The customer relationship management CRM software market has witnessed exponential growth in the last decade and there is no stopping anytime soon. CRM software once considered a tool exclusively meant for large enterprises has now become a necessity for medium and small businesses too. The growing adoption of CRM by businesses can be established by the fact that approx. 91% of companies with more than 11 employees use CRM software.

No matter the size of your business, having a good sales team is important for its growth and success. However, the tools that are provided to a sales team largely determine its success. For a sales team to be successful they need to have access to customer data for effective email marketing, personalization, and customer service and a CRM does just that. But why CRM?

A sales CRM software manages interactions across channels, at every touchpoint with existing and potential customers. It is like a centralized repository of information about the customers which is easily accessible to your sales and other teams. This information when used optimally enables your sales team to deliver a delightful customer experience.

However, this is just scratching the surface. Most salespeople are not too excited about using a CRM and rather see it as a tool that the management has implemented to police them. As a result, the sales teams often do not fully utilize CRM software’s full potential because of their own prejudice. The reality is however different from what salespeople perceive.

When implemented correctly, sales CRM software can be a game-changer for a sales team.

Let’s delve deeper to understand how CRM simplifies the day-to-day tasks for the sales team or rather why does the sales team of any enterprise need a CRM!

Sales team and CRM, a match made in heaven

The two biggest challenges that any salesperson ever encounters are:

• To qualify leads and keep a track of follow-up

• Prioritizing sales activities

A good sales CRM helps address both these issues. Wondering how? Let’s find out!!

CRM Software makes data safe, secure, and accessible at one place

A good CRM software ensures all your customer data (contact info, activity, scheduled plans) is captured and systematically stored at one central place. It always makes data easily accessible to the sales team. It keeps your data safe and secure.

• Enables better planning and time-management

  CRM enables a salesperson to optimize daily schedules and prioritize tasks to make sure customers are not ignored. Key prospects are contacted on time. A good CRM software enables your sales team to spend more time with customers, leading to more deals closed and a strong and large customer base.

• Report generation at the click of a button

  The modern age CRM’s come with automated report generation features. This means that your sales team can now generate weekly/monthly reports easily and give the management insight on how they are performing, areas the company excels in, and areas that need improvement. The possibilities are endless.

• Saves time

  CRM gives access to all the data of each customer in one place, saving a lot of time that salespeople would otherwise spend collating and organizing data in one place. It segments customers, automates emails, and identifies valuable opportunities thereby enabling the sales team to have a targeted approach. Most CRM’s come with features like a shared calendar, report sharing, email integration. These features ensure that the entire team is on the same page, encouraging better communication among teams.

• Ensures customer contact at the right time

  A CRM software keeps a track of all customer communication, enabling the sales team to know exactly when customers need to be contacted. Scenarios where the sales team needs to connect with customers could be a membership/contract renewal, product exchange or replacement, upsell to a new product or service. Connecting and engaging with the customer at the right time increases the chances of closing a sale.

• Ensures customer contact at the right time

  A CRM software keeps a track of all customer communication, enabling the sales team to know exactly when customers need to be contacted. Scenarios where the sales team needs to connect with customers could be a membership/contract renewal, product exchange or replacement, upsell to a new product or service. Connecting and engaging with the customer at the right time increases the chances of closing a sale.

• Rationalizes sales moves

  The primary purpose of good CRM software is to help streamline the entire sales cycle. A streamlined process translates into closing deals in the pipeline faster ensuring everyone in the team meets their sales targets on time. A sales CRM automates the processing and preparation of quotes saving a lot of time and production costs for the sales team. This means higher productivity and sales revenues.

• Helps you know your customers

  Your CRM stores all customer data in one centralized database. This enables the sales team to get an insight of customers’ needs and problems well in time, ensuring customer satisfaction, loyalty, business growth, and high-profit margins.

• Takes care of admin tasks

  A sales CRM automates routine and administrative tasks (stores product and price details, triggers reminders for activities at every stage of customer life-cycle) saving a lot of valuable time for your sales team. This ensures they are focused on doing what they excel at, SALES!

• Helps save money

  Implementing a CRM system is a huge commitment as well as investment. However, in the long run, it helps enterprises save a lot of money by eliminating manual errors and duplicate records in the system. It saves the time and effort spent on repetitive tasks by automating processes, identifying patterns and areas that are giving better returns.