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Avoid These Top 10 CRM and Sales Tech Acquisition Mistakes | Vendor Neutral

Top 10 CRM and SalesTech Acquisition Mistakes

Avoid These Top 10 CRM and Sales Tech Acquisition Mistakes and Boost Your Sales Success

The world of sales technology is constantly changing, and with so many CRM tools to choose from, it can be overwhelming. One thing is for sure: selecting the wrong CRM system can lead to wasted time, headaches, and a negative impact on your business. But fear not; we’ve got you covered! In this informative post, we’ll cover the top 10 ways to avoid making a huge mistake when choosing a CRM system and reveal tips on how to make the right decision for your business.

Get expert tips on how to prioritize customer relationships, involve other departments in the decision process, define KPIs, and focus on usability for maximum success.

1. Ensure your CRM system’s main purpose is to track Sales Rep’s activities. You need a way to prove they aren’t doing enough to close sales.

One of the businesses’ biggest mistakes is viewing a CRM system as a tool to monitor sales reps’ activities. While it’s important to track performance metrics, the primary goal of a CRM system should be to improve customer relationships and increase revenue. By focusing solely on tracking activities, you’ll likely miss out on the bigger picture and opportunities to grow your business.

What to do instead: Start by identifying your business goals and the metrics you need to track to achieve those goals. Then, select a CRM system that aligns with your objectives and provides the necessary tools to help you achieve them.

2. Emphasize the reporting capabilities when explaining to your Sales Reps why they must log all activities. Also, forget to tell them how it will help them.

Another mistake is to focus too much on the reporting capabilities of a CRM system and not enough on how it can help sales reps do their jobs more efficiently. If reps see the system as a burden that takes them away from selling, they’re less likely to use it effectively.

What to do instead: Educate your sales reps on the benefits of using a CRM system, such as improved communication, better customer insights, and a streamlined sales process. Ensure the system is easy to use and provides clear value to the sales team.

3. Don’t analyze your sales and marketing processes before you pick your CRM Software. That’s a lot of work and will just slow you down.

Choosing a CRM system without first analyzing your sales and marketing processes is a recipe for disaster. Without a clear understanding of your business needs and processes, you’ll end up with a system that doesn’t meet your requirements or causes more problems than it solves.

What to do instead: Start by mapping out your sales and marketing processes and identifying areas where a CRM system can help streamline workflows and improve customer interactions. Use this analysis to inform your CRM selection and ensure that the system you choose aligns with your business needs.

4. Don’t bother defining key performance indicators (KPIs) that you intend to measure. Your CRM report templates will provide all the information you need.

Defining KPIs is crucial to measuring the success of your sales and marketing efforts. Without clearly defined metrics, you cannot assess your CRM system’s effectiveness or identify improvement areas.

What to do instead: Work with your team to define the KPIs that are most important to your business, such as conversion rates, customer retention rates, and average deal size. Use these KPIs to guide your CRM selection and ensure that the system provides the necessary reporting capabilities to track and measure these metrics.

Involve Stakeholders in Your CRM and SalesTech Selection

5. Don’t involve other departments. CRM is intended to improve Sales Productivity. Other departments will have their own interests. You don’t want those getting in the way of what you need to get done.

While it is true that CRM is primarily intended to improve sales productivity, involving other departments in the decision-making is important. Other departments may have valuable insights and requirements that can help to shape the CRM selection process. Additionally, involving other departments can ensure that the selected CRM system will integrate seamlessly with other tools and systems used within the organization.

6. Dismiss rep’s complaints about the system. They’re just lazy and don’t want to be held accountable.

Sales reps are the ones who will be using the CRM system on a daily basis, so their feedback is critical. Dismissing their complaints or concerns can lead to a decrease in morale and adoption of the system. It is important to listen to the feedback provided by sales reps and take their concerns into consideration when selecting a CRM system. HubSpot’s study reveals the data entry pain-point is THE MAIN barrier to beginning to use a CRM or the challenge of using one effectively. . 

7. Accept the fact that reps will spend more time each day entering information and updating the system. It will leave less selling time, but the value of the data will be worth it.

While it is true that data entry and updating can be time-consuming, it is important to balance this with the need for sales reps to spend their time selling. A CRM system that is cumbersome and difficult to use can lead to decreased adoption and usage by sales reps. Finding a CRM system that is easy to use and streamlines data entry and updating processes is important.  Eighty-one percent of salespeople say that intelligent tools would help them more deals.

"Use your defined KPIs to guide your CRM selection and ensure that the system provides the necessary reporting capabilities to track and measure these metrics."

8. Focus on collecting sales rep behavior information, not uncovering business trends. The number of phone calls made is more important than knowing the average number of calls needed to close a deal.

While collecting data on sales rep behavior is important, it is equally important to focus on uncovering business trends. A CRM system capable of providing insights into business trends can help identify areas for improvement and growth. Looking for a CRM system that provides robust reporting and analytics capabilities is important.

9. Look for a CRM system that has the most features and capabilities. Functionality is more important than usability.

It can be tempting to look for a CRM system with the most features and capabilities, but it is important to balance this with usability. A CRM system that is difficult to use can lead to decreased adoption and usage by sales reps. It is important to find a CRM system that provides the necessary features and capabilities while also being easy to use.

10. Ask around to find out what others think is the best CRM. Use their feedback to compile your shortlist. How different can their requirements be from yours? It’s enough to know which systems others swear by.

While it can be helpful to get feedback from others, it is important to remember that every organization has unique requirements and needs. It is important to do your own research and analysis to identify the CRM system that best meets your specific needs and requirements. Additionally, involving key stakeholders within your organization in decision-making is important to ensure buy-in and adoption of the selected CRM system.

Boost Your Sales Success with the right CRM and SalesTech

Boost Your Sales Success

Choosing the right CRM system is crucial for the success of your sales team. By avoiding the mistakes listed above, you can ensure that you choose a system that meets your needs and helps your sales reps close more deals. Remember to focus on usability, involve all departments, define key performance indicators, and listen to your sales reps’ feedback. With these things in mind, you’ll be well on your way to choosing a CRM system that will help your business grow and thrive.

Is choosing your CRM a major headache? Are your team members struggling to keep up with your existing CRM’s demands? Don’t worry, we’re here to help! Let’s chat about your current status and how we can help.. Together, we’ll find ways to boost your team’s productivity and make your CRM work for you, not against you. Book a call with us today and let’s start moving forward!

April 25, 2023 Dan Cilley
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