Soar to Success June 2015

14 / 34

If you are a salesperson, the term CRM is likely
not a new one for you. If you’re not in sales,
however, you might be wondering why everyone
keeps saying “You gotta have a CRM.”
You see, traditionally speaking, CRM’s have been
great at tracking the lifecycle of prospects from
beginning through sale and beyond. But even if
you aren’t in sales, there is still a ton of value
from CRM software.
Your CRM can keep track of when and where you
met a prospect as well as any other conversations
along the way. Imagine how much time you save
when you are able to instantly access how your
last meeting went. Not only does it saves time
but it can save you the embarrassment of a faulty
memory - we never have that happen, do we?
Even if you have the CRM for a primarily sales
function, you know that sales information is
pertinent to more than just the sales people in
the company.
Even in the smallest of organizations, you can’t
always relay every detail in the right moment
through an actual conversation.
When you have a CRM, you can record the
information when it’s fresh in your mind and
then when someone else needs it - say someone
following up on a shipment of an order - they
can pull up the customer history and know
everything they need to know right then when
they need to know it.
A CRM is also a critical reporting tool. You can
manage key performance indicators at a much
deeper level with a CRM. How, you ask? Well,
imagine a standard sales report where you see
dollars received. That’s great to know how your
bottom line is impacted.
Imagine how much more powerful it is when you
can track conversations and emails in reference
to when a sale occurs.
CRM Isn’t Just for
Sales Anymore
By Troy Hanna
14
SOAR TO SUCCESS | JULY 2015 | Core Business Strategies