You’ve found it: the CRM tool that will revolutionise your business. You already know it will assist you in better qualifying leads, closing more business, and spending less time on manual activities. It’s adaptable and simple to use. You only need to persuade your boss, team, coworkers, and/or other decision-makers that it is the correct sales technique for your firm before you can begin adopting it and hence invest in a CRM.
If this is your team’s first time utilising a CRM, you’re probably currently managing your lead and customer data in spreadsheets. Spreadsheets are fantastic for getting started in business, but you know you’ve outgrown them.
Look for statistics to back up your decision to go from spreadsheets to a CRM. For instance:
- Because your team is selling more, updating and maintaining information takes significantly longer.
- There is a lot of repetitive labour that could be automated, such as following up after X days.
- On the go, your outside sales personnel can’t use spreadsheets effectively.
- In spreadsheets, sensitive customer data isn’t as secure as it should be.
- Spreadsheets make collaboration more difficult since people utilise them in various ways.
The more detailed you can be about CRM’s advantages, the better. When possible, use numbers, such as the number of missed business due to inefficiency or the number of hours saved on admin.
Identify reasons to switch from your existing CRM if you’re switching. For instance:
- Is it lacking a key feature?
- Is it unable to keep up with the expansion of your company?
- Have you observed that your existing CRM system is falling behind its competition while comparing CRM systems?
Talk to your teammates and keep all of their input in one location to collect this knowledge.
Next, get input from businesses that have previously implemented the product. A “Customers,” “Testimonials,” or “Case Studies” page can be found on many SaaS product websites. Select a few of the groups on the list and inquire about what they like, dislike, and the results they’ve seen. Even better if you can identify those in your sector and/or company size. If you can’t reach them, browse their customer testimonials to learn more.
You can also request that the SaaS salesperson introduce you to current customers, but keep in mind that they will only give you the names of the most satisfied ones.
Determine which CRM features will benefit your company.
You’ll likely notice some parallels and patterns when you capture your top pain issues and collect supporting data (such as numbers and comments from sales staff).
Divide them into categories, and then make a list of the must-have CRM features for each one.
Here are some examples of features and the problems they solve for you as inspiration.
Feature: Collaboration by a group (team reports, revenue forecast, live dashboards, etc.)
Points of discomfort:
- Data regarding leads and sales is kept on the computers of sales reps in spreadsheets.
- Salespeople are unaware of their current contribution to team goals.
- It’s difficult to make changes on the fly because current data isn’t easily available (all decisions depend on the most recent weekly report)
Feature: CRM as a single source of truth.
Points of discomfort:
- Looking through emails for the most up-to-date information on a lead
- Keeping a separate document containing email templates
- A calendar for sales appointments that are not linked to lead information
Customizability, powerful reporting, and agility/simplicity of usage are some other major features you might come across in your investigation.
When speaking with a member of the CRM’s sales staff, your list of pain points will be quite useful. Data regarding leads and sales is kept on the computers of sales reps in spreadsheets.
Salespeople are unaware of their current contribution to team goals.
They should be able to assist you in identifying CRM features that can boost your sales.
Find out which of your applications the CRM will work with.
Are you already utilising fantastic technologies to aid your sales efforts? If that’s the case, finding a CRM that integrates with it rather than one that replaces it might be more vital.
In other words, you don’t need a CRM that fits everyone; you need one that gives you the flexibility and customization you need to make it effective on your terms.
You’ll probably want your CRM to interact with the following sorts of tools:
- Customer service
- Solutions for phones
- Generation of leads
- Email advertising
- Automated marketing
- Contracts and proposals
- Invoicing and accounting
Remember that your CRM doesn’t have to accomplish everything; it only needs to link with technologies that help you be more productive and focused.
Make a cost-benefit calculation.
Showing how much money, time, and effort you and your team can save with a CRM is another effective way to establish a business case for it.
Calculate how much you’re losing without this product using the information you’ve acquired so far. You could, for example, make the following estimate:
- With a modern CRM, each salesperson will close 20% more deals.
- The typical transaction is $5,000.
- Each month, your sales team closes 20 deals.
With these figures, you can say, “If we don’t get this software, we’ll lose $20,000 every 30 days.”
Next, figure out how much the software will set you back. There’s usually a sticker price (say, $60 per user per month) and sometimes additional expenses for installation, onboarding, and maintenance. Even if the vendor doesn’t charge extra, factor in the money you’ll lose while your staff transitions to the platform—especially if you’ll be paying for two different solutions.
Finally, figure out your return on investment (ROI). The product may cost $6,000 per year with everything included, but you’ll make $30,000 more. So your annual ROI will be $24,000—and that’s assuming your sales staff doesn’t grow.
Create a strategy for implementation.
Inertia frequently pulls us back when it comes to purchasing new things. It is recommended to present a detailed action plan for your sales team before getting company-wide buy-in for your CRM.
Consider the following:
- When will the onboarding and training take place? How will you compensate for the productivity loss if this interferes with the team’s daily activities?
- How will this tool interact with the others you have? How will you phase out the old tool if it’s replacing another?
- Who will take part? Will you be in charge of the project or will someone else?
A CRM is a complicated purchase. Thought and foresight are required for integration, onboarding, and adoption.
If your sales reps will be using a CRM for the first time, the transition will be difficult. Design how the CRM’s features and functionalities will replace processes that were previously done in spreadsheets as you plan your CRM installation.
Make careful to overestimate the time it will take the team to fully switch to the CRM. This will assist you in overcoming any unexpected barriers.
It will most likely be a smoother transition if you’re coming from another CRM. You can make a brief list of new CRM features and capabilities, as well as how they relate to (and enhance) the capabilities of your old CRM.
Make sure you’ve set aside time for everyone to ask questions and provide comments in both scenarios. Don’t rush the process; getting it properly the first time will pay off in the long term.
Activate internal support
Demonstrating a high demand for this CRM will undoubtedly help you persuade your decision-makers.
Contact the stakeholders you spoke with earlier and ask if they’d be willing to share their opinions.
It’s also a good idea to inquire about any reservations your decision-maker(s) may have. Perhaps they’re concerned about your choice’s dependability, cost, or security. You can figure out how to solve the issue once you know what’s holding him or her back.
Make a presentation to your boss.
You’re ready to present once you have quotations from customers and your sales team, cost and savings projections, and an implementation plan.
What you do depends on how much you know about your boss. Do they prefer meticulously prepared, thorough presentations, or would they prefer a casual lunch conversation? Do they always base their decisions on statistics, or do they rely on their gut?
You’ll boost your chances of success by tailoring your approach to your manager’s personality.
Make a presentation to your team.
If you’re a sales manager looking for feedback on a new CRM, here are some pointers to help you get the most out of your staff.
Show them how this CRM will affect their day-to-day operations. How much more time will they have to focus on selling rather than manual admin activities, for example?
Use a recent case study to highlight the benefits of CRM over their current sales process. You can demonstrate how the new CRM helps with automated follow-ups if a deal was lost because the person followed up too late.
Demonstrate that this is all about them. Request that they try out the recommended CRM systems and provide feedback and detailed feedback. You can hold a 1:1 meeting with each rep and personalise the way you present your CRM selection to their needs if you followed the strategy from the first section of this article and asked them questions early on.
This will assist you not just in obtaining useful feedback, but also in CRM adoption in the future.
Make a presentation to other stakeholders
There’s a chance you and your team are completely sold on the new CRM solution, but there are still some key decision-makers to persuade.
They could work in departments like:
- IT
- Marketing
- Finance
While your goals are centred on your sales process and strategy, a new CRM has a completely different impact on these departments.
Understanding their short- and long-term business goals, as well as how you and your team fit into them, is the greatest method to prepare to speak to these stakeholders. You can then demonstrate how this CRM will affect them.
Here are some possible objectives for these stakeholders:
- IT: Completely secure business data, superior encryption, and overall compliance.
- Marketing: Thanks to segmentation, tagging, and other techniques, they have a high close rate on prospects they’ve created for your team.
- Finance: Best ROI based on how they’ve allocated software budget.
Remember that these people don’t need every detail about the CRM; they just need to know how it helps them achieve their goals, so customise your presentation to them individually. It will be a lot easier to say yes.
Make a backup plan.
What if your decision-makers are still not on board after all of this? You can choose between two choices. You may now proceed. You never know if they’ll return six months or a year later and say, “We’ve been considering.” Let’s use the CRM you recommended.”
To increase your chances, prepare a document that contains everything you’ve presented, including:
- The problems that your sales team faces
- Advantages of the option you’ve chosen
- Feedback from your sales staff in direct quotations
- Success stories from CRM customers in your industry
- Frequently asked questions and their responses that you discovered during your research
Make this document accessible to your decision-makers so that they can refer to it at any time.
Propose a trial run as your second choice. Most CRMs include a free trial period during which your team can test all of the features and see if they are a good match.
Tell your decision-makers that you appreciate their concerns about X and Y, but that you’d like to conduct a trial before making a final choice. They might eventually be convinced towards the end of the month when your company’s productivity (and revenue) has increased.
Go and conquer them.
Keep in mind that people are frequently resistive to change. Change might elicit feelings of insecurity and fear of failure. It feels dangerous.
As a result, the greatest thing you can do is provide data, examples, and plans to support the decision to transition to a (new) CRM. Keep track of the time you spend on sales activities. Gather data such as closure rates and lost reasons. Calculate everything that your new solution can perform better.
Then, by illustrating the CRM’s beneficial impact to each person you need to persuade, you’ll gain buy-in and trust. In no time, you’ll be winning with your new CRM.
Visit the RisePath page if you are looking for more information.
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