The world of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools can be a complex one, but when wielded properly, is a powerful one. CRMs come in a multitude of different flavors: Salesforce, HubSpot, PipeDrive, Freshworks, Zoho, and a million more! This guide will help you understand concepts that will make your time with them much more effective.
Maybe an obvious one, but an important one, constantly update your customer information. This is the bane of sellers’ existence! I know it feels like most of your time is taken up by these monotonous minor modifications, but when information isn’t correct, it can lead to an even longer sales cycle or worse. In fact, if you use Alliance to share leads with other sellers, soon you will have the capability to populate that lead straight into your CRM. Easy peasy.
As a certified sales professional, you’re going to be spending a lot of time on this platform, so take the time to look up your questions and watch videos on the features. Some of the best sources of information come from your fellow coworkers. Most times, the CRM has been customized to meet your business’ demands, and who would know better than the people around you. Remember: you don’t have to overwhelm yourself with every single feature right away, but it’s good to familiarize yourself with what the product has to offer.
A CRM acts as a focal point to many other business software. You see, a CRM can connect and synchronize to different types of programs, making it more effective than each software individually. Alliance’s seller communication tool will soon have the ability to sync beautifully with most major CRMs and help cut down on the sales cycle by streamlining communication.
This is a tip much overlooked, but looking back through your CRM about what items a customer has purchased gives you insight into what they might buy next. For example, think about the person who buys a car. One could offer products in the same realm to complement the purchase, such as a car care kit or some sweet leather driving gloves.
“Upsell, resell, no free sale, sell.” – Seller’s Credo.
Many automated features within a CRM can expedite sales; at the same time, you don’t want to come off as a robot. Using the automated features to send out soft touches after it’s been a bit can help make sure an opportunity doesn’t slip through the cracks. Sending out personalized messages to clients wishing them a Happy Birthday is often received as thoughtful and helps take the relationship to the next level. Keep in mind how your messages are coming off and whether the situation calls for an automatic response or a personalized one.
The learning journey that you’ve embarked on with CRMs has just begun, and hopefully, these tips and tricks will set you up in the right direction. Remember that the Alliance App is another tool that will help you cut down on CRM busy work and expedite your sales cycle. Sell on my friends.
