Customer interaction is undoubtedly one of the most critical business aspects. It allows you to build relationships with established and potential customers, increase sales, improve customer service, and streamline processes to ultimately increase profitability. And who doesn't want that?!
So, why do salespeople, managers and directors resist using a Customer Relationship Management System (CRM) when I've just made it sound great?
Well, opinions across the board range from: 'the software is outdated or 'bulky', to: 'the software isn't helpful when it comes to converting new leads' and, 'we haven't had adequate training on the product'.
You were excited about this new CRM, and we're hoping your salespeople would be too. That is not what you want to hear when you've budgeted for the software, purchased it, and then spent months implementing it and paying for staff training. So it isn't enjoyable, to say the least, when they're not.
So, what's going on in their brains? What thought processes have left them feeling CRM software is unnecessary? Why do they think that? How can you help?
And most of all, what should you be demanding from your CRM software?
Let's look at what they're all moaning about
If your salespeople claim the CRM has too many features and don't know where to start, they haven't had adequate training in using the system.
Before stressing out, you should know that this is the best problem you could have. You can schedule more training - easy peasy.
It sounds like a lot of hassle, but proper training is worth investing time and money, and you and your business will undoubtedly reap the rewards of well-trained salespeople.
If the CRM software is too bulky, you have a different problem. If the CRM system you've chosen has left your reps drowning in a sea of menus, buttons, and options, it's no wonder they're not leaping for joy at the prospect of having to use the bloomin' thing.
These people aren't interested in spending hours deciphering a complex computer programme. And it would help if you didn't want that either; you've hired them to sell, and that's what you want them to focus their time on.
They are people, not 'computer people. You want them to build good customer relationships and get leads, not watch hours of YouTube tutorials on using a complicated customer relationship management system.
You can eliminate all this faff by using HubSpot CRM. It's easy to use, accessible and has a clean visual dashboard, so even the most brilliant salesperson on your team won't complain.
With HubSpot CRM, your sales team won't be clicking back and forth between menus, looking up secret incantations, waiting for a new page, and then chiselling the information into a stone tablet like Fred Flintstone...HubSpot CRM gives them the tools they need, when they need them, in just a few clicks.
Salespeople know what works for them and want to stick with it. Perhaps you have one guy who is a serial emailer or another who likes to stay in touch with customers using Facebook - as long as they're making sales, who cares, right?
However they're doing things, good salespeople are unlikely to give up a good thing they've got going so that management can see it on their dashboard.
An intelligent CRM, like HubSpot, allows you to have the best of both worlds. With full platform integration, you can track conversations started on Outlook and sync them to your email….the same goes for LinkedIn and Facebook. It's a win-win situation.
Salespeople spend much time out of the office working on the road, at conferences, flights abroad, and at client dinners (I'm definitely in the wrong line of work). And all of these are ripe for building good contacts, customer relationships, introductions and sales discussions.
But, if you can't track these conversations immediately, essential details will get lost in the time it takes for your rep to return to the office - especially after a few cocktails.
You want your CRM to be with them, easily accessible on their mobile, laptop, or tablet—particularly on their phone. However, many CRM systems don't translate well to iOS or Android. And that's a problem.
This is a problem that the HubSpot CRM management system doesn't have. Your sales reps can walk away from a conversation, and five minutes later, they have already added new contacts, made notes, and synced the data to your device before moving on to the next potential new client.
And there's nothing wrong with that - it's fantastic! Everyone wants salespeople with fire in their bellies and phones in their hands, keeping new business rolling in.
But sales is a relationships game just as much as a numbers game, and conversions matter as much as introductions—that's what your salespeople mean when they say they'd instead call leads: they want to do the work that leads to the sale.
They might not be keen on using your CRM because they believe it will take them away from successfully conducting their business - and we all know that data entry is a real-time suck.
HubSpot CRM is the perfect solution for fired-up staff. It makes entering and updating contact information easy and is a simple way to track the outcomes of potential client calls.
Well, if it's not, you need a new CRM. Your CRM should help your sales team sell more. It should operate like a well-oiled machine, adding value to the raw materials of your salespeople - it's not an address book; it should generate reports that mean something and can be used to monitor and improve your sales process.
HubSpot CRM spots your business trends and generates helpful insights that will help increase sales. It uses graphs, charts and reports that provide a visual that hits home much more than blocks of text in black and white.
So, there you have it; a slow, bulky, outdated CRM wastes time and demoralises people - it's no wonder you've had a hard time getting your sales team on board with the idea.
HubSpot is different. The next-generation CRM system customer management tool is designed to increase productivity and keep your team on target.
Super easy to use, HubSpot CRM helps our clients streamline their processes and reach their goals and includes features such as:
If you're wondering why your business isn't using HubSpot CRM yet, we'd love to offer you a free trial!