Sales Best Practice #3 – Has an excellent working relationship with the boss

Posted by Commence on April 11, 2012 under Sales Training | Be the First to Comment

A best practice for sales people by guest poster Dave Kahle, author and leading sales educator.

By Dave Kahle

The best salespeople understand that their company has assembled a collection of resources into which they can tap in order to further their sales success.  One such resource is your sales manager.

Now, I understand that the quality of sales managers varies tremendously.  Some salespeople view their sales manager as a liability. That is unfortunate.  But that is not the point.  Regardless of your opinion as to the competency of your sales manager, you still must work with him/her.  And that means that you must have a working relationship with that person.

In my tenure as a salesperson, I had eight sales managers.  Seven of the eight were solid and experienced with good people skills – an asset in front of any customer.  One was incredibly pushy and alienated every customer with whom he spoke.

If you are fortunate enough to have to a manager who brings additional resources and strengths to your customers, good for you.  By all means take advantage of that.

If, however,  you believe your sales manager doesn’t have that kind of capability, then do what you need to do to limit his/her exposure to your customers.  Find the strengths that he/she does possess, and seek ways to utilize them.  That doesn’t mean, however, you should disrespect, belittle, or ignore your sales manager.

You are an employee of a company, and therefore you have a moral and legal obligation to be a good employee, and to respect and interact positively with your manager.

An excellent working relationship with your boss will strengthen your sales ability, prevent unnecessary stress, and make your life easier.

It may take time and effort.  But, having an excellent working relationship with your boss is one of the best practices of the best.

If you’d like to dig deeper into this best practice, and if you are a member of The Sales Resource Center™, consider Pod-34: Ethics for the Professional Salesperson, and Nuggets N-96: Integrity; and N-215.

Image by Wirawat Lian-udom on Flickr under Creative Commons license.

About the Author:

Dave Kahle is one of the world’s leading sales educators. He’s written nine books, presented in 47 states and eight countries, and has helped enrich tens of thousands of sales people and transform hundreds of sales organizations.  Sign up for his free weekly Ezine, and visit his blog.

Copyright MMXII by Dave Kahle
All Rights Reserved.

3 Most Common Mistakes when Choosing a CRM

Posted by Commence on April 6, 2012 under CEO Corner | Read the First Comment

With the vast choice of Customer Relationship Management software available, it is easy to get overwhelmed and make a decision that is not right for your organization. There are three common mistakes made by organizations that lead them to select CRM software that may not be the best fit for their business.

1. Failing to examine the issues within a business that create the need for a CRM solution. Exposing problems within an organization can be difficult, especially when the business is small. If you are the owner or part of the management team it can be even more difficult to acknowledge problems as they began under your watch. This can lead to major problems and voids in the business being disguised or down played. The key is to catch problems as they begin to form and before they become a part of the businesses process. This will save you time, money and your customers’ loyalty.
2. Choosing an easy fit solution, which does not actually address the problems they have discovered. Although CRM solutions are becoming more advanced and offer more features and functionality, it is no use to an organization if it does not address the needs, and tackle the voids and problems in the organization. The solution needs to fill a void in the company’s processes and repair a problem that exists, rather than focus on processes that are already successful.
3. Failing to clearly define the goals of the CRM system before implementing it. When a CRM system is installed it is normal for the business to alter some of its goals as new functionality brings new ideas. However it can often happen that some of the original goals of the business are forgotten with the distraction of the CRM software. If an organization regularly changes it goals then it is impossible to track how successful the implementation of the CRM system has been. A CRM system cannot be viewed as successful if the objectives that led to its selection have been changed once it is implemented.

These are very common mistakes that can occur when choosing customer relationship management software. Now that you are aware you can avoid them and find the perfect CRM system to suit the needs of your organization.

Image “Almost Bull’s Eye…” by Mr. Sandman on Flickr under Creative Commons license.

Is Management to Blame for CRM Failures?

Posted by Commence on April 4, 2012 under CEO Corner | Read the First Comment

Get Motivated By Value Not Price

The CRM software sector is in a bit of disarray. There was a time not so long ago when companies would select CRM software products based on the value and return on investment they felt they would realize from the solution they chose. Smart businesses were well prepared and engaged CRM solution providers with fully documented business requirements, a deployment preference (i.e. on premise or hosted online CRM) and were keen on fostering a business relationship where the vendor played an important role in the implementation, training and ensuring the proper utilization of the product.

But that was then. Today, at least in the small to mid-size business sector, it appears companies are just not as well prepared as they should be. As a result, many small to mid-size enterprises are selecting CRM software solutions based on price instead of value.

Perhaps this is the reason why more than 70% of CRM software implementations in the SME sector fail to get properly implemented and utilized.  This number makes sense if companies are selecting business solutions based on price rather than value.  This problem is easy to understand because the CRM software sector is viewed by many as a commodity sector where every solution is pretty much the same.

If you feel this way then price becomes the only differentiator and cost becomes the overwhelming factor.

Management Failing to Engage

As a sales representative selling CRM software, I often get amused at the calls I get each and every day from the SME community looking for CRM software. Here are some of the questions I get.

• We are looking for a “CMR system”. What does yours do?
• How much does it cost for a complete system?
• Do you charge any extra fees?
• Is there a contract?

When you get these types of questions you know right away that the poor person asking has no idea what the company’s business objectives are or what a CRM system does.  They have simply been asked by their management to search the internet and find a few good CRM software solutions. To an inexperienced person, the best CRM system is a low cost one. So who’s to blame here?  Management is.

If the executive management team has not taken the time to document their specific business requirements and inform their staff of their objectives, how can they expect the staff to recommend or select the best CRM solution for the business?

What typically happens is that they end up with some low cost solution that they can use and pay for month to month. And if they are not happy with how it works of what it offers they can simply terminate their use.

But is this the proper path to addressing their business requirements and improving how they market, sell and provide service to their customers?  Of course not.  So what do you do if your company places you in this situation?  Perhaps I can help.  The attached link will provide you with an informative white paper called “Don’t Make a CRM Buying Mistake: 7 Points to Consider Before Selecting Your CRM System”.  Take a few minutes to review it. You’ll be glad you did.

Images “One Day In A Life Of A Geek” – 1030 AM” and “Utility IT” courtesy of Oliver Widder on Flickr under Creative Commons license.

Sales: Question and Answer #9

Posted by Commence on April 2, 2012 under Sales Training | Be the First to Comment

This is a Question and Answer article for sales people from guest poster Dave Kahle, author and leading sales educator. Follow Dave’s latest Tweets at @davekahle.

By Dave Kahle
Q. I have many customers who refuse to even consider some of my products because the one they have now is working fine and they don’t want to change something that is working well for them.  They feel they are opening themselves to potential dangers, problems and nightmares by fixing something that isn’t broken.

Any suggestion for how to deal with the “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” attitude?

A. This is one that frustrates every sales person.  Let’s start by putting yourself in the customer’s shoes.  You’ve shown him your product, and it’s noticeably better/cheaper than what they are currently using.  Or, they won’t even take the time to look at your latest and greatest solution.  Regardless of where you are at in the sales process, the problem is that you have something better, and they won’t budge from using an inferior solution.

Why not?  Let’s analyze the situation.  As is almost always the case, the solution becomes really obvious when we have done a good job of analyzing the problem.  So, let’s consider the reasons why the customer won’t budge.  Here are the big three.

1.  The perceived benefit from switching the product is not worth the time and effort the customer must invest in the change process.

OK, so your LAGS (latest and greatest solution) will save him 5%.  But, he must work off his old inventory, notify the current supplier, switch all the numbers in his purchasing and inventory systems, perhaps rewrite protocols, maybe train staff in the new thing, communicate the change so that everyone internally knows about it, etc.  See the problem?  It takes time, effort and money to change a product.  And most of your customers, if they are like most of the business world these days, have too much to do and not enough time in which to do it.  They don’t need another project. So, while your LAGS is an improvement, the improvement just isn’t worth the time and effort.

2.  The potential change infringes on a well-established relationship.

It maybe that the current product is being purchased as part of a committed relationship with the competition.  And it may be that the competitor performs other services for this customer that would be jeopardized if the customer didn’t buy this product from them.  For example, the competitor may invite this customer to an annual outing to his condo on the beach in Florida.  If the customer switches this item, he may believe that it jeopardize that.  Or, the competitor inventories the product for them, provides special dating, packages it specially, etc.

The issue here is that switching the product harms an existing relationship, and the relationship is more important to the customer than the savings or benefit of your product.

This relationship issue can also extend to the individual.  In other words, the customer has a long-standing excellent relationship with the competitive sales person.  And the customer doesn’t want to do anything that might be seen as jeopardizing that relationship.   In either case, the relationship trumps the benefits of your product.

3.  The risk isn’t worth it.

Every decision to buy carries with it a perception of risk.  Risk is defined by the perceived cost to the individual customer if he/she makes a mistake.  Think of it this way:  What happens to the individual decision maker if he decides to switch to your product, and it doesn’t work out the way you portray it?  Maybe the product doesn’t quite work as smoothly as it seems, or your ability to deliver isn’t what you promised.  What grief does that cause the customer?  What emotional turmoil, job stress, and personal pain does it cause?

Now, I know that you’re saying none of that will happen because you really do have a great product and you really are a wonderful company, and you won’t let anything bad happen.  You may believe that, but your customer doesn’t.

If the customer perceives there to be great risk in the decision, the status quo is always the safer, preferred choice. It’s always safer to maintain the non-painful status quo than it is to take a major risk.

OK, you have analyzed the reasons why this particular customer isn’t rushing to order your LAGS.  Now what?

Your solution is based on your analysis of the reason why they don’t buy.  If the reason is the customer views the benefit of changing as not worth the effort, then you must either reduce the effort, or increase the perceived benefit.  Offer to do as much of the work of changing as you can.  Provide all the information in an easy to use format so that it is easy to put into the computer.  Offer to write the memo announcing the change, to train all the employees in the details of the new thing, etc.  Make it less costly in terms of time and effort.

Or, make the benefit appear bigger and more attractive.  Do some financial justification.  Show the impact on processes and the customer’s customer.  Make your product even more compelling.

If the reason they don’t buy is number two, your best hope is to convince the customer that the change won’t jeopardize the existing relationship.  Minimize the impact on the competitor.  And, again, maximize the benefit of your product.

This is the most difficult situation to deal with, because the reason they aren’t buying is something about which you can’t do much – a relationship with a competitor.  You may be reduced to the fall back position of last resort – proactively wait for something to change in your customer’s relationship with the competition.

If the reason they don’t buy is risk, your strategy is to reduce the perception of risk.  Remember, risk is perception, not necessarily reality.  The problem is that the customer perceives there to be risk to him in the decision to buy.  So, reduce the customer’s perception of risk by using a combination of risk-reducing tactics.  Make the product seem more real by having him see it in operation in a different customer’s environment.  Back it up with written guarantees and warranties.  Make it seem like a lot of people have successfully used the product by having pictures of other customers using it.  Acquire letters of recommendation and testimonials from other customers.  Anything you can do to have someone else, beside yourself, say good things about the product is a worthwhile effort.  Bring the customer into your facility, and let him meet the people who make things happen for you.  All of these things reduce the risk to the customer.

One final thought.  Understand that our customers are far more motivated to take action by the avoidance of pain than they are the acquisition of some benefit. We are so used to talking about the benefit of our product to the customer, and that often falls on deaf ears.  Far more powerful is the perception that our solution makes some intense pain go away.  If you can identify some significant pain that the customer is experiencing, and show how your LAGS makes the pain go away, you will have provided the customer significant motivation to shove all three of the above reasons down the list.

By the way, you’ll find this kind of insight into dozens of sales issues in our Sales Resource Center. It houses 435 training programs to help every one live more successfully and sell better.  All delivered over the internet, 24/7, for one low monthly fee.

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Image “do something” by Mike Carney on Flickr under Creative Commons license.

About the Author:

Dave Kahle is one of the world’s leading sales educators. He’s written nine books, presented in 47 states and eight countries, and has helped enrich tens of thousands of sales people and transform hundreds of sales organizations.  Sign up for his free weekly Ezine and for a limited time, receive $547 of free bonuses with the purchase of his latest book, How to Sell Anything to Anyone Anytime.

Copyright MMXII by Dave Kahle

All Rights Reserved.

EnterpriseFeatures.com Lists Commence CRM Number 1 for SaaS CRM Software Providers

Posted by Commence on March 30, 2012 under CEO Corner, Commence News | Be the First to Comment

See the original article here:

Top 10 SaaS CRM Software Providers

Sales Tracking Software is Essential

Posted by Commence on under CEO Corner | Be the First to Comment

For the 21^st Century Salesperson

Trying to keep track of leads, prospects and sales is a huge challenge for any sales professional, and requires great organizational skills. Keeping several files and applications, databases and spreadsheets, which require regular updates, can take up precious time and allow sales to slip away. This is why having  CRM software is needed to efficiently track sales in an organization.

The benefits of a unified database where all client information is readily available, is a necessity for any sales person in the 21^st century. Having one CRM software package that allows you to log every detail involving your accounts and contacts is necessary when talking about customer relationship management and tracking sales and their progress. Having one system which also offers reminders and to do lists and even integrates with your email and calendar to prompt you with reminders, will give you an edge over your competitors, particularly in your customers’ eyes.

Technology is no longer a luxury investment for today’s salesperson; it is a necessity.  Having a CRM system that streamlines the front office business processes is a great tool. What is even greater, for sales people on the move, is mobile access to that system, a great asset when meeting clients out of the office or working from home. When meeting a customer or a prospective client you need as much information as possible at your fingertips in order to close the sale.

Sales professionals need more than just contact information to manage a complex sales process, but the key is having this information in one place, rather than spread across emails, spread sheets and several documents. Having one software package to overlook your entire sales process means you can manage the entire sales cycle, keep a record of every interaction to manage and track customer relationships, manage and track pipeline opportunities and generate reports to accurately forecast and analyze your sales.

Having sales tracking software means you will achieve more with your customers in less time, drive more business and close more deals. Not only are you improving your own sales process, you are improving your customer’s buying experience also.  The most important factor when closing a sale is your customer’s satisfaction. Customers want to feel valued, and a CRM system will help you make them feel remembered and appreciated.

Image “Jim Whitehurst: 20th century companies are already hiring 21st century employees” by opensource.com on Flickr under Creative Commons license.

CRM Software Developer and Consultant in Aruba

Posted by Commence on March 28, 2012 under Commence News | Be the First to Comment

Employment opportunity for CRM software developer in the Caribbean.

Job Description

• Analysis of client’s and/or prospect’s business processes and translating them into cost efficient, user friendly solutions, often using Commence CRM software as a platform.
• Responsible for design and development of new Applications, Integration with other Applications, Data Migration or Data Conversion etc.
• Taking care of the whole project cycle, from initial contact with the client, design, programming until end user training and post implementation support.

Desired Technical Skills & Experience

• Strong knowledge/experience with CRM / HRM
• Experience with Commence software and architecture
• Must have strong MS-SQL and VB scripting skills
• Good knowledge of ASP.net, C #, SQL Server, Visual Basic , HTML
• Strong programming and web development expertise in .NET
• Experience in full project life cycle – including post delivery support
• Understanding of software development methodologies
• Good database skills

Desired Personal Skills & Experience

• A general understanding of business areas
• Ability to map business requirements to functionality of software
• Maturity and ability to handle stress and demanding business requirements
• Self driven, persistent, action oriented and goal driven
• Integrity and professionalism in work
• Strong analytical and organizational skills.
• Solid verbal and written communication skills.
• Must be a Team Player.
• An overall strong personality with good communication and interpersonal skills.

About VCC International N.V.:

VCC International N.V. is a small ICT company based on the tropical island of Aruba. We sell and implement standard administrative software, like accounting software, payroll software, but also complete ERP packages. Furthermore, we also develop additional software for our clients, either as new stand-alone solutions or as add-ons to and interfacing with existing standard software solutions. During software development we often use the software of Commence as a vehicle. Our client base can be found all over the islands of the Caribbean, but with the majority on the islands Of Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao.

If you would like to apply, please go to http://lnkd.in/ystZbc for more information.

4 Biggest Time Wasters for Sales People

Posted by Commence on March 27, 2012 under Sales Training | Be the First to Comment

Thinking about Sales…

By Dave Kahle

Good time management for sales people has been an obsession of mine for more than 30 years.  In the last decade, I’ve been involved in helping tens of thousands of sales people improve their results through more effective use of their time.  Over the years, I’ve seen some regularly occurring patterns develop – tendencies on the part of sales people to do things that detract from their effective use of time.

Here are the four most common time-wasters I’ve observed.  See if any apply to you or your sales people.

1. Allure of the urgent/trivial.

Sales people love to be busy and active.  We have visions of ourselves as people who can get things done.  No idle dreamers, we’re out there making things happen!

A big portion of our sense of worth and our personal identity is dependent on being busy.  At some level in our self image, being busy means that we really are important.  One of the worst things that can happen to us is to have nothing to do, nowhere to go, and nothing going on.  So, we latch onto every task that comes our way, regardless of the importance.

For example, one of our customers calls with a back order problem.  “Oh good!” we think, “Something to do!  We are needed!  We can fix it!”  So, we drop everything and spend two hours expediting the backorder.

In retrospect, couldn’t someone in purchasing or customer service have done that?  And couldn’t they have done it better than you?  And didn’t you just allow something that was a little urgent but trivial prevent you from making some sales calls?  And wouldn’t those potential sales calls be a whole lot better use of your time?

Or, one of our customers hands us a very involved “Request for Quote.”  “Better schedule a half-day at the office,” we think.  “Need to look up specifications, calculate prices, compile literature, etc.”  We become immediately involved with this task, working on this project for our customer.  In retrospect, couldn’t we have given the project to an inside sales person or customer service rep to do the leg work?  Couldn’t we have just communicated the guidelines to someone and then reviewed the finished proposal?

Once again, we succumbed to the lure of the present task.  That prevented us from making sales calls and siphoned our energy away from the important to the seemingly urgent.

I could go on for pages with examples, but you have the idea.  We are so enamored with being busy and feeling needed that we often grab at any task that comes our way, regardless of how unimportant.  And each time we do that, we compromise our ability to invest our sales times more effectively.

2.  The comfort of the status quo.

A lot of sales people have evolved to the point where they have a comfortable routine.  They make enough money and they have established routines and habits that are comfortable.  They really don’t want to expend the energy it takes to do things in a better way, or to become more successful or effective.

This can be good.  Some of the habits and routines that we follow work well for us.  However, our rapidly changing world constantly demands new methods, techniques, habits and routines.  Just because something has been effective for a few years doesn’t mean that it continues to be so.  This problem develops when sales people are so content with the way things are, they have not changed anything in years.

If you haven’t changed or challenged some habit or routine in the last few years, chances are you are not as effective as you could be.

For example, you could still be writing phone messages down on little slips of paper, when entering them into your contact manager would be more effective.  This is a simple example of a principle that can extend towards the most important things that we do.  Are we using the same routines for organizing our work week, for determining who to call on, for understanding our customers, for collecting information, etc.?  There is no practical end to the list.

Contentment with the status quo almost always means sales people who are not as effective as they could be.

My book, 10 Secrets of Time Management for Salespeople, discusses the use of the “more” mindset as an alternative to the status quo.

3.  Lack of trust in other people in the organization.

Sales people have a natural tendency to work alone.  After all, we spend most of the day by ourselves.  We decide where to go by ourselves, we decide what to do by ourselves, and we are pretty much on our own all day long.  It’s no wonder then that we just naturally want to do everything by ourselves.

That’s generally a positive personality trait for a sales person. Unfortunately, when it extends to those tasks that could be done better by other people in our organization it turns into a real negative.

Instead of soliciting aid from others in the organization, and thereby making much better use of our time, many sales people insist on doing it themselves, no matter how redundant and time-consuming is the task.  The world is full of sales people who don’t trust their own colleagues to write an order, to source a product, to enter an order in the system, to follow up on a back order, to deliver some sample or literature, to research a quote, to deliver a proposal, etc.  Again, the list could go on and on.

The point is that many of these tasks can be done better or cheaper by someone else in the organization.  The sales people don’t release the tasks to them because they, the sales people, don’t trust them to do it.  Too bad.  It’s a tremendous waste of good selling time and talent.  Chapter 10 of my book “10 Secrets” describes a system to nurture helpful relationships.

4.  Lack of tough-minded thoughtfulness.

Ultimately, time management begins with thoughtfulness.  That means a sufficient quantity of good quality thought-energy invested in the process.  I like to say that good time management is a result of “thinking about it before you do it.”

Good time managers invest sufficiently in this process.  They set aside time each year to create annual goals, they invest planning time every quarter and every month to create plans for those times, they plan every week and every sales call.  Poor sales time managers don’t dedicate sufficient time to the “thinking about it” phase of their job.

Not only do good sales time managers invest a sufficient quantity of time, but they also are disciplined and tough-minded about how they think.  They ask themselves good questions, and answer them with as much objectivity as they can muster.

“What do I really want to accomplish in this account?”

“Why aren’t they buying from me?”

“Who is the key decision maker in this account?”

“Am I spending too much time in this account, or not enough in that one?”

“How can I change what I am doing in order to become more effective?”

These are just a few of the tough questions that good sales time managers consider on a regular basis.  They don’t allow their emotions or personal comfort zones to dictate the plans.  They go where it is smart to go, do what is smart to do.  They do these things because they have spent the quantity and quality of thought-time necessary.

Of course, there are hundreds of other time-wasting habits.  These four, however, are the most common.  Correct them, and you’ll be well on your way to dramatically improved results.

By the way, you’ll find this kind of insight into dozens of sales issues in our Sales Resource Center. It houses 435 training programs to help every one live more successfully and sell better.  All delivered over the internet, 24/7, for one low monthly fee.

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Image “Changed priorities ahead” by Peter Reed on Flickr under Creative Commons license.

Image “Busy” by AJ Cann on Flickr under Creative Commons license.

Image “Mi primer cartel motivacional” by Oscar on Flickr under Creative Commons license.

Image “A bit of blue sky thinking Project 365(4) Day 9″ by Keith Williamson on Flickr under Creative Commons license.

About the Author:

Dave Kahle is one of the world’s leading sales educators. He’s written nine books, presented in 47 states and eight countries, and has helped enrich tens of thousands of sales people and transform hundreds of sales organizations.  Sign up for his free weekly Ezine. A great source of specific tools to help you with time management is his classic book, 10 Secrets of Time Management for Sales People.

Copyright MMXII by Dave Kahle

All Rights Reserved.

Reference Selling is the Key to Higher Close Ratios

Posted by Commence on March 26, 2012 under Sales Training | Be the First to Comment

CRM Software Can Help

Every sales representative dreams about that phone call when they hear a prospect say “I was referred to you by one of your customers.”  Want to know why? Statistics indicate that close ratios for new sales increase from 1% for cold calls to as high as 90% for those calls where a personal introduction has been made.  Despite this, sales people consistently neglect to ask their customers who they know or if they can make a personal introduction for them.

One of the ways sales representatives can improve the potential for personal introduction is through the use of Social CRM.   Social CRM sites such as LinkedIn provide a wealth of personal information about company management such as, where they work, their position within the firm, where they worked before and who they know.  By reviewing this information it’s quite possible that the prospect you are trying to reach may be somehow connected to someone you know.  Armed with this information you can perhaps get the personal introduction into an account that you would have had a great deal of difficulty getting into without it.  So how can CRM software help?

Social Networking with CRM

Many CRM systems today have links to social CRM or what’s known as social media sites.  For example, Commence CRM offers a seamless connection to LinkedIn directly from the contact within the CRM system. This allows the sales representative to review a prospect’s information, determine how he or she might find a way to get that personal introduction through others they may know, and at the same time add additional contacts and important notes to the history file for future use.  The CRM system not only acts as a conduit to the prospect’s information, but as a centralized system for retaining notes and history as well.

Image “social_network” by Trebor Scholz on Flickr under Creative Commons license.

Image “Social Networking” by sman5612 on Flickr under Creative Commons license.

Use Online CRM Software to Connect With Your Customers

Posted by Commence on March 23, 2012 under CEO Corner | Read the First Comment

You have probably heard the old saying: “Leave your customers alone and they will go away“. In today’s business environment staying in touch with your customers is paramount to achieving a level of service that drives customer loyalty. While the human touch is important for building rapport and ensuring that your customers are pleased with your product or service, CRM software is now playing an important role in complementing the human side of the service equation.

Quality CRM systems now have a customer service component built into them that includes things such as a knowledgebase and frequently asked questions. Using a secure customer portal, customers can gain access to valuable information about your products or services 24/7. This means customer service is always available morning, noon and night.

Another component of CRM software is the ability to generate direct mail or bulk e-mail campaigns. Many online CRM systems enable you to create e-mail marketing programs such as quarterly new letters, product tips and techniques or what’s new at our company to ensure that you are staying in touch with your customers. Advanced CRM systems like Commence CRM offer the ability to schedule these mailings in advance. This allows you to create what’s known as “drip marketing” whereby you can periodically send out information to your customers on a weekly, monthly or quarterly schedule. Of course there is no better vehicle for staying in touch with your customers than making a personal phone call, but having a CRM system assist in the sales process makes good business sense.