I like to think that I have a few key tools in my prospecting toolbox. The most important one could very well be our CRM, which at AG is Salesforce.com. It allows those of us with slight OCD to breathe easier, since we can plan days and weeks of tasks and reports ahead of time while being able to sift through old campaigns and review information with a few simple clicks. I don’t know how sales firms could operate without an automated CRM. It allows prospecting to go smoothly and it allows inside sales reps to hit the phones and make touches on many companies and prospects every day.
One of my responsibilities is to do the training sessions about Salesforce.com for new hires at AG. This has also forced me to review the CRM closely and make sure that mine is neat and accurate for when I show it to new inside sales reps.
Spending hours on Salescore.com every day has allowed me to become quite proficient. There are a few things I wanted to share that I feel are important:
- Keep your home page organized. If you have multiple clients to juggle, be sure you are able to differentiate your open tasks by having their name somewhere in the title.
- Only have the necessary tabs available. You can add and subtract tabs by customizing them for your needs. No need to distract yourself with unnecessary tabs on your dashboard. It helps streamline your process when you're more organized.
- Update lead statuses. This might seem silly to say to inside sales reps, but everyone forgets once in a while- it is crucial to keep all prospects up to date when prospecting. If your client wants a report pulled tomorrow, your CRM needs to be updated.
- Log all activities. If you are conversing with a prospect on your cell phone or through an email account and not through Salesforce.com, remember to log the exchange in order to have the back and forth communication available to share with your client. This is also helpful for when you look back a few weeks from now and want to recall how you got in touch and what was discussed.
- Finally, ask questions. CRMs are flexible and your company could change settings either to add or take away some features. Do some research and see what might be beneficial. Ask colleagues if there are things they like about the CRM that you might not use.
Without a CRM, being an inside sales rep would prove rather difficult. All of my notes and activities allow me to plan better and give my clients what they expect every month. What other tips could you offer inside sales reps regarding CRM organization?
