If you are deciding on implementing easy to use CRM software for your small or medium business, chances are you had come across several blogs, articles, and statistical reports discussing the various reasons why even the best small and medium business CRM software implementation fails.
Some of these myriad reasons are so common, that you can find them in almost all discussions, like:
“We do not want to learn another business tool.”
“CRM is just too complex.”
“Our sales teams just do not want to use it.”
Now, let us be pragmatic. Nobody likes using software applications that are complex, which slows us down, or are difficult to get started with. None has patience in this modern world anymore. Especially salespersons, those who are always pressed for time and therefore perceive the idea of using another tool to manage their work, as an unhappy means to monitor their performance and change their work routine.
91% of SME with over 11 employees now use SaaS CRM platform- BuyerZone Click To TweetThis is exactly the reason there are so many writing on the Internet that talks about salespeople hating to use even an easy to use CRM.
But do they?
Easy to use CRM solution is one of the most crowded markets and even a competitive one, with more than 100 vendors in the race. Moreover, Gartner’s prediction on this market being a $36 Billion market in 2017, only prove that Customer Relationship Management solutions are going to continue growing even in the long run, as relationships with the customers will always remain critical to the future of any business.
Additionally statistics like the increase in CRM usage from 56% to 74% (an 18% jump) in small and medium businesses, only proves that CRM adoption in SME companies has not slowed down between 2016 and 2017, and shall grow even higher in the years to come.
Dividing these stats even further in terms of the number of staffs in a company it has been noted that 91% of SME with over 11 employees use small and medium business CRM software, while 50% of companies with less than 10 employees even use an easy to use CRM.
These stats are enough to make us think positively that salespeople probably do not actually have an apathy in using CRM software – not anymore.
Not if they use the best small and medium business CRM software, like ConvergeHub that helps sales reps to prospect better, follow their potential opportunities and track sales conversations, never let them miss a task or appointment, and at the end, boost their overall growth and productivity.
Per say using an easy to use CRM software is faster than searching through a pile of old business cards, hunting though fading sticky notes, updating spreadsheets or trying to turning your memory into a high-speed computing system.
Even another statistics on an interesting study done by Gartner shows that a well-implemented small and medium business CRM application can increase a business’s revenue by 41% per salesperson. – that indeed sounds promising.
The decision to adopt CRM or change an existing customer relationship software usually comes from the top brasses in the company, because there are process and budget involved while implementing it. Most of the time the management of any small or medium business ends up choosing a SaaS CRM that is either well-known in the market, or one that provides insights on the sales trends or helps monitor sales performance to aid the management structure a better sales strategy- an application that is not apparently helpful for any sales rep.
This chosen CRM can involve a lot of customization to get up and running and there can be an even longer learning curve to coach the entire team and get them onboard.
Salespersons do not really have a say in this CRM adoption’s decision-making process, while at the end, all they are forced to do is to update the CRM platform so that the management can generate insightful and complex reports.
The hard fact is that traditional CRMs are dead, in these modern times. For on its own, legacy CRM software neither automate all that much nor does it provides the required context needed for effective selling.
Therefore, ever burdened with targets, sales reps sooner or later start looking for sales productivity tools that can help them make sales. Mostly, these sales tools come with an expensive price tag, and so businesses eventually start spending on multiple sales applications, and at the same time jeopardize sales productivity- by making the sales reps waste their time juggling between these tools.
Just think of, nobody forces salespersons to use phone and emails. Since, sales reps are naturally aware that it aids them to get in contact with their prospects, build connections with their leads, and eventually make sales.
This is exactly how a CRM software should be. Easy to use CRM needs to be smart, provide invaluable insights to the sales reps, which should eventually help the sales team to sell more in less time.
An ideal easy to use CRM should remind the reps of what they should be doing, help them to recall their last conversations with the customers and provide a ‘history’ with the customers, which include:
After all, the secret of success in sales is working with people, and an easy to use CRM software should act as an essential sidekick for the sales team.
So here is what we say to all sales reps out their- if you are using a CRM software that is not helping you to get better at your skills and make more sale, but is just there to measure your tasks, you should never accept it.
Yes, you should never use a CRM, which is not built for you, and hence it is not in a position to help you sell.
Here it leads us to the crucial question, which CRM software should small and medium businesses put their funds on?
This is the age of value selling. The customer does not like to be sold, rather they prefer to work with someone who can help them to accomplish their objectives and goals, and, sales is just the result of good help offered to the leads.
Therefore, sales teams always have to remain equipped with the right insights, about their prospect’s expectations and goals, so that they can offer the right help and value to the customers.
Sales need an easy to use CRM system, like ConvergeHub, which is designed with them in mind. A CRM software, which is not only simple but also intuitive. After all, when the sales teams are happy and have the necessary tools to increase their productivity, the management will be happy with profits rolling in.
Here are some factors to look out for when selecting the best small and medium business CRM software:
#1. One with less data entry
Sales reps hate manual data entry. They abhor typing the same email repeatedly, filling up endless forms, updating profiles in multiple systems, saving emails from the inbox folder to CRM and creating reports. According to a Forrester data, sales reps spend just a little over 35.9% of their work hours selling, while the rest is consumed by these menial tasks.
Therefore, your easy to use CRM software should be able to automate most of these time-wasting activities so that the sales reps can focus on what they do best- Sales.
#2. Communication tools within the CRM
Sales and marketing practically live within their system’s inbox. So why not purchase an easy to use CRM software that brings the inbox into the CRM. This way all sales reps will find complete control to access the customer’s data along with all the sales conversations from the CRM, which will aid them in nurturing their prospects more efficiently.
#3. Help add value to conversations
In 2015 in an interesting report published by Forrester, titled “Death of the B2B Salesman” (after Arthur Miller’s play “Death of a Salesman” which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1949), brought to light one useful piece of information- sales reps those who provide value-added information becomes more important to their prospects and customers over time.
Hence, your easy to use CRM should be equipped with advanced features that cater to essential context, which includes:
That will make your sales team members better prepared to provide a valuable experience to the prospects and customers on their next sales call.
#4. Easy to get started and use
Save yourself and your sales teams from languishing in utter frustration by choosing a small and medium business CRM that is quick to configure, aids in seamlessly migration of any form of data (without help of a consultant), easily adapts to your existing sales processes, and most essentially one that does not call for endless hours of training.
Always make sure that your easy to use CRM integrates with all your existing tools like project management, customer support, marketing automation and so on.
#5. Scalability
Your business may be very small now, but this not how it is going to stay after a few years. You might triple your sales team, invest substantially more in marketing activities, and generate more leads. Therefore, make sure that you buy a CRM that is scalable in the end and is fit to grow along with your company.
Conclusion
Let us face it. Sales hate changes, which can disrupt their productivity. Hence, for once give the baton to your sales team, by making them a part of your CRM buying decision making process, and let them decide which easy to use CRM would work best for them.
You can remain sure, once the members of your sales team select a CRM, they would not want to switch to another business management software for a long, long time.
