As a sales managerSales Manager Sales Manager is an executive who leads a sales unit, team or department by setting goals and meeting targets, formulating plans and policies, designating tasks, and developing salespeople., you face countless problems. Your salespeople complain that they can’t close enough deals because they lack leads, or the leads aren’t good enough. They complain that some feature of your productProduct Product refers to anything (an idea, item, service, process or information) that meets a need or a desire and is offered to a market, usually but not always at a price. or service isn’t good enough, that the product or service itself isn’t good enough, or that the company itself isn’t good enough. They say you’re overbearing because you push them to sell.
As Jason Jordan writes in his excellent book Cracking the Sales Management Code, today’s sales manager is expected to be a manager, marketer, CFO, trainer, and more. You are responsible for segmenting customers, designing territories, setting goals, generating reports, managing information, and overseeing a constantly changing go-to-market strategy.
Let’s face it: You have to be a superhero! You have to deal with all the above and more and hope that, at some point, AI will reduce this burden at least somewhat.
On top of all that, you have pain points stemming directly from your CRM system. Such as:
1. Your CRM doesn’t provide precise guidance. An efficient CRM system should function like the navigation system in your car. With that system, you input your destination, and it gives the route, travel time, and arrival time. It tells you when to turn and which streets to avoid due to traffic. It also provides alternate routes. Without it, it takes you much longer to get there.
Your CRM system should guide you with the same efficiency and precision.
2. Inaccurate ForecastingForecasting Forecasting is a prediction or calculation of a trend or event likely to occur in the future based on qualitative, quantitative and historical data as well as emergent but relevant factors.: Forecasting is often inaccurate because your current system doesn’t utilize all the critical dataData Data is a set of quantitative and qualitative facts that can be used as reference or inputs for computations, analyses, descriptions, predictions, reasoning and planning..
This may occur because sales reps who object to using a CRM solutionSolution Solution is a combination of ideas, strategies, processes, technologies and services that effectively helps an organization achieve its goals or hurdle its challenges. in the first place aren’t inputting all the necessary information. The CRM system may be so complex that reps don’t fully understand it. Alternatively, the CRM system may not be appropriately configured to capture all critical data.
Any of these problems will result in inaccurate forecasts.
3. You don’t have a clear picture of what your team is doing. Your CRM system doesn’t provide the key performance metrics of your team. You can’t track salespeople through the system, so you’re constantly following up with them to find out what they’re doing. Who is the best performer? Who is the worst? This lack of information also makes coaching impossible without personal contact.
4. You can’t check on your team’s adherence to the sales processSales Process Sales Process is a series of strategic steps or a set of activities aimed at driving sales growth through the alignment of personnel, market insight, methodologies, relevant business units, and technology.. Your company’s sales process is the most efficient route from leadLead Lead refers to a prospect or potential customer (who can be an individual or organization) that exhibits interest in your service or product; or any additional information about such entity. to closed deal. It’s undoubtedly a pain point if you can’t monitor your sales team to ensure they’re following that process.
5. Creating reports is complex and problematic. Reports are always necessary for company management and for you. With everything else on your plate, you shouldn’t have to spend extra time creating an accurate report or analysis.
6. A complex tech stack. You are afraid to move your team to a new system because it is complex. You would need to learn the new system simultaneously with your sales representatives. While this mind-boggling change is happening, you still have to reach your quotaQuota Quota is a predefined benchmark indicating the amount of sales a selling unit such as a sales rep or a regional sales team should achieve within a given period, often used as a measure of success, performance and eligibility for commissions and other rewards..
A new tool is, quite simply, disruptive and adds to your workload. While it may help you in the long run, you must implement it with the least possible confusion for your team.
7. Administering the system. Even if you found a new system that might work, who would administer it so you could use it effectively? How much time would it cost you or a team member? What kind of person would you need to manage the new system?
What if one incredible platform could solve all these pain points and many more?
It’s time to check out Pipeliner CRM.
