start slow and grow – just focus on contacts and companies for awhile, then tasks, then leads and opportunities.
Good luck, and here’s to healthy growth for 2017.
Give us a call at 985-727-3455 or email sales@selltis.com.
Reed Stith, Growth Evangelist for Selltis, has spent over 30 years in industrial sales and marketing.