I’ve seen several battles going on via social media regarding CRM and the sales people who are (forced) to use them.

As with most arguments, there is usually three sides to the story… yours (sales), theirs (management) and somewhere in between is the truth (reality).

Let me start by saying that CRM is one of the best tools invented for sales reps. It’s the wrench to a mechanic or a surgical knife to a surgeon. But I’m sure even those tools needed to be sold to certain people before they were willing to embrace them, so here we go…

Benefits to the Sales Reps

Being able to keep accurate notes in order to remember what the last conversation was about and what needs to happen next in and of itself is worth the price of admission for a CRM.

Add the fact that most CRM’s have the ability to create customized email templates (this way you don’t have to write the same email a 1000 times over), send out your own newsletters (this is the age of BrandYOU and now you can, without spending millions of “branding” dollars to do so) and how solid (or weak) your future pipeline looks and you would think every sales person in the world would want one.

Lame Excuses for Not Wanting to Use a CRM

Alas, there are still those who resist change and come up with excuses to avoid CRM’s…

Let’s look at the common gripes…

“All of this time I spend typing could be spent selling”

I got news for you, Sparky… if you are using this excuse, I’m willing to bet dollars to doughnuts you spend very little time selling and don’t want “big brother” seeing just how little your “selling activities” really are.

Besides, real sales people know they need to keep track of what was said, to whom, when and what the next steps are… and if you can remember all of that info now for your current prospects, well, you don’t have enough prospects.

“My company now has access to all of the customer relationships I built, which I feel I own; my company could fire me tomorrow and keep all of the contacts/relationships I've built”

If this is your excuse, here’s what you got wrong: “My company…” This isn’t “your company” and therefore they do own the data / customer / prospect database that you are calling on in their behalf. And if you don’t like it, go start your own business and then see if you change your tune when it’s time for you to hire sales reps. Cry baby.

“Little to no added benefit to me, with lots of value to "big brother"

Really? Being able to keep track of the different sales stages each one of your prospects is at, or the ability to have custom email templates ready to go with a click of a button, or seeing your sales forecast and check the health of your current pipeline in an instant is of no benefit to you? How about getting new leads via the “web-to-lead” auto import from your website? Or is that of no benefit to you either? Give it a rest!

“I'm on the road all day selling, and then I’m expected to update the CRM when I get home / back to the office after a long day”

Ummm… most of the CRM’s are accessible through this thing called the INTERNET. There’s also this wonderful device called a notebook and they make something called wireless Internet cards. Throw your pager away, get a smart phone and join the 21st century.

Management’s Down Fall

Now before “The Man” reads this and starts high fiving the “straight talk” above, it’s time to “wake” them up to their role in the discord sales reps have with CRM’s.

Here’s a hard reality… I use about 10% to 20% of the capabilities of our CRM and I’m making (and often surpassing, if I do say so myself) quota.

It’s understandable that an organization would want to receive an ROI on their investment… But what I’m hoping they realize is that they don’t need to force their sales reps to use every single aspect of a CRM in order to get it.

Just because your CRM can do a 101 functions doesn’t mean you need to switch gears and cram a new formula down everyone throats. Stephen Covey’s reminder of the story about the Goose and the Golden Egg comes to mind here.

Use the CRM to help you accomplish your goals…

The CRM is a tool to help close more business, not give marketing, accounting or any other non-selling person a vehicle to make the sales people (who are responsible for paying everyone else’s salaries, BTW) miserable. Use what fits. Ignore what doesn't.

The Key to a Win / Win Scenario:

Baby Steps – And Realistic Expectations (On both sides)

If you are going to implement a new CRM, start with the basics and allow your team to get familiar with the new look and feel before implementing all these “new rules” and processes.

Have a role out plan that allows for a comfortable transition and one that will prove to be a useful tool to help your reps reach quota and they just may stop thinking you’re the tool. Well, one can hope anyway.

Sincerely,

Michael Pedone 
Chief Sales Scientist
SalesBuzz.com 
(888) 264-0562 Ext. 1

No doubt those are two key areas sales people need to be solid in however; if you really want to separate yourself from the competition to where prospects are willing to take your call, or even better yet, are calling you and asking for help, you’re going to need more than a snazzy opener or benefit statement.

Industry Expert Vs. Product Knowledge Expert

Sure, knowing your product or service inside and out is helpful but you can do all the recommending and sharing of information you want, the prospect will always know that you have a vested interest in selling what you offer to them.

Often times this will lead to the prospect needing to “shop around” and gather additional information / quotes and then will ponder on their own what decision they should make, leaving your deal to what seems to be nothing more than a coin flip with your commission check hanging in the balance.

What I’ve found...

What I’ve found to be more useful than “product (or service) knowledge” is allowing prospects to come to the determination on their own that what ever it is I’m selling, that I’m the industry expert. That I understand their pains, issues, challenges and that I walk and talk like they do… That we speak the same language because I understand what its like to be in their shoes.

Who would you rather have to fix your car… someone who has actually wrenched and fixed his or her own car or someone that read the manual?

Example:

Let’s say you sell accounting software for fixed assets. Sure, understanding the product, what it can do and what it’s limitation are and what operating systems / requirements etc is all important.

But what’s more important is for you to understand the challenges your prospects have and why they need a better solution.

And I don’t mean by doing this on the call with them (yes, you will uncover their needs and challenges during a call but that’s not what I’m talking about here… stay with me)

I’m talking about taking the time to really get in your target audiences world and see things through their eyes. Not on a call, way before that.

Case In Point…

Prior to SalesBuzz.com I owned an SEO company (service to help companies get top rankings for their keywords in the non-paid section of Google)

The idea to start an SEO company came after I was trying to help my wife’s business get off the ground and we started to use the paid ad placement in order to generate new leads… the problem was, the cost of the paid ads exceeded the profits of the products / services she was selling.

Here’s the kicker… I barely knew how to turn on a computer at the time, let alone know how to “code” a website for top rankings… but the pain of having our budget eaten up while inferior competitors got all the “free” hot leads drove me to learn how to do the technical stuff.

When selling the service I offered (after learning and getting top results while crushing my wife’s competition in the process) it was the fact that I knew my prospects pain that really earned their trust. Not just that I now knew what I was doing (that was certainly a big part of it) but with all the competition I had, being able to communicate with potential new clients in a way to where they knew I knew what they were going through and that I had a solution to share ultimately is what lead the business to be wildly successful (I eventually sold the business and now share practical sales tips on how to sell by phone, but I digress)

The point is, be more than a product / service knowledge sales rep if you truly want to separate yourself from the competition.

Become a leading expert in your field. Then usesocial media to help spread the word and just watch what happens next.

This is not something you can fake. If you are new to the industry take the time to understand what your targeted prospect goes through on a regular basis when dealing with what ever it is you sell. And once you do gain that kind of insight, use social media (LinkedIn, Twitter, Blogging, Emails) to easily share that information freely, without expecting anything back.

When you truly know how to help your targeted audience solve some of their toughest challenges and offer tips and advice freely, (give more than you take) and do this on a regular basis, your reputation as an industry expert will grow. And more prospects will not only start to take your calls, they will be the ones picking up the phone to call you.

Just make sure you know what to say, when to say it, how to say it, why to say it and how to respond to their answers. Otherwise, it’s all for nothing.

Sincerely,

Michael Pedone 
Chief Sales Scientist
SalesBuzz.com 
(888) 264-0562 Ext. 1

Most sales people are constantly on the hunt for new ways to shorten their sales cycle and cut out the pain of rejection while closing more deals in order to make quota and take home a fatter paycheck. And with resources like LinkedIn, it’s easier than ever to get “free sales advice” and try new tips and techniques.

Often times these “new techniques” fizzle out fast and so the hunt is on for the next great magic bullet.

As a participator of about 50 LinkedIn groups that are mostly related to sales, I can easily share what I see as the most common mistake made by those giving and those receiving sales tips and why they ultimately fail – and what to do about it.

Top Reason Why (Most) Sales Tips Fail to Produce Long Term Benefits

The Sales Tip / Technique offered is Reactive and Not Proactive. You don’t have to look hard in LinkedIn to find someone offering advice on how to “overcome” sales objections, get past gatekeepers, get voicemails returned etc.

Getting rejected by gatekeepers or not having your voicemails returned or having a prospect tell you that they need to “think about it” isn’t the problem, it’s the symptom.

What you are saying prior to the objection / rejection being received, how you are saying what you’ve said and more importantly why you are saying it is causing the reaction you are getting.

Trying to use tactics to “overcome” these obstacles just means you will continually have this battle on just about every call you make… over and over again, because you keep causing the reaction (cause and effect theory, anyone?) That’s exhausting. It’s also a commission stealer.

Good News… It Doesn’t Have to Be That Way

For a sales technique to work consistently, it has to be part of a larger plan. It has to be part of the overall solution to what’s causing the real problem to begin with. Once we start selling in a proactive manner we:

1. Eliminate unnecessary stress / anxiety (for us and our prospects)
2. Maintain control of the sales call a lot easier.
3. Produce better results.

In order to sell in a proactive style, you’ll need to be open to learning a new approach.

One that follows a strategic process that is also flexible enough to adapt to each new prospect while allowing the salesperson to still be able to interject their own unique personality.

Learning this type of sales process requires “change”. Most people (not just sales people) don’t like change. Fewer people like to pay for change. Some of us learn the hard way while others learn from those who’ve already “cut down the forest”.

Whatever your preferred method of learning is, before you take any new sales advice and try it out on a live prospect, ask yourself:

“Is this a reactive or proactive” technique?

If it’s reactive, you may be better off leaving it where you found it.

Sincerely,

Michael Pedone 
Chief Sales Scientist
(888) 264-0562 Ext. 1