Why It Pays Off to Use CRM Software in Sales
The sales process often resembles a “black box” – leads flow in at the front and customers come out at the other end. But what is actually in between? Why did the original 100 prospects become only 5 customers? Of course you would like to understand this and influence the success factors. Without a powerful CRM software, this becomes difficult. How do you want to recognize what led to success and where the potential for increasing sales lies, if you know almost nothing about the actual sales process?
Everyday life with a customer relationship management (CRM) software looks different: The sales processes are defined and all authorized persons can access the required sales data and proactively control the sales process.
In this article, we explain the most important reasons why it pays off to use CRM software in sales – regardless of size of your company or industry – and what added value the use of CRM software offers you in your company.
1. fluent work processes & improved communication
A CRM solution can optimally support the workflows in your sales department. It offers tools that enable teams to work together more efficiently. A shared knowledge base, modern chat communication, etc. – there are a multitude of tools and settings in a CRM system that can rapidly increase team efficiency – you just have to use them!
When you place a new order, complaint or customer inquiry, you are only a mouse click away from the contact history. By calling up the contact history you can get an overview of your customer and his needs. All e-mails and documents sent by your company are documented. So you can easily find out what is the best way to contact the person and help them further. By using templates, your e-mail communication runs even faster and more seamlessly.
What is CRM software?
Customer Relationship Management, or CRM for short, describes the consistent orientation of a company towards its customers and the systematic design of customer relationship processes. The associated documentation and management of customer relationships is an important component and enables more in-depth relationship marketing.
In many industries (e.g. telecommunications, mail order, service companies), relationships between companies and customers are long-term oriented. By means of CRM, these customer relationships are cultivated, which should have a significant impact on the success of the company.
You could read more about it on Wikipedia.
2. proactive sales management
Acting instead of reacting – this can be done in sales by those who have clear key figures and consistent processes. The transparency of your sales activities, business opportunities, completed orders is essential for sales success. Information about the current status of your sales processes, quotations created, products sold – and in real time as well – is of enormous importance and ultimately makes the decisive difference, for a successful sales process.
In a CRM system, you can visualize your sales pipeline as a sales funnel and thus more quickly determine the relationship between, for example, quotation and order volumes. Is there a discrepancy? Then start looking for possible causes. With a sales funnel it is possible to identify weaknesses in the process as well as problems in sales and to find a solution to the problem in time.
Proactive sales management means always being informed and having your ear to the ground. In other words, it is extremely important to recognize trends in time. CRM software makes it possible to evaluate decisive key figures such as turnover or offer volume across various dimensions such as customers, industry, products, etc. So you are always in the picture!
3. create quotations quickly and without errors
The preparation of offers is the heart of sales and yet often a problem child. Even the complete recording of the scope of delivery is time-consuming and error-prone. Customer-specific discounts must be taken into account and the offer format should of course correspond to your corporate design. Everything complicated and not very efficient, so far?
With the right software support, today you only need a few hours or even minutes to create an offer – depending on its complexity. Scopes of delivery are recorded in a structured way, discounts are calculated automatically at the push of a button and the offer can be created in multilingual configuration and different currencies if desired. All this, of course, in your corporate design.
4. analyse complex data & automatically generate reports
Correct data helps the management of companies to make informed decisions. For example, analyses of the order value of your products/services can be carried out by customer – and all with just a few clicks. If such reports are to be generated, for example, weekly or monthly, you can easily automate the report generation process in the CRM system. Your management is quickly informed about current sales and can track progress.
For this reason, the integrated data analyses are a must with every CRM software.
5. mobile CRM for your field service
In the digital age, flexibility and the permanent availability of information is becoming increasingly important. A CRM solution that is not available on tablet or smartphone is therefore no longer an option for modern companies. This feature is especially important for sales employees who are often on the road and still want to stay up-to-date. All customers in view, open offers and orders or even a complaint that has not yet been processed? As a user of a mobile CRM solution, you always meet your customer well prepared and never get caught on the wrong foot.
You want to plan your visit route optimally, know which customer is nearby and after a customer visit, with a cup of coffee at the service station, immediately write the visit report which, depending on the recorded answer, automatically triggers workflows and sends messages? All this is made possible by modern CRM software today.
6. more time for the customer through better time management
The CRM software relieves users of routine tasks. In addition, with a CRM system, the time it takes to access information decreases rapidly, allowing users to get their work done faster. The time gained can be invested in customer advice and support.
CRM software helps you work more efficiently not only as a person, but also as a team. Upcoming tasks can be prioritized within the sales team and leads can be addressed promptly. Every interested party is immediately provided with the desired information. Perhaps it is precisely this quick reaction that will later tip the scales when it comes to a purchase decision in your favor.
7. A CRM increases employee satisfaction
A system-supported management of customer relationships (and customer data) not only contributes to the consistent management of customer touchpoints in the company, but also generally increases employee satisfaction. Because by relieving them of routine tasks, people feel more comfortable and productive. Here are a few tips on how you can keep your employees motivated when it comes to CRM.
TIP
Complex CRM systems in particular can be perceived by your employees at the beginning as a work obstacle. Therefore, involve your employees in the selection process, make sure the interface is user-friendly and provide regular training. Note: If you use CRM software only as a control instrument, you will not exploit the full potential of these solutions and ruin user acceptance in the long run.
8. what you should know about an ROI analysis
You have made a significant investment with the purchase of CRM software. As an employee who thinks in business terms, you ask yourself whether and how this investment pays off. A detailed consideration would go beyond the scope of this article. Therefore we will give you only some food for thought at this point.
The savings in working time through the use of a CRM system can perhaps be quantified relatively simply. Other effects are not so easy to express in Euros. What value does it have, for example, that your customer receives his offer complete, error-free and on time? Or that your field service is informed about open and escalated service processes? The answer is the same as in the famous advertisement: priceless.
But don’t be under the illusion that buying a CRM solution solves all your problems. CRM software isn’t a miracle cure that will automatically bring your business lavish sales after implementation. To work successfully, a CRM solution must be deeply embedded in your sales and business strategy. You should live CRM!
Conclusion
CRM software offers several advantages to the sales department. Not only can you proactively control sales processes, analyze complex data, and work from the road, but the entire department becomes more agile and efficient.
A CRM solution has the potential to significantly strengthen your sales team. With a purposeful use of CRM, you not only save time, but also work more efficiently and customer-friendly.
But remember: The successful implementation of CRM software solution should never be seen as a completed process, but rather as a continuous improvement process.
