Sales force automation is a key function of all good CRM software. It streamlines the sales process, reduces the cost of sales and improves everyone’s time management. However, a good CRM system can also help provide some deep insights into your sales pipeline and prospects, and greatly improve your sales tactics, strategy and decision making.
Knowing what deals to spend your time on and which ones not to avoid is a quick, yet highly effective way, of getting more from your CRM software. In the quest for better sales performance, one of the hardest things is knowing when to walk away from a potential sale. Most serious commercial operators hate to walk away from anything (our MD at Concentrix has to be dragged away if he sniffs a deal!), but it is paramount.
Here are some tips and advice on how sales staff can get more from their CRM software, choose the right prospects and deals to aim for, and just as importantly, know when to walk away.
Wasting time chasing rainbows?...
There are some deals you're just not going to win. Realise this, accept it and get on with chasing business you can win. A key factor in Concentrix's success is our "referenceability" - our track record. From our CRM software we can segment our customers by their industry sector and check that we've got some "previous" in a prospect's area before committing resource to trying to win their business.
This is especially important if we're in a competitive tendering process (say OJEU) where it is unlikely you'll get to meet anyone without a lot of paperwork and short-listing. If you’ve not got the referencibility then it's not likely you'll make the shortlist. So is it worth the effort?
Whale hunting... (vs. run rate)
My boss calls me a "whale hunter" because I tend to focus on larger deals (I don't actually hunt, or condone the hunting of, whales). These larger deals are excellent for the business, but there are some downsides: they can take a long time to land; the cost of sale can be significant; they can be very complex; they are actually quite difficult to forecast.
Concentrix wouldn't be successful if we relied on me and my whales. We aslo need some "run rate" business: smaller projects which we can turn around quicker and grow our customer base. Using sales pipeline analysis and forecasting in a system such as Sage CRM we can identify if our sales opportunities aren't balanced and address this. Sometimes this means walking away from potentially big deals if the profile doesn't fit our business need. We are terribly discerning.
Lost opportunity cost...
CRM and lead management are fundamental functions of good CRM systems. But no matter how well you technically manage each lead or opportunity, make sure you also use CRM to focus on the right ones. For every deal that you chase that you’re not likely to win there’s a deal out there that you aren’t focussing on that will be more suited to you. Wouldn’t it be better to spend your time, effort and money finding and closing those deals?
Turkeys and Albatross...
Some projects are not going to be good for your business. A Turkey may be difficult to deliver and end up failing (who wants a failed project on their hands?); an Albatross may have a negative impact on your business and result in ongoing problems. It's best to identify these during the sales process and walk away (politely, of course). Effective profiling and sales risk analysis – which can be done using your CRM system - enables this.
At Concentrix our sales people work closely with the delivery team to help ensure that projects are successful - taking responsibility for what we sell and committing to our customers. This means we don't just win a deal, "throw it over the wall" and move on to the next deal. For me, this makes avoiding Turkeys and Albatross even more important!
Getting mugged...
On some deals, with some products or in some sectors you might always get "beat up" by one of your competitors. This can be frustrating and demoralising (we just won a deal with a new customer who are within brick throwing distance of one of our major Sage competitors - they can't be pleased!). So if you keep getting mugged, why not avoid those sorts of deals?
Focus your efforts; fight the battles you can win. Knowing how to use CRM for competitor analysis is a massive factor being successful, especially in challenging times. It surprises me how many businesses don't do it, but it's no surprise when they realise terrific benefits from using CRM to help to know when to walk away. This is something that Microsoft Dynamics CRM does particularly well.
Key areas in which CRM can help you decide whether to progress a deal further or walk away (even though I know you don't want to) include:
- Competitor analysis
- Referencibility/understanding market strength
- Cost of sale analysis
- Sales risk analysis
- Trend analysis and modelling
- Activity management
- Forecasting and pipeline analysis
As Kenny Rogers says: "You've got to know when to hold 'em; Know when to fold 'em; Know when to walk away; Know when to run..."
John Odell - CRM Consultant at Concentrix, independent CRM and business software specialists.
Comments