All of your leads, client information, opportunity details, correspondence and activities involving a customer/client or a potential customer/client should be entered into a reliable database; or Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform.

Once you have selected your CRM, set it up, and instructed your team to use it, it doesn’t end there.

It is necessary to enforce consistent use of your CRM so that all users consider it the central information point for your business.   Regular reports should be run on the data you are collecting. Staff should be trained to use the CRM correctly and consistently to ensure the data within it is clean – regularly!

In a nutshell, clean data is current, complete and accurate data. It means that your sales staff are in touch with their accounts, they are using the CRM to drive the sale to closure.

Staff turnover is one of the main reasons to make sure you have clean data.Your staff move on, your clients staff move on. You and your future staff need to rely on the CRM to ensure you have the correct information and the correct history, regardless of who is dealing with the client from your company.

Unreliable information in your CRM will:

  • Cause confusion and may encourage users not to use the CRM.
  • Prevent you from analyzing performance and forward planning
  • Send a message to your clients that your business doesn’t care what they have to say to you.
  • Give you reports of no value

Are all of your Opportunities labeled the same way? Can you look at a number of opportunities and immediately know what is being sold? It is vital to name your opportunities the same way throughout your CRM so sales reporting is clear and so your staff are clear.

What fields are necessary for your business and reporting needs? What is going to help your business to grow? What fields are not being used? Are they necessary? A clean up of fields, mandatory and otherwise, will help your users provide the information you want for your reporting needs. Email addresses; accurately recorded – are an absolute must – without this, your email marketing efforts are pointless and a waste of time.

What tabs or modules are not being used in your CRM?  Why not?  If you really don’t need them, hide them if your CRM allows it.  Less clutter on the screen will ensure that users don’t get lost in the CRM.  Don’t overwhelm your staff with extraneous details.

In summary, using your CRM to its fullest potential, ensures that the data within it gives clarity to your users, allows for accurate reporting and provides the ability to plan for future business growth and achievable targets.

Virtually There is a specialist in CRM implementation, customisation, training, ongoing support – and data integrity.

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