Companies that engage in the evaluation and selection of CRM software are traditionally looking to achieve three business objectives:

1)       Data Consolidation – information is streaming into your business every day from the telephone, fax, e-mail and the web. What happens to this information is the problem. The objective of CRM software is to ensure that all of this information is consolidated into a single unified database where it is immediately accessible to those employees that need to it efficiently do their jobs.

2)      Improve Sales Execution – this starts with implementing a structured process for lead qualification and the efficient management of the sales cycle from introduction to closure.  Proper lead qualification ensures that your most valuable asset, i.e. your sales team, is focused on the most qualified business opportunities.   Proper management of the sales cycle using CRM software has helped management keep their eye on the most promising opportunities and has  been shown to improve close ratios and generate higher returns.

3)      Provide World-Class Customer Service – In today’s world where customer loyalty is only skin deep the difference between winning and retaining customers may have more to do with the quality of service you provide than it does your product.  CRM can ensure that all members of the organization have access to customer records and can respond quickly and professionally to customer inquiries.

The challenging economy coupled with a highly competitive market place has encouraged businesses of all sizes to seek a way to get a leg up on their competition.  CRM software has proven to be an effective tool for helping companies market, sell and provide service to their customers.

Image “laser focus” owned by dogulove (cc)
Image “Good Cheap Fast Service” owned by TeX HeX (cc)
Image “Octopus Receiving Mail Postcard” owned by koiart71 (cc)

You should look at your sales organization just like a crew of new military recruits that just arrived in boot camp.  They’re all eager to be successful, but don’t quite know how and are looking for the right path to follow.  The implementation of a structure with well-established rules and procedures is what makes the military successful. Once the recruits are comfortable with it they begin to operate like a well-oiled machine.  Your sales organization should be operating the same way. Sales people want and need a structured approach to selling and a good CRM system can provide it.

What CRM software can deliver is the ability to document a structured approach to selling where each stage of the sales cycle is managed and evaluated before moving forward.   This ensures that each and every sales opportunity is being looked at through multiple eyes and not falling through the cracks.  The results speak for themselves.  Higher close ratios, higher revenue attainment, happy sales people and happy management.   It’s important to note that simply running out and implementing a CRM system is not going to deliver more sales.  CRM software is a tool and it does not run your business, people do and sales management is the key to good performance.  CRM software will at least give them the tools they need to become a more effective sales organization.

[Image "Social Business Boot Camp 2010" by Gangway Advertising on Flickr under Creative Commons license]

By Dave Kahle

In my first professional sales position, I spent six full weeks in sales training before I was released to go out into my territory.  Sales training was defined as memorizing two five-page, single-spaced sales presentations, presenting them to the sales training class, critiquing the video-taped playback of the presentation, and then doing it all again – for six weeks! At the end of those six weeks, every one of us could give those two presentations masterfully.

While the use of prewritten, memorized sales presentations still continues today, it’s only rarely used in the business-to-business selling environment.  It may be that today’s frantic pace of new product development makes the time it takes to memorize a sales presentation seem less valuable.  Or it may be that today’s salesperson is more sophisticated and able to adjust the sales presentation to the needs of each individual customer.

While memorized presentations may be a vestige of years gone by, that in no way reduces the need to make a well designed, practiced sales presentation. The ability to routinely make powerful, persuasive sales presentations, regardless of the customer or product, is one of the practices of the best.

The world is full of salespeople who take a casual attitude toward a sales presentation.  Some think that they know the product so well that their superior product knowledge will ooze out during the presentation, impressing the customer into buying.  Others do not put in the necessary preparation and practice time, and, in an attempt to cover their lack of confidence, focus on those parts of the presentation with which they feel most comfortable.  Still others feel that their ability to improvise will eventually lead them to a persuasive presentation.

The truth is that there is no shortcut to a persuasive presentation.  It begins with studying the customer as well as the product or service.  It takes preparation to decide which of the customer’s issues to address, and which specific features of your offer to emphasize.  It takes time to organize the facts and features into a cohesive presentation.  It takes time to build in interactive elements, and to gather the right samples and documents.  And it takes time to practice (yes, practice) the presentation before you actually make it.  A persuasive presentation begins with methodical preparation.

Maybe that’s why so few salespeople give this aspect of their job the attention that it deserves.  And maybe that’s why routinely making powerful and persuasive presentations is a practice of the very best.

To learn more about this practice, review these resources: The CD, How to Make Powerful and Persuasive Presentations, or the Video version: Persuasive Presentations, Part 1 & 2.

If you are a member of The Sales Resource Center™, consider The One Month ‘Persuasive Presentations’ Course, or The Six Month ‘Consultative Selling’ Course.

About the Author:

Dave Kahle is one of the world’s leading sales educators. He’s written nine books, presented in 47 states and seven 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.  For a limited time, receive $547 of free bonuses with the purchase of his latest book, How to Sell Anything to Anyone Anytime.

Copyright MMXI by Dave Kahle
All Rights Reserved.

[Image "Day 32: Yahoo BT sales exercise" by Kerry Vaughan on Flickr under Creative Commons license]

By Dave Kahle

Q. What do I do when my goals don’t match the company’s goals for me?

A.  I can look at this is in two ways – expressing two different situations.  In the first, there is a legitimate difference in the expectations for a sales person, but a basic agreement on the issues on which to be focused, as well as the values of the organization.  In the second, there is a deeper and more significant difference of opinion.

A little reality check

Let’s consider each separately.  In the first scenario, the sales person and the company differ on the degree of what is possible.  The sales person expects a 10% increase, while the company thinks 15% is reasonable.  Both agree that sales growth is reasonable, but the amount of growth is the issue.  What do you, the sales person, do in this case?

Persuade and negotiate.  Try to convince your boss that your perspective is more accurate than his/hers.  Don’t just assert that, be convincing.  Back up your beliefs with substance.  Describe specific situations and accounts, and explain why you think about them the way you do.  Prove your point.

At some point in this process, there is going to be a resolution.  There will be a quota or a goal.  Whether it is your idea of what it should be, or your manager’s version, or some compromise, it doesn’t matter.  At that point, when the issue is resolved and the number is set, your job is to give all of your best efforts to doing what your company wants you to do.

You are, after all, an employee of the company.  Your job is to do what your company wants you to do.  That’s what they pay you for.

Sometimes sales people can get a little too convinced of their own importance.  I succumbed to that temptation more than once when I was selling full time.  We think that we really are in business for ourselves, that we own our customers, and that we know what is best for the company and the customer.  So, therefore, we become agitated and upset when the company asks for a 15% increase and we think 5% is reasonable.  We are tempted to go off mumbling under our breath about the screwy management, and we decide we are going to do what we want to do instead.

A little reality check is in order under these circumstances.  If you worked in the warehouse, would you be able to decide what you wanted to do today?  If you were a customer service rep, would you get to determine how best to spend your day, and which parts of your job you’d really do?  If you were in the purchasing department, if you didn’t like the company’s direction, would you have the freedom to ignore it?

So what makes you think you are so special?  Answer — nothing.  Let’s put the freedom that we enjoy and the money that we make in perspective.  We are, when all is said and done, employees of the company.  And, I believe, we have a moral obligation to give our best efforts to that company for as long as we accept a paycheck.

Sometimes the price is high

Which brings us to the second situation.  You have some major difference of opinion in not only the degree of what is expected, but a deep-seated difference of opinion in the basic issues themselves.  I’m not talking about issues like you think you need to focus on your current customers and your company wants you to sell new customers.  Those are relatively superficial issues that fit into the previous discussion.

Instead, I’m talking about differences in fundamental values and ethics.  Here’s an example from my own experience.  I once worked for a company that introduced a new product, and developed a quota for each of us to sell that product.  The problem was, the product never worked.  It didn’t do what the company said it was going to do.  We, the sales people, knew it, and the company knew it.  Yet, they still wanted us to sell it.  We were given quotas and strongly directed to go out and get orders at all costs.  They directed us to, in effect, lie to our customers.

I left the company shortly thereafter.

The issue wasn’t “Do I sell 100 or 130 of these?”  That’s an issue of degree.  Instead, the issue was, “Do I lie to my customers?”  That’s an ethical issue.

If it’s an ethical issue, then I think you have only one choice.  Find another job.  Life is too short to spend it violating your ethics and compromising your integrity.

That sounds simple, and it rarely is that black and white.  It almost never happens that your manager sends you an email that says, “From this day forward you will lie to your customers.”  Instead, it is more likely that a pattern emerges over a period of time.  One incident is generally not representative of a character flaw.  But, when you see a pattern of cutting ethical corners, of disdain for integrity, of fuzzy moral boundaries, then you can conclude that those are expressions of a corporate character flaw.

In my situation, the “lie to your customers” direction was not the first indication of a lack of moral compatibility between me and the company.  It was, however, the final one for me – the most recent and blatant of a string of incidents that made me feel uncomfortable with myself for being a part of it.

Also, sometimes the price is high.  The position I left was the most fun, most challenging, best paying job I ever had.  It was 15 years before I made the kind of money again that I made in that job.  Believe me, leaving that job for ethical reasons was a difficult decision.

Money is just money.  It comes and it goes.  People, and sales people particularly, who will do anything for money, who evidence no compulsion and no moral boundaries, are sad characters.  They have succumbed to the most superficial of temptations and displayed themselves to all those around them as people with little integrity.  They are unfortunate examples to their families, friends, and all who know them.

You only have to read the newspapers over the last year or so to see multiple examples of the damage that greed, un-tempered by morality, can do.  The real damage, though, is not the highly visible corporate crooks that we read about every day.  The real tragedy is all the less visible managers and sales people who we don’t read about – those business people who share the same “money at all costs” attitude – whose legacy is not as public, but none-the-less still damaging.

I would hope that you would not be one of those.  That you would have the strength of character to disassociate yourself from a situation that comprised your integrity.

So, when it becomes an issue of morality, I think it’s time to leave.

Good luck.  Sell well.

P.S. I expect that my comments may generate some responses.  Feel free to email a comment to me.

********************************************************************************************

You may want to dig deeper into the issues uncovered in this article.  I’d recommend the book, “Take Your Performance Up-a-Notch.”

If you are a member of The Sales Resource Center ™  consider reviewing these lessons:  Pod-21: “Goal-Setting,” or  Pod-34: “Ethics for the Professional Sales Person.”

Image “tired and dirty” owned by Rennett Stowe (cc)
Image “Sour Lemon” owned by Alan Maddox (cc)

About the Author:

Dave Kahle is one of the world’s leadng sales educators. He’s written nine books, presented in 47 states and seven 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.  For a limited time, receive $547 of free bonuses with the purchase of his latest book, How to Sell Anything to Anyone Anytime.

Copyright MMXI by Dave Kahle

All Rights Reserved.

By Dave Kahle

Q. How do I ensure that I get the last look in a competitive bid situation?

A.  This is a question that I’m often asked.  In a lot of industries, particularly those involved in construction, government purchases and large-volume manufacturing, most of the customers require an official bid.  It’s not unusual for these to be highly formal and structured.

Here’s a typical scenario.  The customer sends a bid to five suppliers, and each responds with a written document by a certain specified date.  The customer reviews the bids, and awards the business.

The writer of the question wants the ability to go in after the bids have been submitted, to look at the competitive bids or at least the lowest bid prices, and to change his/her prices in order to be awarded the business.

First, it should be noted that in some instances, the “last look” is illegal.  In many cases, it’s viewed as unethical.  In other industries and situations, it’s viewed as business-as-usual.  This question and answer is only relevant to the latter situation.

I have responses for this on several different levels.

1.  Avoiding a bid situation to begin with.

2.  Making a last look unnecessary.

3.  When all else fails, insuring that you get a last look.

Let’s think about each one separately.

1.  Avoiding a bid situation to begin with.

OK, I know that bids are standard operating procedures in your business.  But, I also know that a lot of business is “negotiated.”  In other words, the customer selects the vendor he/she wants to work with, and then negotiates the best deal with that customer.

I’d much rather you get yourself into a negotiating rather than a bid situation.  That way,  you’d avoid the bid scenario altogether.

And, while it is true that you’ll never convince 100% of your customers to negotiate with you rather than send out bids, if you are successful over the next few years in moving 20 – 30% of your customers to negotiating status, you’ll see a tremendous improvement in your sales.

How do you earn that position?  Two ways:  First, build powerful business relationships, be a reliable supplier, and offer a special relationship – “negotiating” – with all your good customers.

In other words, bring the subject up regularly, plant the seed in your customer’s brain, tell stories about how you were able to work effectively with others – how they cut costs, paperwork and time out of the cycle by working with you.

If you are good, and persistent, you’ll eventually convert a significant chunk of your customers.

The second way to operate effectively in this situation is to become more deeply involved in the customer’s buying process and influence the creation of the specifications in such a way so as you are the only one who can meet those specifications.  The bid then, becomes superfluous.

Some of you who have been in my programs have heard me tell the story of how I did the most profitable transaction of my life in an account whose policy it was to bid everything to five vendors.

2.  Making a last look unnecessary.

“…if you have some aspect of your product, service or offer that sets you apart from the competitors… then the customer should be happy to do business with you even if you are not the absolute lowest price.”

The whole concept of a “last look” implies that the reason the customer would do business with you is that you are the lowest price of the group of bidders.  While there is a time and place to be the low price, I’d like for you to question whether or not this is how you’d like the customer to think of you.  If you have done a good job in the past for the supplier, if you have become the low-risk supplier, if you have understood the customer’s situation at a deeper level than your competitors, if you have some aspect of your product, service or offer that sets you apart from the competitors, if you have communicated those things in a persuasive way, then the customer should be happy to do business with you even if you are not the absolute lowest price.

In other words, if you have done a good job of selling, then a couple percentage points in the price should have no impact on the deal.

So, rather than try to be the low price, I’d prefer that you do a deeper, better job of selling this account so that you don’t have to be the lowest price. And that means that you have created powerful, trusting relationships with the key people, that you have understood the dynamics of their situation at a deeper and more detailed level than any of your competitors, and that you have fashioned a unique proposal that meets their deeper needs.

When you do that, you don’t need to worry about the last look.

3.  Insuring that you get a last look.

While everything I said above is fine, the reality is that there will still be some situations where you won’t be able to implement those strategies, and are reduced to one option – be the low bidder.

Some of your customers negotiate the business with you, and the last look is, of course, not an issue with them.  Some of them will buy from you because of the good job of selling you did, and the last look, with them, is not an issue.

But you will still probably be left with those who are going to bid and award the business primarily on the basis of price.  It’s that group for which you’d like to have the last look.

How do you do that?  By achieving excellence in the basics:  building powerful, positive business relationships with those key contacts, by understanding their needs in deeper and more detailed ways than any of your competitors, by doing everything you can to assure that your company is highly respected by the customer, and finally, by asking for the opportunity.

What you are really asking for is the preference of the customer.  In other words, where the customer sees no difference between you and the other guy in your offer, he still prefers doing business with you.  This scenario assumes that there is no difference between you and your competitor, and there is no reason for the customer to pay a little more to do business with you.  Your only hope is that the customer will prefer to do business with you, providing you are the lowest price.

Ask yourself why the customer would prefer you.  Create a detailed answer. Then set about becoming the supplier with which your customer would want to do business.  And, continually ask for the opportunity to have a last look.

Remember that getting the last look is the last, least desirable strategy to pursue. While there will always be times and situations where it is your last resort, those times and situations should be minimal.

If these ideas resonate with you, you may want to dig deeper into the concepts expressed above.  Consider the CD’s, “Conquering the Number One Buying Obstacle: Reducing the Risk.” or “Sales Practices to Increase Margins.”

If you are a member of The Sales Resource Center ™, review Cluster CL-1: “Preventing the Price Objection,” and CL-11: “Price Pressures”.  Take the lessons in Pod-16: “Successfully Selling in a Price Sensitive Market,” and Pod-18: “How to Sell Value, Not Price.”

Image owned by Amanda G (cc)

About the Author:

Dave Kahle is one of the world’s leadng sales educators. He’s written nine books, presented in 47 states and seven 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.  For a limited time, receive $547 of free bonuses with the purchase of his latest book, How to Sell Anything to Anyone Anytime.

Copyright MMXI by Dave Kahle

All Rights Reserved.

Commence is a cloud based CRM solution that is targeted at mid-size companies and small enterprises that have outgrown traditional contact management software. These businesses now require robust lead management, sales management and marketing campaign management functionality.  What sales managers have found particularly interesting about Commence CRM is the product’s automated business processes that enable the capture and automatic distribution of leads and the ability to rate and color code leads based on specific criteria. Red colored leads represent qualified opportunities, yellow promising new opportunities and blue are ones just starting the sales process.  This unique feature ensures that sales representatives are always working on the most qualified opportunities and not chasing tire kickers.

Commence CRM also incorporates an automated organization chart that details the reporting structure of every lead and account, and highlights the person name, title, telephone number and e-mail.  This allows sales managers to assist in the sales process and quickly identify the economic buyer and influencers within any organization.

Org Chart helps you identify the key contacts

Commence CRM is clearly focused on helping companies improve the management of leads and the selling process and offers functionality not available in competitive offerings such as Microsoft CRM and Salesforce.com. For more information about Commence CRM software, visit the company’s web site at www.commence.com and ask for a free trial.

One of the CRM software solutions that has become very popular among the mid-size and small business community is Commence CRM from Commence Corporation.  Commence is a web based CRM solution that is deployed via a cloud computing environment. The product offers one of the most comprehensive suite of applications in the industry including contact and account management, activity management, lead management, sales opportunity management, marketing, customer support, a document library, project management, reporting and an accounting interface.  E-mail integration with Microsoft Outlook, Gmail, Mac E-mail and access to the CRM system via any hand held device is also part of this robust offering.

Upon entering a password and login, users are greeted with a cosmetically appealing home page or dashboard which is completely customizable by job function and enables the end user to manage their daily activity without leaving the screen.  Customers report that even the most novice PC or Mac users quickly become comfortable with Commence CRM.

The Commence CRM platform also mirrors that of enterprise level programs like Salesforce.com and Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Built using a Java backbone and SQL server,  Commence is highly scalable and offers excellent performance – two important decision criteria not commonly found in lower end CRM offerings.

While the company’s twenty year history and track record for producing award winning software is a comfort to most companies that select Commence CRM, the product offers several unique features that are simply not found in competitive CRM offerings.  First is a customer account rating feature that allows the end user to rate and color code their customers based on the value they provide to your business.  Some of the rating criteria include company size, revenue produced, profitability, cost of servicing the customer, the potential for growth and retention.  This feature enables management and staff to quickly identify their top customers based on their rating and color.  This rating feature has also been extended to the leads application allowing sales management and their sales team to rate and color code leads based on where they are in the buying cycle.  Another core feature that customers find unique and valuable is an automated organization chart.  The chart is tied to the account and contact records so that employees and management can quickly determine the reporting structure of every customer.

Commence CRM offers an attractive blend of features, function and price that have made it perhaps the best CRM solution for small to mid-size customers.  To learn more about Commence CRM software visit the company’s web site at  www.commmence.com.

By Dave Kahle

Q. How do you know how far to push a sale without overstepping your bounds and threatening the sale and/or the relationship with the customer?

A.  First, let me share with you an idea that may be totally opposite of everything you have heard and believe about this question.  It is OK, every now and then, to overstep your bounds.  That helps you understand where the boundaries are. If you never push it to the limit, you’ll never know where the limit is.  Believe me, far more sales people are held back by their fear of overstepping the boundaries than are guilty of doing so.

Let me illustrate with an example from my selling career.  At one time I sold surgical staplers.  I would approach a surgeon in the surgeon’s lounge of an operating room suite, demonstrate the staplers, and then ask to accompany the surgeon into surgery where I’d talk him through the application of the instruments.  Getting into surgery was the absolute essential step to selling our stuff.

In one hospital, the chief of surgery decided that I was too aggressive in approaching his colleagues, and told the Operating Room Supervisor to keep me out. I was devastated.  When I commiserated with my boss, he said, “Don’t feel bad.  Now you know where the limits are.  If you never step beyond them, you’ll always wonder if you could have done more.”

It’s the same idea as losing some business because your price is too high.  If you never do that, you’ll never know if you could have gotten more.  You have to lose some in order to establish the boundaries.

So, it is OK, every now and then, to overstep your bounds.  But you don’t want to do it too often.

With that as a preface, let’s deal with your question.  How do you know if you’re pushing too much?

As a general rule, your customers will tell you.  Now, they may not say it in so many words, but they will communicate to you via their body language, with what they say and what they don’t say, that you are overstepping your bounds and going too far. You’ll see them become uncomfortable and show it.  You’ll see them be a little irritated, and show that.  You’ll see them become personally affronted, and show that.

They key thing for you to do is be sensitive to the communication you receive from your customer.  Consider the possibility that you may be pushing too much, and sensitize yourself to reading those messages from the customer.

Once again we come up against one of the foundational truths upon which effective, professional sales is built: It is far more important to be a good listener than it is to be a good talker.  The best sales people are great listeners and are especially sensitive to the customer.

Probably a better question to ask is this:  How can I prevent pushing too much?

And the simple answer to that question is “dialogue.”  Dialogue is, according to Webster’s, “an open and frank discussion, as in seeking mutual understanding or harmony.”

If you can regularly engage your customer in an “open and frank” discussion of where the customer is in the sales process, and how the customer views your solution, you’ll be equipped to make thoughtful and sensitive decisions about your next step.

One of the best simple techniques to use to keep an ongoing dialogue going is to simply ask for an agreement following every conversation you have with the customer.  That puts the issue on the table, gives you a continuous reading of where the customer is, and ends every conversation with a mutual agreement.  As long as the customer is agreeing to do something, you are not pushing too hard.

Hope this helps.

To help you develop this key sales skill, consider these learning units in The Sales Resource Center ™:  Pod-19: Characteristics of Super Star Sales People, Pod-36: Achieve Instant Rapport with Anyone, and Nugget N-22; Push Too Far.

About the Author:

Dave Kahle is one of the world’s leading sales educators. He’s written nine books, presented in 47 states and seven 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.  For a limited time, receive $547 of free bonuses with the purchase of his latest book, How to Sell Anything to Anyone Anytime.

Image by storem, on Flickr available under a Creative Commons license

By Dave Kahle

All too often, sales people are directed by the urgencies of the moment:  A lead pops up, a customer calls with a problem, or some paperwork to which you need to attend.  They find themselves busily pursuing an agenda created by other people.  They are busy, but too often with the wrong things.

The best sales people, however, understand that sales happen as a result of methodically managing people through certain well-defined steps in a sales process.  They have refined that process to the specifics of their selling situation, reflecting the uniqueness of their customers and their offerings, while at the same time building it on the infrastructure of the fundamental sales process.  Here is an excerpt from my book, How to Sell Anything to Anyone Anytime, which describes that sales process.

Step One:  Engage with the right people

“Engage” means to interact in some kind of communication.  It can be face-to-face, over the phone, via email, or via a website.  “Right people” means those people who have a need or interest in your product, and for whom the timing is right.

If you don’t engage with the right people, you spend all of your time in the wrong place.  Sort of like trying to plant carrot seeds on a cement sidewalk.  You can do everything else right, but it won’t matter.

Step Two:  Make them comfortable with you

If they are going to believe what you say, you have to be somewhat credible, and they have to feel at least a bit comfortable with you.  If they aren’t comfortable with you, they won’t spend much time with you, and the time  they do spend will be guarded and tentative.  They may be convinced to do business with you because of the fundamental attractiveness of your offer, but if they are not comfortable with you, it will be action taken against the grain.  They will be forever uncomfortable and eager to find a replacement.

On the other hand, if they are comfortable with you, they won’t mind spending time with you.  They’ll be much more open to sharing the information that is necessary for you to do a good job of crafting a solution.  They’ll believe what you have to say.  You’ll get the benefit of the doubt and they’ll be eager to share future opportunities with you.

Step Three:  Find out what they want

Selling is not manipulating people so that they take something they don’t want.  It is, instead, finding out what they already want, and appealing to that interest.  The best sales people excel at this step in the process.

I believe this step is the heart of selling – the essence of what sales is all about.  I know that flies in the face of the routine practices of multitudes of sales people, who believe that the end-all of their focus is to push their product.

You can proclaim the merits of your product to willing and unwilling listeners and web page visitors far and wide, attempting to sway them with the powerful features and advantages which your product offers over the competition.  Or, you can focus on the customer, finding out what motivates him, what issues are important to him, what problems he has, what objectives he is trying to solve, what he looks for in a vendor, etc.  That’s a better way.

Everything that comes before is designed to get to this understanding.  And everything that you do after is based on this step.  It is the fulcrum upon which the entire sales process pivots.

Step Four:  Show them how what you have gives them what they want

Proclaiming your product’s features is the preferred routine of the mediocre sales person.  Personally and individually crafting your presentation to show the customer how what you have gives him what he wants is the mindset that, in part, defines the master sales people.

If what you have doesn’t help them get what they want, you either have the wrong thing, or you are talking to the wrong person.

Step Five:  Gain an agreement on the next step

Closing the sale is by far the most over-hyped phase of selling.  If you have the right person, and you have uncovered something they want, and you have shown them how what you have gives them what they want, why wouldn’t they take the next positive step?  It’s natural.  You just need to help them define what that is, and commit to it.

In more complex sales, there can be a series of appropriate next steps.  They may need to test it, to evaluate it, to submit it to a committee, etc.

Every sales interaction has an assumed next step.  If you call someone for an appointment, the next step is the appointment.  If you present your solution to a decision-maker, the next step is the order.  In between, there are thousands of potentially different sales calls, and thousands of potential action steps that follow the sales call.

The agreement is the ultimate rationale for the sales call and the aspect that makes it a “sales” call.  A sales call is set apart from the rest of the interactions in this world by the fact that it anticipates an agreement.

Without an agreement, the process has been a waste of time.  It is the ultimate goal of every sales person, and of every sales process, and of every sales call.

Step Six:  Follow up and leverage the transaction to other opportunities

After they buy, you then make sure they were satisfied, and you assume that, because they are satisfied, they will want to do other business with you and will want to let their friends know about you as well.  Sounds simple, and it is.

This is the step of the sales process that is most commonly neglected.  Most sales people are so focused on making the sale they neglect to consider that their real purpose is to satisfy the customer.  And that extends beyond just the sale itself.

The sales follow up call on the customer, made after the sale is complete, delivered and implemented by the customer, is one of the most powerful sales calls available.  In it, the sales person seeks assurance that the customer is satisfied, and then leverages that affirmation to uncover additional opportunities within the customer and/or referrals to people in other organizations.

The best sales people build all of their actions on this module, effectively moving people from one step to the other.  That’s why they are the best.

To learn more about this best practice, consider my book, How to Sell Anything to Anyone Anytime. If you are subscriber to The Sales Resource Center, consider course C-2, The Kahle Way® B2B Selling System.

]]> http://www.commence.com/blog/index.php/2011/08/10/best-practice-47-understands-and-is-guided-by-an-effective-sales-process/feed/ 0 http://www.commence.com/blog/index.php/2011/08/09/customers-applaud-commence-crm-full-featured-dashboard/ http://www.commence.com/blog/index.php/2011/08/09/customers-applaud-commence-crm-full-featured-dashboard/#comments Tue, 09 Aug 2011 20:12:50 +0000 Commence http://www.commence.com/blog/?p=1263

The highly competitive nature of the CRM software sector has software providers searching for ways to differentiate their product from the myriad of options available. While many focus their attention on adding wiz-bang features that often provide little value, one CRM software provider has focused their attention on the product’s usability and access to customer data.  That CRM software provider is Commence Corporation.

Commence is a feature rich CRM solution that is attracting customers away from industry giants Microsoft CRM and Salesforce.com.  While Commence offers several unique features over the competition, what customers find most alluring about Commence CRM is how easy the product is to use.  Commence has paid close attention to the routine functions that individuals in sales, marketing and customer service perform each day and has incorporated this functionality directly into the product’s dashboard or home page.  With Commence CRM, sales and customer service people can conduct the majority of their daily business without ever leaving the dashboard.  This not only reduces the learning curve, but provides customers with an immediate return on their investment.

Commence customers and resellers have commented about  the clean and efficient deign of the dashboard which is cosmetically appealing and so easy to use that employees immediately become comfortable with the product’s navigation and access to customer information.  “Commence CRM is well designed, has an excellent sales workflow process and enables the user to perform numerous tasks with a single click.” says Nigel Park, managing director of TPS Consulting, an IT consulting firm and reseller of Commence CRM.  “Customers who test the product prefer it every time over the competition.”

Commence CRM Dashboard

With Commence CRM the user can read and compose email right within the CRM system, add activities, create a new lead or a new account, add a sales opportunity, a service ticket or a project task right from the product’s dashboard.  You can even access both standard text and graphical reports from the reports tab on the left hand tool bar.  No other CRM system offers this level of access to customer and sales data as easily as Commence CRM.

Outlined below is a comparison of the dashboards of Salesforce.com and Microsoft Dynamics CRM.  You can see for yourself why customers prefer Commence CRM.

Salesforce Dashboard

Microsoft CRM Dashboard

To learn more about Commence CRM and the features that are making Commence one of the most talked about CRM solutions, visit the company’s web site at commence.com or call Commence Sales at 1-877- 266-6362.

In order to gain a competitive edge or simply compete against larger corporations, mid-size and smaller enterprises need to take advantage of the same technology the bigger guys are using.  Many are turning their attention to Customer Relationship Management software or CRM as a tool to automate and improve how they market, sell and provide service to their customers.  CRM software can help companies implement a set of structured internal processes that enable them to become a more efficient sales and service organization.  The most significant challenge facing smaller businesses, however, is the lack of resources and experience with the implementation of CRM software and managing the changes associated with automating their internal processes.  This is almost always underestimated by smaller businesses that seem to prefer the do-it-yourself methodology versus engaging the expertise of the CRM vendor.  These do-it-yourselfers often learn that engaging the assistance of the CRM software provider is paramount to the successful implementation, use, and ROI realized from the CRM software.

With CRM – It’s All About Service

I find the CRM software sector perplexing.  Due to its rapid growth it has become one of the most competitive industries, chock full of low cost solutions, cut throat competition and immature products that deliver very little value.  In fact, the whole concept of customer relationship management seems to have disappeared. Today, many of the CRM vendors don’t have the time to discuss your requirements or demonstrate how their solution would address your business requirements.  They prefer that you simply place your credit card over the Internet and download the software.  They will then bill you each month that you utilize their product and if you require assistance: send an e-mail and someone will respond in a few days.  Is this really customer relationship management?

One company that conducts business the old fashioned way is Commence Corporation, a provider of customer management software solutions for more than two decades.  Commence takes a completely different approach to selling their CRM software by first taking the time to understand the customers’ business, offering personal demonstrations and “try before you buy” programs that ensure the customer is comfortable with the CRM software and the value they will realize from it.  Commence also has a large staff of experienced personnel who assist each customer with the implementation, making recommendations along the way with regard to implementing an appropriate lead qualification process and a structured sales methodology.  The value of this service can be measured by the ROI Commence customers realize with Commence CRM and the number of years they remain customers.  My point is simple.  If you think you will impact the performance of your business with some low cost CRM solution that you purchase over the Internet you will be very disappointed.  Many CRM solutions may appear similar, but the winning formula is all about the level and quality of service provided by the CRM vendor.  This is what makes Commence a top rated CRM solution and differentiates it from the competition.

Commence CRM software is available on premise or as a cloud based CRM offering. To learn more about Commence CRM, visit the company’s web site at www.commence.com and see for yourself why Commence is the best CRM solution for mid-size and small enterprises.

Image Credit: Diary by Sheikh tuhin source openclipart license Public Domain Free images from acobox.com

One Central Database of All Customer Information

First is data consolidation. This enables you to capture, track, manage and share vital customer information with the people and departments that require it to efficiently do their jobs.  Previously known as contact management, this functionality is traditionally found in even the most basic CRM systems and is fine for those companies simply looking to get away from managing their business using an Excel spreadsheet.  But what if you need more?

Drive More Business and Close More deals

The next core functionality requirement most businesses have is how to get the telephone to ring more. Most businesses need more leads and may not have a structured sales process in place to ensure that both new leads and the sales cycle are properly managed to closure.  While lower cost CRM systems offer some basic sales management and reporting, you need to consider a mid-market offering that offers the work flow processes for creating marketing campaigns that generate new leads, qualifying or scoring the leads and automating the entire sales process.

Improve Your Customer’s Buying Experience

Lastly, providing world class customer service may be the difference between earning new and recurring business and losing to your competition.  More robust CRM systems offer a customer support application that provides service representatives with access to a complete customer profile. This enables them to react immediately to customer inquiries or complaints. Higher end CRM systems may also include a customer portal that allows the customer to check the status of their order or service ticket or edit their profile right within the CRM system.  This new self-service component provides customers with a better buying experience and gives your business a leg up on the competition.

Choosing a CRM Vendor

So now that you are thinking about your specific business challenges it’s time to start short listing some CRM vendors.  Most CRM companies target a specific market based on the functionality they offer.  The most basic low cost contact management solutions tend to sell to small office or small home businesses, while mid-market CRM providers focus on companies that have greater business requirements.  Enterprise CRM solutions offer scalable platforms that can support hundreds and even thousands of employees and as such tend to focus on this market segment.  So the question you need to ask is where do you fit?

Next, I would take a look at the CRM vendor’s track record. How long have they been in business? How many customers do they have that are similar to your business and what level of customer support do they provide?

While there are dozens of CRM software providers in the industry, one of the most popular CRM systems that appeals to mid-size and small enterprises is Commence CRM.  Commence has been providing CRM software solutions to this segment for more than twenty years and has been rated one of the best CRM software programs based on its robust functionality and attractive price points. Commence CRM is a web based CRM solution that provides online real time access to data from anywhere in the world.  What is also appealing about Commence CRM is that it may be deployed as a cloud based CRM program or implemented on premise.  Commence is ideal for mid-size companies that need a robust online CRM solution at an affordable price point.  For more information about Commence CRM software, visit the company’s web site at Commence.com.

The techniques for marketing and building brand awareness have changed radically in the past decade and the Internet has become one of the most powerful vehicles for introducing new products and services.  The problem with the Internet is that it is becoming more and more like television where people seem to believe that anything they see or read about is true.  Most people are aware of how Internet search engines work:  The companies that are listed in the top three positions have simply paid more than the others, but the consumer does not seem to care. They assume that if you are listed in the top position then you must be the best at what you do.

Customer Relationship Management software is a good example of this. Companies like Microsoft and Salesforce.com are willing to out-bid everyone to hold the top positions, but does this mean they are the best solutions for your business?  What’s interesting about the CRM software sector is that industry experts have indicated that as many as 70% of all CRM systems fail to get implemented or fully utilized.   If this is true, does this mean that the top rated CRM or leading CRM providers have a 70% failure rate?  I can’t say, but it does make one question whether selecting a CRM solution that is top rated on the Google search engine means you have selected the best CRM solution for your business, doesn’t it?

The Formula for CRM Success

The good news for the consumer is that there are a number of very good CRM software programs available from companies that are not listed in the top three search engine positions. One of these companies is Commence Corporation. Commence has been providing CRM software solutions to mid size companies and small enterprises for more than two decades. While the company is not listed in the top three spots, Commence offers perhaps a more compelling statistic: positive customer testimonials and one of the highest success rates for implementation and use of their CRM software.

One of the reasons for this success is that Commence doesn’t just sell CRM software. The company combines the CRM software with a proven implementation plan and a set of CRM “best practices” for sales execution and sales optimization. The implementation plan outlines the company’s responsibilities and those of the customer along with a timeline to ensure the project remains on track.  These CRM best practices have been designed by a team of highly trained sales professionals that help companies create and implement a proven sales methodology resulting in better sales execution while ensuring timely and accurate reporting.

Over the past two decades, Commence Corporation has established a proven track record for helping companies to become a more efficient sales and service organization.  Many of these companies have remained customers for as long as the company has been in business.  This certainly illustrates that the Commence CRM software complemented by its CRM best practices have provided a winning formula for its customers.  Unfortunately, you won’t find this listed on the Google search engine.

Learn more about the Commence CRM product and best practices at www.commence.com or consult with our CRM experts at 1-877- 266-6362.

As a leading CRM software provider I can appreciate the competitive nature of the industry and how hungry for business all CRM vendors are.  But I continue to see something on many of the CRM vendor’s sites that I find disturbing, and that is the “Buy Now” button.  The reason I feel this way and you should too, is because CRM software is not a toy or an electronic gadget that you buy over the Internet with a credit card, and if you think it is, you’re dead wrong.

CRM is a business strategy and a commitment to streamlining the internal business processes that impact how you market, sell and provide service to your customers.  CRM software programs that address these key business requirements need to be carefully reviewed and will require you to engage the vendor before, during and after the sale in order to maximize the value you will realize from their CRM solution.  High quality CRM solution providers like Commence Corporation complement their CRM software with a set of best practices for sales management and sales execution.  This provides value added services to the customer while differentiating Commence from other CRM solution providers.

CRM vendors whose business model relies on the “Buy Now” button have made it perfectly clear that they either have no interest in understanding your business requirements or perhaps do not have the resources to engage you in direct conversation.  Either way this is not the type of CRM vendor I would recommend doing business with and may be the main reason so many businesses that have gone this route are not satisfied with the CRM solution they selected.

I do appreciate that the majority of these CRM solution providers offer a very low cost  product and because of this they simply cannot afford to offer any type of service that requires human intervention.  But let me ask you this:  Who wins here? you or the vendor?  The “Buy Now” button only works for companies that are buying a CRM solution based solely on price.  These companies traditionally have not done an appropriate job of documenting their requirements and as such they don’t fully understand what the CRM system will provide for them.  As a result, they believe all CRM systems are alike and therefore use price as their main selection criteria.

Here is my point.  If you are serious about addressing specific business requirements and improving the operations of your business you’ll need to take the time to properly document your business requirements and challenge the vendors you are interested in to demonstrate their ability to meet those requirements.  Top rated CRM solution providers like Commence CRM will gladly accept this challenge and provide the advice and counsel to help you make an informed decision.   Many other CRM vendors will suggest you click the “Buy Now” button.

About the author: Larry Caretsky is president of Commence Corporation and the author of several white papers on the subject of CRM, including 7 Points to Consider Before Selecting your CRM system, Getting Back to Basics and Best Practices for Sales Execution and Management.  These papers are available on the Commence web site at www.commence.com.

What’s perplexing about the CRM software sector is why so many companies that have engaged in the implementation of CRM software programs have failed to realize a return on their investment.  The CRM software industry has matured very rapidly and there are a number of very good products that provide robust functionality, are affordable and relatively easy to use.  There are now CRM products designed for specific market segments such as small business, mid market and enterprise solutions and we are beginning to see an increase in vertically based solutions as well.   In addition, the introduction of web based or on-line CRM programs have made the deployment of these systems easier and less costly than ever before.  Despite all of this, the failure rate for implementation and utilization of CRM software remains one of the highest in the software industry with analysts documenting failure rates higher than 70 percent.  This is almost inexplicable, unless you dig into the reason why.

About a year ago I wrote a CRM white paper comparing the implementation of accounting software with customer relationship management or CRM.  While CRM had an exceptionally high failure rate accounting software did not, so I took the time to look into this a bit further to discover why.  Here is what I learned.  The successful implementation and proper utilization of computer software is traditionally the result of three specific components: mature business processes, professionally trained people, and quality software solutions.

Accounting departments, and the profession for that matter, are quite structured with mature processes that have been defined over the years by the federal government.  The staff traditionally consists of professionally trained people with accounting degrees that understand the principles of accounting and follow the regulatory requirements.  The software programs that automate accounting processes have been around for decades and are quite mature and trusted. The implementation process is also well defined with everyone knowing exactly what is required in order to realize a successful implementation.

The sales department has quite a different pedigree. Most small to mid-size businesses do not have a well defined structure or methodology for managing the sales process.  This means that each sales representative goes about their business their own way, which results in a lack of consistency and inaccurate sales and revenue reporting. The staff is often made up of people from different educational and business backgrounds who more often then not, have had little if any professional sales training.  The systems and the requirements for implementation, while more mature than years ago, are not fully understood by the end user and require management to make decisions about processes and procedures they may not fully understand or are prepared to manage.  The end result of this is a failure rate that simply cannot continue.

In order to address this, companies that are considering the implementation of CRM software need to fully understand the core competency of their staff and take an active role in managing the change that will occur as a result of its implementation.  They need to place the same level of importance to their CRM implementation as they have done with their accounting software.  In many businesses CRM software is looked upon as just something the sales team uses and that nobody else really cares about, yet the sales organization is one of the costliest and most critical components to the success of the business.  In order to ensure the proper implementation and use of CRM software, it is critical to assign an implementation manager that has the backing of senior management and the decision making authority to implement and manage changes in internal policies and procedures.   Then and only then will we begin to see more successful implementations and a return on investment from CRM software.

About the author: Larry Caretsky is the President and CEO of Commence Corporation, a leading provider of web based and on premise CRM software for small to mid-size businesses. Caretsky is considered an expert in the subject of CRM and has written several white papers on the subject. They may be accessed via the company’s web site at www.commence.com. Commence supports several thousand customers in more than 22 countries around the world and has outlets in North and South America, Europe and Asia.

Picking a CRM software vendor is tough. It’s even tougher when you’re part of the small to midsize market, where technology budgets are limited and horror stories of complex, drawn-out CRM projects abound. While the watchword of midmarket CRM buyers was once something akin to the President’s “irrational exuberance,” today it is “caution,” as companies demand solutions that are affordable, easy to implement and easy to use and that deliver a quick return on investment.

“The CRM industry has been plagued by vendors offering overly complex solutions to solve basic business problems. This has resulted in a low adoption rate and failed customer expectations,” says Larry Caretsky, president and CEO of Commence Corporation. “The concern for most businesses today is not a lack of technology, but rather how they can leverage technology to improve their internal processes and, ultimately, their bottom line.”

Caretsky should know. His company has been in business for 22 years and has witnessed all the trends in customer relationship management. And with that kind of experience, Caretsky figured out long ago that rapidly deployable, cost-effective CRM solutions – even when they weren’t in vogue – were the only way for customers to quickly and affordably reap the benefits of their investment.

Commence Corporation has taken a unique approach to meeting the key objectives of most small to midsize businesses – namely, by streamlining internal business processes, improving sales processes and delighting customers. The company starts with the fundamental knowledge that most mid-market customers must first address the problem of data capture, data consolidation and data sharing.

Typically, vital customer information is spread throughout these organizations in contact management software, back office systems and Excel spreadsheets. “Employees spend a significant amount of time trying to determine where or who in the organization has the information they need to address customer inquiries,” says Caretsky. “Management recognizes this problem and realizes that in order to increase sales and become a more efficient sales and service organization they must get the right information into the hands of the right people, at the right time.”

The Commence CRM software does just that. Customer information, captured from multiple channels, is stored in a unified database where it is immediately available to all authorized personnel through two product features: a digital dashboard and a multiview capability. “This enables them to be constantly aware of account activity and take proactive steps to ensure customer satisfaction,” says Caretsky.

At the same time, Commence helps companies increase sales using a sales process template that is built into the system. Preset sales stages allow the sales team to begin classifying new sales opportunities from the beginning. The product also offers sales teams the ability to utilize a structured sales methodology for lead scoring and evaluating each sales opportunity. And it helps make sales reps more productive by providing a tool to automate routine tasks. “It’s like having an administrative assistant working directly for you,” says Caretsky.

Building brand recognition via the use of direct mail and email marketing campaigns is also incorporated in Commence CRM as a component of the marketing software module. By scheduling repetitive marketing campaigns small to mid-size businesses can be assured that their company, product or service is in front of prospective buyers at all times.

“Today’s basis for business growth is the successful management of long-term relationships with customers on a one-to-one level,” says Caretsky. “When the customer becomes the center of your business, customer-centric strategies, processes and technology solutions can unlock the value of these relationships.”

Image Credit: Free images from acobox.com

Outlined below is a brief summary of the article.

Accounting departments are traditionally known for having mature well-documented business processes, perhaps because the federal government requires them. Sales organizations are traditionally void of structure and process, which often results in inaccurate forecast and sales with lower profitability then desired.

Accounting departments have mature people.  This is not to say that sales people are not mature, but accountants are traditionally degreed and well trained on the principles of accounting while sales people often come from different walks of life with different levels of education and sales experience.

Accounting systems have also been around for decades and have a mature set of features that have been designed to address a specific set of rules and guidelines. Sales systems while mature must be flexible enough to support a variety of unique sales functions within multiple sales channels. This often makes these systems overly complex and hard to use.

This brief analysis would indicate that mature business processes, mature people, and mature solutions drive the operational success of your accounting department. If this is indeed true, shouldn’t we be emulating this within our sales organization?

Small to mid-size businesses that have a CRM initiative should make sure that they add the ability to have a flexible sales methodology to their functional criteria list.

CRM vendors like Commence Corporation offer fully integrated solutions for contact management, lead management, sales management as well as consulting services that help businesses deploy proven sales methodologies or create custom programs to match unique selling requirements.  The flexibility of web based solutions like Commence coupled with high level sales expertise can help make your sales organization as efficient as your accounting department.

Commence CRM Home Page

Commence CRM Opportunity Form

A standard approach to pursuing and tracking opportunities is a smart way to assure that all sales activities are aligned with organizational goals and the overall direction of sales management. Consistency also reduces the amount of non-value added sales activities such as drafting letters, writing reports, and having lengthy phone calls to determine what stage is next in a sales opportunity.  Having standard terminology saves time and minimizes confusion.

Sales managers benefit from standardized CRM Sales processes because it is also easier to determine how each salesperson is performing.  Opportunities that are stalled in one stage can be identified and resolved.  Salespeople benefit from standardization because they waste less time determining what information is missing and what the next step should be in the workflow. Sales appointments become more productive because they are only conducted when qualified as part of a planned sequence of events.

The high level steps to implement a sales process are:

1. Document your sales process
2. Design your implementation
3. Train your sales team
4. Support the implementation

Some companies adopt branded systems such as Sandler, Solution Selling, Dale Carnegie or others.  Others develop their own systems with distinct terminology; perhaps a hybrid of popular systems or a mix of the techniques used by the company’s most successful sales performers.

A standard sales process allows companies to more easily analyze events and make sense of trends. As a regional sales manager at a mid-sized organization observed, “The only way to discover what’s working and what’s not is to measure the individual steps of the sales process.  If you know the percentages of prospects that proceed through each stage of the process, you accurately predict how many sales will close in the future, based upon the current pipeline.  You can also compare the performance of team members and take appropriate action, like additional coaching, in order to ensure that the team remains productive.”

Applying Best Practices to Sales

Most organizations are not strangers to processes, systems, and re-engineering.  For example, in the manufacturing industry, plants and warehouses couldn’t operate profitably without them and no business manager would let accounting and purchasing departments improvise. The more complex the task, it’s more likely that the effective principles and processeses for successfully completing that task have been defined and codified.  In other words, much of the business world is already highly process-driven, systematized, and automated.

Yet, oftentimes, the sales department hasn’t been automated.  For example, in a recent study of distributor respondents, eighty-eight percent indicated that they do not have a documented, formal sales process.  Given that sales is fundamental and represents a large expense item, it was quite surprising that written sales processes were non-existent for the majority of the study participants.  Without such a document to provide a consistent road map, executives have no choice but to depend on the creativity, work ethic and luck of individual sales reps and their managers.

Organizations without a documented sales process often exhibit several common symptoms, such as a disconnected and manual approach to selling and a lengthy cycle time to find prospects, get quotes out the door, and close orders.  This may in turn lead to irritated prospects, who expect a rapid response to their inquiries or request for a proposal. .  In addition, top sales employees may become annoyed.  They want to sell, not figure out the best way to put prospects in the pipeline, create quotes, enter orders   and track shipments delivered. Other symptoms of process deficiencies include abundant and costly errors, evidenced by expedited orders and high volumes of returns, and inadequate margin on too many quotes, resulting in deflated profitability.  This may lead to stagnant sales from the most important customers and cause engineering and other departments to be pulled into disarray when the sales team gets a request for proposal or learns about a bid opportunity.

If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone.  Many executives voice issues similar to these, yet the remedy seems to be incredibly difficult.  Sales teams are often extremely autonomous, and management struggles to avoid “big brother” accusations and micromanaging.  Despite these legitimate concerns, it is not that difficult to successfully implement a standard sales process.

When reviewing the various sales methodologies and processes available, make sure your final selection is repeatable, predictable, and scalable.  What you want is a sales process that is simply enough that, over time, it will become second nature to the sales staff. Also, make sure that it isn’t too complicated, or the sales team will not use it.

The elements of a sales process typically include:

• a common vocabulary for describing the activities involved in selling
• clearly defined stages of selling
• an agreed upon checklist of what it takes to move from one stage to the next
• consistent guidelines for information to be gathered and given at each stage
• clear expectations for how long each sales stage should take
• concise definition of suggested next actions

When smart organizations are designing a sales process implementation, they focus on change management, not sales training.  By implementing a formalized sales process, businesses are fundamentally changing the way people do their jobs on a daily basis.  There will be natural resistance.  To develop a change management plan, make sure you can answer the following questions:

• What motivation do sales people have to use the new system?
• What potential barriers are there to implementation?
• How can I overcome those barriers?
• How will I know if the implementation is successful?
• What should I expect during the transition?
• Who can people go to if they have questions?

Follow the Leader

One of the best ways to make sure implementations “stick” is to have the management involved.  One recent study found that when sales training is reinforced by management, the sales skills taught during training produced a 15% permanent increase in productivity.

Management needs to be involved in more than a cosmetic fashion.  A senior member of the management team needs to attend the training, and this same manager should inspect the sales activities for a period of time to make sure they continuously are consistent with the new sales introduced during the training.

At the end of the day, the challenge with adopting a new sales process is getting everyone to follow it.  Sales management must lead by example in sales meetings and on sales calls.  An automated workflow reinforced by a CRM system that quickly prompts a salesperson to enter required information before moving to the next sales stage is invaluable. Standard reports and online visibility into the sales pipeline can help monitor the progress of opportunities over time so that both the salesperson and the sales manager can spot when an opportunity is stalled.

As one sales leader summed up his company’s recipe for success: “Our company can’t grow consistently unless the sales process is repeatable, not arbitrary.  For us, it is a condition of employment – you have to embrace the standards, follow the processes and use the CRM system.”

About Commence Corporation: Founded in 1988, Commence develops and delivers a diverse suite of award winning CRM software that integrates people, processes and technology.  Available on-premise or online, Commence CRM solutions are utilized by several thousand businesses to streamline sales and customer service front office business processes.  As a result, Commence clients increase workforce productivity, generate positive customer interactions and reduce operational cost.