CRM Benefits for the Whole Organization

CRM Benefits for the Whole Organization

by | Aug 22, 2023 | Sales

Not all that long ago, the decision to implement a CRM involved huge trade-offs. A CRM that was very functional from a sales standpoint had very limited functionality for the operations/customer service team. Customer service applications lacked sales functionality. Marketing automation applications were stand-alone and did not inherently integrate with the CRM.

There will always be trade-offs when making decisions, but CRMs have significantly evolved to enable functionality for the whole organization. As you might imagine, the benefits for each department are different.   

Let’s dig into each department and look at some of the benefits that modern CRM offers today’s business.

Sales

The CRM benefits for sales make it a lot easier to convince the sales team to make a CRM change than it used to be!

  • Improved win/lead conversion rates – That’s the big idea, right?
  • Team productivity – Automation like templated content enables you to make more touches in less time while controlling the message.
  • Accurate Forecasting – When configured and used correctly, forecasting is simple!
  • Rep Development- Reporting of the right metrics helps leaders take the right actions to develop individual reps.

Marketing

There was a time when marketing folks used to buy their own technology.  Those days are gone:

  • Improved lead flow – Segmentation allows you to hone and improve your message, and downstream, closed-loop reporting helps marketers know which tactics and messages are turning prospects into clients.
  • ROI – Closed-loop reporting enables attribution to help with this age-old challenge
  • Share of wallet – Marketing has always marketed to prospects. Managing clients in the same system allows you to market to your clients as well.

Client Success

Stand-alone client/customer success teams limited the visibility of the sales and marketing touchpoints of the prospect journey. No longer!:

  • Customer/Client Sat – Having a 360-degree view of the client puts actionable insight in front of your Customer Success team.
  • Productivity – Enhanced communication channels and built-in automation enable you to meet customers where they are and provide the correct response.

Admin/Finance

Integration and inherent back office functionality have recently brought admin and finance to the CRM party. How do they stand to gain?

  • Billing/payment integrations and streamlined processes – Many CRMs go beyond the proposal and integrate contracting into the CRM.
  • Billing accuracy – Automation reduces errors!
  • View of history – Visibility marketing, sales, and client success interactions help support your AR team.

IT

 Not only do IT teams support CRMs they also provide functionality to them.

  • Departmental productivity/costs – Most CRMs reduce administrative reliance. Much of the admin is enabled at the departmental level by the users that know what they need, reducing the burden on IT.
  • Security – New CRMs need to provide levels of security that were not previously imagined in old CRMs.
  • Integration – New CRMs need less integration because of their Improved functionality. When integration is needed, new CRMs provide a lot more flexibility.
  • Mobile enablement – Today’s mobile workforce enables IT to give users the access that they need on the go.

Leadership

A fully functional CRM is a huge asset from a strategic perspective:

  • Business planning – When the CRM is humming, it is much easier to gauge future performance and to support strategic decision making.
  • Cross-functional Alignment – When departments use different applications, there is less of a need to be aligned. However, that also increased the need for someone to pull everything together. A fully functional CRM promotes cross-functional alignment.

Conclusion

The evolution of CRMs has been a massive enabler to the success of a business that properly takes advantage of the opportunity. That said, the decision for the right CRM is more complex.  

Ensuring that all departments are engaged when shaping your CRM requirements is imperative. When done correctly, implementing the right CRM can be a substantial competitive advantage, improving communications, streamlining processes, enabling data-driven decision-making, and enhancing customer experiences.
Continue to read more about CRMS:

Make sure to download your “5 Steps for Scaling Sales and Growing Revenue” ebook.

#ModernCRM #EmpowerYourOrganization #DriveSuccess #DataDrivenDecisions #StreamlineProcesses #CrossDepartmentalEngagement #Convergo

3 Reasons Your Sales May Be Flat

3 Reasons Your Sales May Be Flat

by | Aug 22, 2023 | Sales

Unlocking Growth for Entrepreneurial Businesses by Overcoming Sales Barriers

Sales is a barrier to growth for a lot of entrepreneurial businesses. Understanding how to break through that barrier can be very challenging. How can you do it? Some common thoughts that go through your mind might be:

  • Do I have the right people in place? 
  • Are we taking the right approach? 
  • Do I need to document my processes?
  • Do I need to improve my scorecard?

Many of these things can be helpful, but acting on these questions may lead you down the wrong road because you may not be addressing the root cause of the problem. Many times, the challenges are more foundational.

Three questions you should ask yourself before acting on one of those questions are:

  • Do I clearly understand my ideal client and the outcomes they want from their business?
  • Are my uniques/differentiators/value proposition aligned with the outcomes that my ideal clients want?
  • Is the path to realizing our value clear for my ideal clients?

Let’s explore these questions in more depth so that you can have a better understanding of what the root cause of your challenge might be.

Do I have a clear understanding of what my Ideal Clients want?

If your ideal client profile is too broad, it can weaken your message and make it challenging to reach your entire market. Honing your Ideal Client Profile (ICP) has two huge benefits:

  1. It strengthens your message – a tighter ICP makes it easier to create a message that resonates.
  2. It allows you to be more effective with your limited sales and marketing budget – simply stated, investing the same amount on a smaller pool of more qualified prospects that your business is more optimized to serve yields better results.

Your ICP should include the high-level outcomes that Ideal Clients want from their business. This helps you align your offerings and also create messaging that hits the mark.

Are my differentiators/uniques aligned with the outcomes that my ideal clients want?

The ideal state is that you have some uniques or differentiators that directly align with your Ideal Clients’ desired outcomes. In its purest sense, if you uniquely position your services to satisfy your ideal clients’ desired outcomes, sales, and marketing can be like shooting fish in a barrel.

This is a lot harder in businesses that operate in a competitive market. The EOS™ 3 Uniques concept states that, while some companies might share a unique or two, the ideal state is that no other business offers all three. 

If you are in a market that is challenging to differentiate, then clearly connecting your services to your Ideal Client’s desired outcomes might be the best thing you can do to differentiate.

Is the path to value clear for my ideal clients?

The path to value has a lot of interchangeable terms:

  • Client Journey
  • Proven Process in the EOS world
  • Client Experience

Regardless of what you call it, the keys to leveraging the concept to win more are the same:

  • Tightly integrate your uniques into the journey
  • Make it clear how your Ideal Clients navigate their path to value
  • Brand your Client Journey and use it as a tool to connect with your Ideal Clients

As Donald Miller says, “… if you confuse, you lose.” Clearly communicating your Ideal Client’s path to value will not only help you speak to prospects and clients, it will also help you align your team to deliver the journey that you desire.

Conclusion

This should help you better understand the root cause of your barrier to sales. If you are able to resolve these questions with good answers, then the next step is to look at your systems and people and build your growth assets.

Read more on how to identify your ideal client profile.
Make sure to download your “5 Steps for Scaling Sales and Growing Revenue” ebook.

#entrepreneurialbusiness #salesbarriers #idealclient

Benefits To Focus On Cross-Selling To Your Clients

Benefits To Focus On Cross-Selling To Your Clients

by | Jun 5, 2023 | Sales

B2B services organizations typically have goals to grow their business.  The interesting thing is that they often miss the biggest opportunity to grow that is right under their nose. It is pretty hard to argue that it is a lot easier ot sell to current clients than to new ones. Most quoted statistics reference that it is 10x more expensive to sell to a new client than en existing one.

Five benefits to focusing on cross-selling to your clients.

  1. Increased revenue: Cross-selling allows B2B organizations to generate additional revenue streams by selling complementary or related services to existing customers. By offering a broader range of services, organizations can tap into new revenue opportunities without incurring significant customer acquisition costs.
  2. Deepening customer relationships: Cross-selling services is an effective strategy for strengthening relationships with existing customers. By expanding the range of services provided to a customer, B2B organizations deepen their engagement and become more embedded in the customer’s operations. This increases customer loyalty and reduces the likelihood of them seeking alternatives from competitors.
  3. Competitive advantage: Cross-selling can provide a competitive advantage by differentiating the B2B organization from its competitors. Offering a comprehensive suite of services that addresses a customer’s diverse needs can make the organization more appealing and valuable to customers. It positions the organization as a one-stop solution provider, giving them an edge over competitors who may offer a more limited range of services.
  4. Cost savings: Cross-selling to existing customers is generally more cost-effective than acquiring new customers. The B2B organization already has an established relationship with the customer, reducing the need for extensive marketing efforts and associated costs. Additionally, existing customers are more likely to be receptive to cross-selling efforts as they already trust the organization and value the existing services provided.
  5. Market expansion: Cross-selling services can open doors to new markets or customer segments. By identifying additional services that cater to different industries or sectors, B2B organizations can enter new markets with existing customers. This diversification reduces dependence on a single market segment and helps mitigate risks associated with market fluctuations.

Maximize Your Efforts

To maximize the effectiveness of cross-selling services, B2B organizations should focus on understanding their customer’s needs, developing a comprehensive service portfolio, training sales teams to identify cross-selling opportunities, and maintaining strong customer relationships through ongoing communication and support.

Download Your Cross-Selling Potential Questionnaire

The Secret to Scaling Sales and Growing Revenue: Ideal Client Profile

The Secret to Scaling Sales and Growing Revenue: Ideal Client Profile

by | Apr 17, 2023 | Marketing, Sales

As an entrepreneur, growing revenue and scaling sales is crucial to the success of your business. However, it can be challenging to achieve these goals if you don’t have a documented  Ideal Client Profile. This detailed description of your target customer will enable you to identify who your Ideal Prospects are and also serve as a filter to determine if a potential client will be a good fit. Knowing who your ideal clients are helps you pinpoint exactly where to focus your marketing efforts. When your marketing is pointed at those most likely to purchase what you’re offering, you have the most potential for sales growth.

Identifying Your Ideal Client Profile

Your ideal client profile (ICP) is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Ideal Clients are an intersection of the clients that:

  • You are operationally optimized to serve
  • Are the most valuable to your business
  • Align with your team and values.

The high-level components of an ICP are:

  • Description: One or two sentences that describe the characteristics of the companies who are a perfect fit for your solution.
  • Data Points: This includes demographic data such as size of the company, including number of employees and revenue, location, and other specific company traits.
  • Primary Personas: A primary persona is a fictional representation of your ideal clients based on market research and real data about your existing clients. At the very least, it should include: motivations, role goals, pain points, and preferred communication channels. The more specific and detailed your buyer persona is, the better you’ll be able to understand your target audience and tailor your marketing and sales approach to meet their needs.

Documenting your Ideal Client Profile (ICP) should enable you to pull “The List,” which is the actual businesses that meet the criteria in the ICP.  This should be an addressable market for your sales and marketing efforts.  If The List is too broad, reel in the data points on the ICP.  Then, you can operationalize your ICP to realize the following benefits:

The Role of an Ideal Client Profile in Scaling Sales and Growing Revenue

Once you’ve put the proper plan into action to develop your ICP, what results should you expect? What benefits come from identifying your ideal client?

Focuses your Sales and Marketing Energy and Spend

Spending time and money without focusing on an ideal Client is wasteful. Once you have an addressable market, 100% of your sales and marketing spend and energy can be focused on ideal prospects and clients instead of diluting the spend on the wrong prospects for your business.

Improves Your Message

Your ICP includes your target personas and their desired outcomes. Having a more narrow ICP enables you to craft a message more likely to resonate with your ideal clients and prospects. So, when your prospects see your message, they are more likely to engage.

Enhances Your Client Satisfaction

Depending on your business, when your sales and marketing efforts bring on the wrong clients, operational challenges can be created.  Your team should be operationally optimized to serve ideal clients in an efficient and effective manner.  So naturally, bringing on ideal clients improves client satisfaction.

Increases Your Revenue

Focusing your sales and marketing energy, improving your message, and enhancing client satisfaction will of course lead to revenue growth. Moreover, satisfied customers are more likely to refer others to your business, leading to a steady stream of new customers and revenue.

By identifying your ideal clients, you can better target your sales and marketing efforts and generate more revenue for your business.

Developing an ideal client profile is essential for any business looking to scale its sales and grow its revenue. It helps you focus on serving businesses that align with your values and expertise, ultimately providing the best possible outcomes for your clients. Following these tips, you can describe your ideal client and develop targeted marketing and sales strategies to reach them effectively. The next step to scaling your sales and growing your revenue is focusing on your messaging, which we will explore in the next blog.

To learn more, download our ebook, “5 Steps for Scaling Sales and Growing Revenue”, today!

5 Steps For Sacaling Sales and Growth Revenue