An Inexpensive Solution to Greater CRM Profits…
Are you a small business owner or manager who has implemented some type of contact management or CRM solution for your business? If so – congratulations! You have accomplished a major milestone and put yourself and your business a step ahead of many of your competitors. However, the journey to increased productivity and profits has only just begun.
A recurring theme that my partner and I run into time and again when speaking with small business folks who have made the investment in sales automation is that there is typically a wide gulf between what the system offers and what businesses actually exploit.
At this point, you may be saying, “Hey, that’s OK. At least we’re doing something, it’s better than nothing, and I know we’re better off than not using it all.” I’ll give you that. Let me ask you this though: In your personal finances, do you stick your savings in a savings account that returns six-tenths of a percent when you can open a CD paying 5% and then say “That’s good enough, at least I saved something.” If so, this article is not for you. Otherwise, stay with me on this.
You’ve invested both hard earned cash and at least some time in your CRM solution, so no doubt not only would you like to recoup that initial investment as soon as possible but also earn as many dividends as rapidly as you can.
What we often find as the low hanging fruit in closing the gap in CRM profit yield is a terribly basic notion: training.
I cannot begin to tell you how many times a new client has exclaimed: “I didn’t know I could do that!” Most often this is someone who has been using their system for years.
Think of that:
years of underperformance,
years of wasted time doing it the wrong way,
years of lost opportunities because you didn’t know your system would automatically track call and meeting dates if only you had used History instead of Notes…
What is the cost to you for these ‘good enough’ practices?
Returning to our example of the savings account vs. the CD:
Let’s use $500 as this is a realistic investment in time and money for a simple do-it-yourself purchase and install of a small business CRM solution for a single person. To keep it simple, we will say that both accounts compound annually. The savings account would bring you a whopping $3 the first year, and by the end of the fifth year you would have $515.18 in your account. Good enough?
In comparison, the CD would be worth $638.14 – 9 times the return!
No doubt you realize that your real world investment in ongoing business operation, lost or realized sales, etc., is significantly larger and compounded by each additional member added to the equation. Further, 20 or 30% gains – not a measly 5% – in net results (time efficiencies, quicker sales cycle closes, faster lead response time, more leads handled per rep, etc.) when using a CRM solution as an ‘enlightened’ (i.e. – trained) organization are not unrealistic.
So, time for honest self examination:
- Have you and/or your staff had training in the last 12 months? Ever?
- Can you absolutely stand behind the statement that your organization is using its CRM to the fullest? Or even 75%?
If your answer is no to either of these questions, than it’s time to let go of ‘good enough’ and get a right-sized professional training program on the calendar!
Otherwise, you got some ‘splainin’ to do. Remember – ‘good enough’ and status quo are not free, just hidden.
