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Automating Your Sales Processes and CRM Strategies
There's a lot of talk about using technology to automate your sales force and to help your business strategy for managing your customer relationships, or what is commonly known as Customer Relationship Management, or CRM. No doubt, technology can help any business become more efficient and effective. Purchasing technology alone will not, however, improve sales performance. It will only allow a poor sales rep to accomplish poor habits more quickly. Sales reps sell either by “Process” or by “Accident”. An accident happens when a sale comes along that is basically a surprise and wasn’t expected.
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A Sales Process, on the other hand, is a step-by-step procedure that is executed for each potential customer (prospect) in order to get her into a position to want to purchase your product or service from you.
Since accidents don’t happen often enough, we have to rely on processes to be successful. Therefore, a Sales Process needs to be defined and implemented so that each sales rep performs at their most effective level, thus increasing their success. A Sales Process defines the methodologies for which steps need to be taken, and repeated, to move the process along the sales path toward a purchase. It also includes the methods for qualifying a prospect, listening to the prospect’s needs, analyzing alternatives, and presenting the appropriate solutions so the prospect will want to purchase from you. Therefore, your should develop Sales Processes and methodologies, and provide ample Sales Training in order for your sales team to understand these new processes and methodologies, why they exist, how they will benefit them, and how to implement them.
Once you have your Sales Processes and CRM strategy defined, you can look toward technology as a tool to implement them. There are many sales automation, contact management, and CRM products available today. However, simply choosing the right product will not guarantee success. Remember that technology is used to deploy your Sales Process and CRM strategy, not drive them.
The right Sales Automation and CRM product should replicate your best sales practices. Thus, first understand what your best sales practices are. If you don’t have any best practices, or what you have is insufficient, then develop them first, then use technology to deploy and replicate them. By designing your product around your processes and successful methodologies, your weaker sales reps will become more successful, your stronger sales reps will become more efficient, and your new sales reps will have a reduced learning curve since they will have the pre-defined steps for success and a tool to make them more readily efficient.
Since there is a lot to consider in choosing a Sales Automation and CRM product, be sure to evaluate multiple vendors. Develop specs and provide them to the vendors to prove they can meet your criteria, now and in the future. The product you choose should grow and expand with your company and with your future plans. Thus, having a Sales Process and CRM strategy defined and documented at this stage will be critical so you know where you’ll want to be over time. An excellent product that can economically address your Sales Process requirements and help implement your CRM strategy, is GoldMine, from FrontRange Solutions. GoldMine not only handles the obvious functions such as; contact management, calendar events and scheduling, MS Word integration, and email management, but it also can run your marketing campaigns, handle your forecasting, share information with everyone in your business whether local or remote, and much more. GoldMine can, in effect, run your company's marketing and sales functions.
As with anything that is powerful and sophisticated, use specialists to help with the planning phases, the implementation, and the training. Their experience and expertise will prove invaluable to your success and you won't end up wasting a lot of time learning what experts already know, nor wind up down the wrong path or over your head.
Since accidents don’t happen often enough, we have to rely on processes to be successful. Therefore, a Sales Process needs to be defined and implemented so that each sales rep performs at their most effective level, thus increasing their success. A Sales Process defines the methodologies for which steps need to be taken, and repeated, to move the process along the sales path toward a purchase. It also includes the methods for qualifying a prospect, listening to the prospect’s needs, analyzing alternatives, and presenting the appropriate solutions so the prospect will want to purchase from you. Therefore, your should develop Sales Processes and methodologies, and provide ample Sales Training in order for your sales team to understand these new processes and methodologies, why they exist, how they will benefit them, and how to implement them.
Once you have your Sales Processes and CRM strategy defined, you can look toward technology as a tool to implement them. There are many sales automation, contact management, and CRM products available today. However, simply choosing the right product will not guarantee success. Remember that technology is used to deploy your Sales Process and CRM strategy, not drive them.
The right Sales Automation and CRM product should replicate your best sales practices. Thus, first understand what your best sales practices are. If you don’t have any best practices, or what you have is insufficient, then develop them first, then use technology to deploy and replicate them. By designing your product around your processes and successful methodologies, your weaker sales reps will become more successful, your stronger sales reps will become more efficient, and your new sales reps will have a reduced learning curve since they will have the pre-defined steps for success and a tool to make them more readily efficient.
Since there is a lot to consider in choosing a Sales Automation and CRM product, be sure to evaluate multiple vendors. Develop specs and provide them to the vendors to prove they can meet your criteria, now and in the future. The product you choose should grow and expand with your company and with your future plans. Thus, having a Sales Process and CRM strategy defined and documented at this stage will be critical so you know where you’ll want to be over time. An excellent product that can economically address your Sales Process requirements and help implement your CRM strategy, is GoldMine, from FrontRange Solutions. GoldMine not only handles the obvious functions such as; contact management, calendar events and scheduling, MS Word integration, and email management, but it also can run your marketing campaigns, handle your forecasting, share information with everyone in your business whether local or remote, and much more. GoldMine can, in effect, run your company's marketing and sales functions.
As with anything that is powerful and sophisticated, use specialists to help with the planning phases, the implementation, and the training. Their experience and expertise will prove invaluable to your success and you won't end up wasting a lot of time learning what experts already know, nor wind up down the wrong path or over your head.
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