Why Don’t Salespeople Like CRM Software, And What Can You Do About It?

This post is addressed to the senior management in an organization, the ones who typically take decisions regarding the usage of new technology to improve business processes. The digital transformation of organizations is always a good idea due to its attentive benefits, such as improved efficiency and productivity, but such changes, often drastic, are not always welcomed by the people who have to actually use the software. A case in point is online customer relationship management software, and the people affected by the deployment of the software are the salespeople. There is often a visceral reaction to the deployment of CRM software at the workplace due to a variety of reasons; however, management can take steps to ensure that these reactions are countermanded, and digital transformation works the way it should.

So, what is it that salespeople have against CRM software?

Continuous oversight:

This is not to say that salespeople do not like the management to have oversight into their operations, nor is it to say that salespeople do not perform their tasks. What we mean to say in this regard is that the sales process is often a long and lengthy one, especially in the case of business-to-business transactions. Oftentimes, once they have completed their tasks like sending the brochures or giving a demonstration of the software, salespeople have nothing much to do but to wait for the counter-party to take a decision. While this is a completely accepted component of the sales process, it might appear to the senior management as if the salespeople are not doing their work and are whiling away their time.

There is no easy fix to this, and it is a quintessential part of the sales process. This continuous oversight and the many questions they give rise to are some of the reasons why salespeople resent the deployment of the software. Indeed, the salespeople might even feel that the software has been deployed for the sole purpose of keeping an eye on the performance of the salespeople, and it is more useful for the management than it is for the employees themselves.

The remedy to this is to sensitize the senior management of the trials and tribulations of the sales process and the fact that the process is largely dependent on the response from the other party as opposed to the effort of the salesperson. Even if the salesperson has done a smashing job of convincing the counterparty, they still have to convene meetings to take the decision as to whether the software has to be deployed or not. Therefore, if the management is patient and mindful of the time it takes for the sales process to be completed, the resentment among the salespeople will be reduced.

Copious Data Entry:

The CRM solution needs data to be able to function effectively. This data has to be entered by the salespeople individually, and this could be one more cause for resentment among them as to the usage of the solution. After all, no one who is in a high-performing role that frequently interacts with the leads and customers will have no interest in doing something so mundane as entering data into a computer.

The remedy to this is to import data from previous records, whether they are in the form of spreadsheets or legacy tools, or employ someone for the sole purpose of data entry so that the salespeople are left free to carry out their duties.

Silo-based CRM Usage:

one of the disadvantages about CRM deployment is that organizations tend to use it as a standalone application dedicated only to for usage by salespeople. Not knowing what their role is and not knowing what to do after the transaction is closed will make the salespeople feel bad about their work.

There is a simple remedy to this. While CRM can act as a specialized tool for salespeople, it can also do much more for organizations. The trick is to deploy a CRM platform instead of a CRM standalone application that will enable organizations to complete a wide variety of tasks from a single solution. Using the CRM application, once the salesperson completes the transaction, then there is the matter of finalizing it through contracts. When contract lifecycle management software is also integrated with CRM software, the salespeople can directly close the transaction there. Also, an eSignature application can be integrated with the solution so that this process of completing the transaction is completed in a matter of minutes.

All in all, The online customer relationship management platform is a great addition to the salesperson’s toolkit and ensures that the entire process becomes processional. Not only will they not resent it anymore but they will also start liking using it more and more.