A majority of sales organizations own at least one CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software package. Fewer actually use them. Many firms have moved into their fourth or fifth generation package. Whether industry specific software or packages created in-house or customizable pre-packaged varieties; user and management satisfaction ranges across a wide spectrum.
Salesforce.com, ACT, SalesLogix and GoldMine etc.all track a wide array of client activities. Most sales and marketing teams discover that the more they use their CRM package for lead generation, the higher the level of their frustration rises.
One Size may be Wrong Size
Sales prospecting and client management are different activities. Trying to use the same software for both processes yields disappointing results. It’s tough enough to keep client data up to date; with prospects it’s nearly impossible. Since a prospect will be “touched” less frequently than a client, the data grows stale and out of date. Despite efforts to beg, legislate, or hope that the sales force will update the data, the results remain mediocre at best.
Oftentimes we discard the “baby with the bathwater” in favor of a new CRM, a new database or a new timetable. But before long, the inevitable frustration reappears. The cost for prospecting data that is inaccurate, difficult to use or is simply off the radar, far exceeds the actual dollars invested. The real costs result from missed opportunities, calls not made, or prospects contacted by your competition.
Transfer Leads from Prospecting Activity Manager
To keep your CRM database as clean as possible, do not transfer data into your CRM until you set an appointment or begin to create a relationship. When you leave a voice mail message, send a marketing letter or gather business intelligence; you take valuable marketing steps, but do not build a personal relationship.
Keep your prospecting notes within your prospecting software. As companies move into your area, decision-makers change, demographics change or your market focus changes. Tools like BWise, specifically designed for prospecting, support the variety of ways sales people develop new business. When you schedule an appointment, one click lets you target prospects in the same building or zip. Another key stroke highlights firms with new decision makers.
Hunting and farming are two separate activities, even when performed by the same individual. With BWise as your ‘PAM’ (Prospecting Activity Manager), your CRM remains cleaner and your prospecting activities more effective. No one application does everything well.
Choose Right Tools for Right Job
Whether due to human nature or habit, reliable data makes marketing easier and more likely to occur by your sales hunters. What will happen to your business if your sales staff makes one additional appointment per month or week? What will happen if they make fewer? The right tools make the job easier and more productive. Use the right tools to get the job done right.
Warning: Once you use BWise, you won’t want to prospect without it.
