Getting Your Sales People Comfortable With Digital Transformation

As they say, change is the only constant. That is not to say, however, that not everyone in an organization welcomes change. Either because they have to learn something new or because they feel like something new has been hoisted upon them, many employees resist change. The same is true of salespeople and CRM software, the solution that allows users to handle all their CRM-related tasks in a much more efficient and professional manner. Simply deploying the solution and asking them to start using the solution is not always going to work. Here are some tips on how to get your salespeople to get comfortable with using the system and getting the most out of it.

Demonstrate the Result, Not the Process:

One of the biggest mistakes senior managers can make is to think that salespeople will take to the solutions simply because, in theory, it is a great way to transform the CRM process. However, before one can see the results, there are a lot many things that one needs to do. The software is not some magic wand that makes all CRM troubles go away and make everyone’s performance better. There is a lot of data entry that has to happen before the insightful reports can be run to gain an understanding of the process. Therefore, the first and best thing that the senior management can do is to demonstrate the kind of results that they can expect after putting in all the hard work of data entry. Once salespeople see what can be achieved by using the software diligently, they themselves will be happy to take it on.

Sales Funnel & Activity Tracking:

Salespeople are very familiar with sales funnels, and are steeped in them. However, many of them work with spreadsheets and a variety of other tools to manage different stages of the sales funnel. For example, they might use emails to get in touch with prospects and leads, then use telephonic calls to talk about opportunities, and use video conferencing software to demonstrate the product or handle any questions. Also, salespeople will be handling multiple prospects at the same time at different points in the sales funnel. Keeping track of all of this with multiple tools only adds to the confusion and allows for the scope of losing an important client. It is precisely for such a circumstance that the customer relationship management software platform exists. The software offers support for the entirety of the sales funnel and ensures that no activity is missed at any point in time. It automatically notifies the salespeople about the various duties that they have to perform in a single day.

By looking at the sales funnel, salespeople can also ensure that they delegate work to others in case they are busy. For example, if a prospective customer has a demo scheduled for a day, but the salesperson has just received a notification that an important call has to take place, the salesperson can immediately delegate the work to a colleague who will be able to handle the call.

Data & Collaboration:

Sales is an intensely competitive activity, but it is also a truism that salespeople can perform better when they work together as a team instead of running solo. As sales reps, they are only one small cog in the entire transaction chain. There are the marketing people as well as the pre-sales people who have to weigh in before the actual process of sales can start. With the CRM software solution as a platform, this collaboration among these individual stakeholders becomes easier.

Another aspect of the solution that is noteworthy is data handling capabilities. No more do salespeople have to keep track of data individually, nor do they have to pore over data to gain some insights, such as which prospects are likely to turn into customers. With the built-in engine of the CRM solution, the software takes care of all these tasks, and all users have to do is look at the numbers and make their decisions. Since the software can collate vast amounts of data at once, it can also help build ideal customer profiles, that is, the prospects who have the highest chance of turning into customers.

All in all, when used properly, online customer relationship management software is an ideal tool for salespeople to improve their performance. It is only initially that they might have some reservations about the software, but once the senior management takes the time to explain to them how the software works and how it can drastically improve the way the sales processes are conducted, salespeople will use them to the fullest. As such, it is incumbent on both the managers and the sales reps to come together to make customer relationship management a success.