Katie ColeA common problem in sales teams is that your reps aren’t properly using your CRM. This means they’re not logging activities, filling in necessary fields and keeping track of deal conversations – something that could result in a big problem down the line.
How do you get them to really start using the CRM? Below are some tips:
Help them make more money
Take the data you are asking your reps to input and make reports – find ways to use that data to help them make more money. Reward your rep’s data entry by helping them identify their top opportunity, prioritizing their time or making their sales pitch more effective. Looking at the numbers and being able to identify new ways for your reps to increase their revenue not only helps you hold them accountable for their numbers and makes them use the CRM, it also makes them stay on top of their pipeline.
Build internal champions
Highlight the team members who are properly using your CRM and have them lead discussions / trainings to give them recognition in front of the team. They can answer questions and pose topics to the team in a way you might never have thought of! You can also offer your team members rewards and contests to engage them even more and show recognition internally.
Make it required for promotions
Establish CRM usage and expertise as a necessary requirement for promotion into specific roles, like management or training. If a candidate wants to get to the next level, they will know that they have to be a master at using the CRM. By making it mandatory at the beginning, it will become second nature for your reps and by the time they get that promotion – they won’t be thinking twice about using the CRM for everything.
Set good examples internally
Make sure your top reps are also using CRM properly and get their buy in – if reps below see your top reps are getting something out of CRM, they will also follow suit. Similar to having reps who are properly using the CRM lead discussions and trainings, often other reps will find it more helpful to see examples through their peers.
Make your CRM the source of truth
Develop a, “if it doesn’t exist in CRM, it doesn’t exist” stance. With a larger sales organization, there are many policies such as commission, territory and handoff policies that require one source of truth. Make that the CRM! Setting a precedence in which your proper CRM usage leads to the most favorable outcomes for each rep will help motivate them to use it every day.
Make it easy to learn
Offer personal CRM training for reps who are not comfortable. Sometimes it’s just a little extra-curricular help that’s needed to get them familiar and comfortable with it! By putting in the one-on-one time with them, they’ll become a lot more comfortable with asking their questions openly and even helping others out when they have problems. Having a CRM that’s easy to learn makes it less intimidating and encourages usage from your reps.
Incorporate feedback
Hold CRM improvement sessions to solicit input from the team to make it work better for them. When your team sees their feedback being incorporated and used to improve the CRM, it becomes a project that everyone can get involved in. Understand their pain points and help them improve – the CRM will without a doubt become less daunting for them.
If you are looking for job opportunities in tech, click here.
