Over the next couple of weeks (on Wednesdays) I will be looking at some of the things that sales people should be doing… why?
When you have a new sales team member join, suddenly you are faced with breaking down what you do, how you do it, and why you do it – this makes me especially question everything.
So today I am looking at Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software, and why and how it is such a valuable tool in a radio sales environment… I came up with 5 reasons – I am sure there are more.
For the rest of the article I will say CRM instead of Customer Relationship Management software.
1. Organization: CRM can help individuals, and the entire sales team stay organized by keeping track of leads, customers, and their contact information in one centralized location. This can make it easier to manage a large volume of leads and track progress through the sales pipeline.
2. Sales Automation: Some CRM can automate repetitive tasks such as sending follow-up emails, scheduling appointments, and generating reports. This can save time and increase efficiency, allowing sales teams to focus on building relationships and closing deals. Believe me this is a life saver when you have let something slip from your mind, and suddenly you get a reply from an old client with a new booking – “Oh yeah! It’s their businesses annual birthday sale next month!”
3. Sales forecasting: Some CRM can provide insights into sales trends and forecast future sales, allowing teams to plan their strategies accordingly. This can help to ensure that sales goals are met, and resources are allocated effectively. An example of this is knowing when regular clients spend big, or pull back every year. It’s not a surprise when your forecast suddenly says you are going to be down next month, or going through the roof.
4. Customer insights: I like this feature of CRM. It can provide valuable insights into customer behaviour and preferences, allowing sales teams to personalize their interactions and offerings. This can help to build stronger relationships with customers and increase customer loyalty. Why do your clients only book over the phone? Only on weekends? Only want to make appointments in July? All of these can be answered if you fill in the right details and do a deep dive into your customer relationship.
5. Collaboration: This is something that some people don’t like, others do – but CRM can facilitate collaboration between teams members, allowing them to share information, track progress, and work together more effectively. For example, imagine your top sales team member is away on holidays and their work load has been split between everyone – by using the CRM – you can each find out who, how and when to contact clients, follow up on leads and more.
Remember: CRM does help to build a stronger team culture and improve overall performance.
By centralizing data and automating processes, sales teams can focus on building relationships and delivering value to their customers that’s why CRM is important, and can help radio sales teams to work more efficiently, build stronger customer relationships, and drive revenue growth.
If you have it – use it – if not – ask your sales manager why not – and if you don’t use it, take the time to learn it!
So to answer the question: Should You Use Customer Relations Management (CRM) Software?
My answer is YES!
