Last week, a survey by a company out of the UK came back with an interesting headline, “Only 17% of customer relationship managers believe their CRM is generating revenue.”
Hmmm…really? Though those results surprise me, the data is based on a poll of 500 CRM managers. As they say, “you can’t argue with the people.” So, for the 83% who are struggling to understand how to generate revenue from their CRM. Here are five ways a sound CRM investment drives revenue:
CRM increases sales rep productivity – Some industry data suggests salespeople spend only one-third of their time actually selling. The rest is spent on administrative work like qualifying leads, and data entry. CRM will streamline and cut down that time, so reps can spend more time selling. The more time selling, the faster deals can close.
CRM help reps prioritize – If configured correctly, CRM helps reps prioritize their time by focusing on the deals that are more likely to close so they don’t chase low percentage opportunities.
CRM helps with retention – By making sure customer service professionals have access to the CRM to review the details about the customer’s journey with your company including, purchase history and account status, your customers will be less frustrated and less likely to leave. Customers that feel like they are a priority lead to upsell opportunities and solid growth.
Integrated marketing and sales activities – A modern CRM allows not only the sales team, but also the marketing team to stay plugged into leads at every stage in the process. This enables marketing to be part of the sales cycle and helps prevent leads from falling through the cracks.
Automating post-sales processes – By using your CRM to automate and speed up everything that happens after the contract is signed, activities like user onboarding and the billing process, improves time to revenue and increases available cash flow for an organization.
If you are not seeing revenue from your CRM, you should ask yourself: 1) are my daily users getting the most out of our CRM 2) is it tailored my specific business processes 3) am I partnering with the correct vendor who cares about my business success and considers me a priority?
For all your CRM needs contact InnoventCRM today on 1300 781 681 or info@innoventcrm.com.au