With the plethora of affordable sales tools and CRM software available today there is simply no reason why sales managers continue to have difficulty accurately forecasting monthly and quarterly revenues.  For years sales management relied primarily on the skills of the sales representative to forecast monthly revenue.  This process was flawed right out of the gate because management had to rely solely on the experience level of their sales team.

CRM Sales Reports and Analytics

Today, CRM software programs that focus on automating the sales cycle can provide the insight management needs to produce better outcomes.  Here are just a few of the ways CRM software can help.

• Automating the criteria for what determines a qualified lead.  This ensures that your sales team is laser focused on the most qualified opportunities thereby improving close ratios.
• Monitoring sales activity, such as how many calls or appointments the sales team has concluded and comparing the results of one representative verses another.
• Keeping track and reporting on where each new sales opportunity is in the sales cycle. This allows sales management to take a proactive approach during the sales process to help move the prospect toward closure.
• Produce graphical representations of the sales cycle by product, by region or by industry.  This enables management to determine the length of the sales cycle by product and to see if a specific product is selling better in one industry verses another.

These are just a few simple benefits that provide sales management with the insight they need to drive improved performance.

There are several excellent online CRM programs available for small to mid-size businesses and there is no reason why you should not be adopting CRM technology to more effectively manage and report on the performance of your sales organization.