Business - Marketing
Often times, the difference between the best salesman and mediocre salesman is the follow-up with prospects and customers. We've all seen the stats and we know the numbers, the average sale takes 6 contacts but the average salesperson stops at 2. What does that tell you? That tells me that we just need to stay in contact with our customers more and we will get more sales. What holds salespeople back though? If the stats are on their side, then why in the world would a salesman start over with a new prospect when they still haven't exhausted the existing one. One of the reasons might just be a lack of organization and that's where a good crm software program can make all the difference in the world.
Contact Management Software is sales software that allows salespeople to manage their contacts with prospects and referrals. There are a lot of options you can choose when picking a CRM software. You can go with an open source crm, hosted crm, or one that you install on your own servers. Each one of these has it's advantages and disadvantages, but any start is a good start to having your salesman rank their leads and then put them into a follow-up sequence.
A very popular option in the last few years has been the web based crm solution. There are a lot of reasons for this. As salespeople travel more, it's important for them to have access to all their data anywhere with an internet connection. Hosted CRM solutions let them do that. As working from home becomes more popular, more are opting to do as much work as possible from the comfort of their own home. The advantages are great for both the salesman and the sales manager. Being in sales means that salesperson needs to be on the road most of the day. Being on the road means that they need to stick around the office to fill out their call notes when they would much rather go home to their family and complete their notes from their home on their time. It also has it's pluses for managers as well. For example, in a household where both husband and wife work, it's not uncommon to have to switch off staying home with a sick child. This gives a salesperson the ability to still be productive while they are at home. Or if they are leaving for a vacation in the morning, but still want to make a few phone calls. Hosted CRM gives them that option.
Small businesses are also figuring out that CRM is just as important to their business as a Fortune 500 company. Business owners are investing more heavily into small business crm software to help aide in the growth of their business. Many CRM Software companies have seen this trend and have come out with programs specifically geared at small businesses, even ones that require just one user for a nominal monthly fee. Having the ability to followup with key customers is so vital for small businesses and their growth.
So if you are in the middle of deciding whether or not the cost of a business contact manager can be justified. Keep in mind, just one sale can pay for the program for years to come. Contact managers give management and sales one spot where their information is kept so it allows everyone to accomplish more as they are now better organized. It's not only good for the sales professionals, but also for the management team. Being able to see the pipeline of the entire team puts them in a better position when it comes to cash flow projections and figuring where the company will be in a year. Besides the obvious benefits, sales contact management programs are great for even the little things, like remembering an important customers birthday. What better reminder that you care about your customers than by sending a card on their birthday? It's those little things, that are made possible by a good contact management program.