- As a sales rep, I'm sure you remember
your manager telling you to send in call reports on time
and keeping the CRM updated with the latest details
about opportunities and potential sales.
When I first became a sales representative,
I had to learn from my manager and other sales colleagues
about the best ways to manage my account information.
This was before the advent
of customer relationship management software,
so I had my notes, and folders, notecards,
spreadsheets, and a database package
that I had purchased at an office supply store.
I was really organized, and I had this information detailed,
accurate, and updated at the end of each week.
The problem was that no one else had access
to this information except me.
I guarded it with my life!
You would have thought I had top-secret information,
since I only passed along things on a need-to-know basis.
Account and market information is invaluable.
It helps drive revenue and success.
It never should be withheld!
Today, no matter what business you're in,
if you were to ask sales managers, they would say
that the marketplace is so much more competitive
than it was just a few years ago.
At the same time, over the past decade,
CRMs have become so much more user-friendly
and have become part of most organizations overall systems.
The increasingly competitive marketplace,
along with the recognized value
of detailed account information,
are the critical reasons why salespeople
now must be fully supportive of CRMs.
As managers, we must model the way with its usage.
CRMs don't generate sales, but they enable the process
to work better, faster, and more efficiently.
They integrate well with other technology tools
ranging from customer care support
to lead generation software.
Some of them even work with LinkedIn
to enable networking with professionals globally.
However, a key aspect is that all departments benefit
from the information that our sales staff supplies,
so there's now a team approach to support accounts.
Remember, all of this is to focus on the goal
of selling a product or service.
As managers, we need to support our sales staff
for being active users of the CRM too.
We need to reinforce the need for accurate
and up-to-date account information,
feedback, opportunities, and sales projections.
The recommendations and guidance we submit
for all to see shows the commitment
we have to the salesperson, the account,
and for all members of the team.
Salespeople will still be concerned about forecasts,
projections, and sensitive account information on the CRM.
As managers, we need to be vocal to all those outside
of our departments, laying out the ground rules
for direct-to-account communication.
We need to be clear that every lead
and every opportunity in the CRM
doesn't mean a sale is going to be closed!
Some companies have really good policies for handling this,
but you need to reinforce it and be a part
of that education process for others.
Salespeople don't own the account,
but I'm a firm believer that the salesperson
does need to be the owner of the process
of working with the account.
They are the directors, so to speak,
gathering and coordinating the resources,
from marketing, product development, or whomever,
with the objective of closing sales.
CRM usage helps do that, and during my career,
it's become one of the best tools given to salespeople.
You, as their manager, need to reinforce that
and be an active part of the process, too.