One of the better ways to generate qualified leads is to do outbound calling with the goal of setting up a meeting with a sales rep.  There are marketing companies that specialize in this and only charge for the meetings they setup.  The charge could run as high as $800 per meeting.  A cheaper and more effective way to do this is to hire a part-time person and give them a script to follow.  We tried this with a college student and our results were better than when we hired an outside firm to do it.  It allowed us to closely monitor the feedback she was getting and make appropriate adjustments to her approach and calling script.  It did not matter that she knew very little about what she was talking about.  Being polite, brief and sincere was the key in getting people to take the meeting.

Tags: CRM Basics, Marketing

Early user involvement in any new system dramatically increases the overall success, none more so than with CRM.  Get key user feedback early on in the process by involving them in some of the requirements meetings and turning a few of them into power users who support the main role out.  Picking on the most successful sales people usually does the trick.  For one thing, they like the idea of having a system that easily shows others how well they are doing.  Furthermore, making them one of the people other sales people go to when have questions about the new system provides added stardom and recognition to management.

Another easy thing to do is provide a button on your CRM solution that allows for easy feedback of bugs, and enhancement ideas.  People want to be part of creating something new for their company.  Find a way to let them.

Tags: CRM Basics

A great time saver when working with your CRM solution is to invoke bookmarks.  This allows you to access specific information with one click.  The thing to remember about bookmarks is to keep them current.  You do not want to have a large collection of bookmarks because it makes it harder to find the ones you want.  The bookmarks you have should only pertain to current deals and situations you are dealing with currently or everyday tasks.  Once they are resolved or the deal is closed, you should remove them. 

Some solutions let you also bookmark items outside you CRM data.  That becomes useful if you are accessing things like Word documents or PowerPoint presentations.  This way you do not have to leave CRM to access this information. 

Utilizing bookmarks is a great way to drastically save time searching for the data or documents you need.

Tags: CRM Basics, crm productivity

I have been going to a new gym close to work for about 6 months.  When I went during the first week in January it was more crowded than I had ever seen.  I did expect a small bump with people trying to get their New Years workout resolution off to a good start.  I mentioned to the employee at the desk that I guess this will last for a few months and he said, “Not a few months, 2 weeks”. 

It shows how quickly people give up on things that require more effort at the beginning.  If you can force yourself to stay with your workout plan, in a pretty short time frame you will find a rhythm and start seeing results.  That fuels your desire to continue and push even harder. 

The same is true for CRM.  It is harder at the beginning.  You have to do more work in the beginning and not really seeing any immediate results.  Once the reps and the system reach a more critical mass many of the benefits are seen.  The reps would have figured out how to use the system based on how they work, more mundane tasks are completed and a lot of useful data is now easily available.  The results and benefits are now being seen.

It is just a matter of getting all your CRM users through the New Year Resolution collapse.

Tags: CRM Basics

How would you like to reduce the number of clicks a rep does during the day by 25%. That can equate to 100 or more clicks in just a day. It is a huge productivity gain for both neophytes and expert users.

Key words/drop-down phrases are the answer. They are easy to setup, dramatically reduce the amount of typing a rep has to do, and enforces consistency. It allows a rep to use two clicks to enter a full phrase or word. Therefore, unless the word they wanted to use had only one letter they are ahead of the game. As a byproduct, it allows you to enforce consistency for reporting and analysis. You do not have to worry about people entering things all different ways.

In the end, you want reps to quickly record the information and move on. Drop-down key words and phrases allow you to provide that. Many CRM solutions have this available. You just need to ensure they are turned on, have the right information and show the reps how easy it is to use. Imagine 100 less clicks each day, 2100 a month, 25,200 a year, all per person. Worth the effort to put in place? I think so.

Example of drop-down key phrases:

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Example of drop-down words:

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Tags: crm, crm productivity

I have always believed the key to success with CRM lies in the training and follow-up support you give your reps. Yes, it is important to deliver a tool that is easy to use, has features that help increase productivity and integrated business processes that reps and support people need to do their jobs. However, without providing the right training and a place they can go to get questions answered you will fight a losing battle. The first 30 days will determine the success or failure of your CRM solution. It is during this time opinions are formed, and stances taken. The mob will be forming for better or worse. Whether you have the perfect system or not with training and support, you can overcome most of the problems. You want to overcome the usage of the system very quickly. It is easy to fix features and functions in the solution. A bad perception of use is not.

The best training you can provide is scenario based. How do you see a rep using the system from the time he starts his/her day. How does he use the system when he gets a new lead? This really helps put context around the new solution. People like routines they can follow.

You only retain about 25% of classroom training. Therefore, it is important to schedule 4 weekly 1 hour sessions where users can log in and ask questions that they have from the week. You should schedule these sessions for the first month. I would also add in advanced topics and shortcuts in weeks 3 and 4.

Doing remote follow-up training is very inexpensive and easy to accomplish. It could literally be the difference between success or failure.

Tags: Add new tag, CRM Basics, Training

It is not exactly hedging but adjusting your revenue based on past rep performance is a way to ensure you are not over or under stating your revenue targets too much. How this works is simple. You assign each rep a weight factor based on how they have forecasted in the past. Do they have a tendency to overstate and under deliver or understate and over deliver? Each rep likes to handle how they report their deals differently. So for example, a rep that usually is under their revenue forecast by 10% you would assign a factor of 90%. If a rep consistently is over their forecasted revenue you can assign 105% factor.

When running forecast reports you will want to see two columns for revenue. One is the stated forecast on the opportunity and the other column will show the adjusted based on the factor of the rep. To get the adjusted revenue numbers just multiply the revenue of the deal by the rep factor. This is easily done automatically for you when creating or updating your opportunity. It should be carried as an additional field on the opportunity for easy reporting. For companies that use sales forecasts for any type of capacity planning this will help get it much closer.

Remember the past is a window to the future. Always try to leverage the past to better predict your future business.

Rep Factor is part of their profile

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How it shows on the opportunity

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How it shows on forecast reports

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Tags: CRM Basics, crm productivity

It is the one year anniversary of the blog and what a year it has been. While there are differing opinions on how long it will take the economy to recover, what is certain is that businesses will remain lean for a long time to come. Many companies have continued to show profits even with reduced revenues because of the cost cutting they have done. It has shown they can do more with less.

In addition, our financial system is going through the painful process of deleveraging itself from years of excess. And like banks, we also need to deleverage ourselves where we can. We are online and connected to work, friends, family, and news 24 hours a day. We need to find places in our lives where we can simplify things.

The analogy I have used about shaving a Yak to explain why projects like CRM projects fail continues to be true (see October 6, 2008 post). We need to always remember not to over complicate things. Start off small and slowly add-on features as you need them. Don’t anticipate everything you need upfront. Look at today and ask yourself what is really needed to help our reps get back 10% of their time. What kind of tool today do they need in order to help them meet their quota? What kind of tool can we expect them to want to use?

Try to visualize what the feeling would be if you were standing in front of a Yak with a razor trying to figure out how to shave him. If you look at your CRM project and feel overwhelmed you need to reevaluate your strategy.

And remember, deleveraging is not just for our banks.

Tags: CRM Basics, crm productivity

This past weekend I experience what I am afraid is becoming more of the norm. I have gone to this same bagel store for many years. I would get a toasted bagel with whitefish salad. I loved it because the salad had large pieces of whitefish perfectly blended with herbs and just the right amount of mayonnaise.

I guess due to a drop in business they changed the preparation of the salad. Now when you order it you get this pile of pureed slop on the bagel. Gone are the chunks of fresh whitefish. Gone is the right mix of mayonnaise and herbs. They are trying to take the same amount of fish and create a lot more salad from it. They added a lot more mayonnaise and put everything in a blender. But they thought giving more would make up for the near soup they put on the bagel.

It seems a lot of companies think that people would rather have more of a bad thing than less of a great thing. Is this true? I know I will never go back for that sandwich. I believe most people would be fine (or not even notice) a little less salad per serving. Getting so much more of something fair diminishes the quality and value we expect from American business. But worse than that for companies is that it erodes their customer loyalty. I will no longer go to the store and when the economy turns around again and they can go back to making the sandwich the way they always did, I will have found an alternative.

Customers understand the difficulties vendors are under. I don’t believe getting a few ounces less for the same price while this crisis’s is in place would be an issue. Organizations need to be very careful not to alienate their best customer base by implementing changes to save money. There are many ways to get to the numbers you need.

CRM is great for not only understanding your customers buying habits and key issues but a great way to communicate with them easily. Let your customers know beforehand the cost cutting changes you are putting in place that might affect them. Some might choose another alternative in the short run but will value your integrity and caring for them. As soon as you can provide the same level of service again they will be back. Mass mailings are an easy way to get the message out to individuals. They will be happy to know you are doing your part to stay in business and maintain profitability. They need you around.

Tags: crm

With the passing of Walter Cronkite I got to thinking about what it means to be “the most trusted man in America”. How is it possible that one man delivering the news can capture the attention of everyone in America and much of the world?

Before Walter Cronkite the news was sort of homogenized. Bundled up into little easily-absorbed bites. All the news stations were doing the same thing. Walter Cronkite changed all that for CBS. He delivered the news with vigor, compassion and a sense of purpose. He knew the American people could deal more effectively with the actual facts rather than some watered down variations. And he was able to connect with the millions of viewers one soul at a time.

Walter Cronkite’s success came down to 4 things: credibility, sincerity, loyalty and approachability. His quest for the facts, his caring about getting the job done right, his devotion to family and America, and his clear opinions and delivery is what made him the most trusted man in America.

As business people, if we follow Water Cronkite’s example our customers will always want to do business with us. If we know the facts, present clear ideas, prove our case and show them we care, we have done our job and customers and prospects will appreciate it. They might not always agree with our counsel but they know they can trust us.

George Clooney said he hates America without Walter Cronkite. We all know he does not mean that but the world has lost one of its best parts. We should all strive to carry a little Walter in everything we do and slowly we will make our world a better place.

Tags: CRM Basics