The greatest
salespeople aren’t always the greatest CRM experts… and it doesn’t always
matter.
Every sales department has one. And, sadly, new recruits
born into a world of web often sneer at them. The experienced sales executive
who prefers landlines to telepresence, remembers the birthdays of his clients’
children and writes stuff down on paper. Yes, that guy.
The guy who’s kept
three £250k accounts loyal for a decade!
Salespeople who started work in a different decade aren’t
always familiar with CRM technology and, sometimes, it frustrates their (often
younger) colleagues charged with getting the most from their IT investment. To
the point where our traditionalist hero – let’s call this hero Geoff – ends up
excluded from departmental strategy, with the millions of business pounds he
brings in, ignored.
Can I change your
perspective a little?
Geoff isn’t anti-CRM. In fact, he’s the most pro-CRM guy
you’ll ever meet. (He just doesn’t always do it through software.) It’s
important that you can make sure his decades of learning becomes part of your
CRM’s ongoing improvement programme, leading to a positive effect on
conversions.
1. Attitude leads to
opportunity
The first time Geoff met his client, Fred, he didn’t talk
business. A chance meeting in the golf club led to a phone call, then a lunch.
Over the steak sandwich, Geoff asked Fred about his background. Where he went
to school, how he got started in business and the new extension he’d just added
to his house.
Along the way, he learned Fred was friends with the CMOs of
two companies on his hit list. Before coffee, he had those names in his
notebook.
To today’s goal-focused, results-oriented salesperson, Geoff’s
approach might sound meandering. But look closer: doesn’t it sound a lot like a
CRM nurturing pathway? Geoff’s first task was to establish rapport and learn
something about his prospect, which is also the purpose of a well-written blog
or email marketing campaign.
So while Geoff doesn’t think much of computers, his attitude
towards Customer Relationship Management is spot-on. The right approach to CRM
opens up opportunities far beyond one prospect.
2. Read the situation
before acting
After lunch with Fred, Geoff dropped him a note of thanks
and said he’d call again next month. Nothing else. Geoff’s primary ethos is
never make your client feel uncomfortable.
After a few lunches and coffees, Fred started asking what Geoff
would do about a problem facing his finance department. Geoff thought for a few
minutes, then asked if he could visit the team to gather information. Still no
sale. But the time was right to move closer.
Nurturing sometimes looks like timewasting because some of
those nurtured prospects never become customers. But sales is a numbers game.
One percent of lunch dates turning into £100k accounts still adds up.
Someone you just met isn’t ready to make a buying decision.
How many times have your less experienced sales team lost a hot prospect by
drilling them with offers too soon? It’s just as applicable to an e-CRM
strategy, from first cold mailing to final contract.
3. Connect through
connections
The following week, Geoff called those two connections of
Fred’s. He’d heard great things about them and wondered if he could buy them a
coffee. Both accepted.
In his highly advanced CRM user interface, (a battered old
leather notebook), Geoff’s scribbled out “cold suspect” next to both names and
wrote in “warm lead”.
The right CRM application lets you do a lot more than just
contact people. It helps you build a relationship in the most effective way.
Some are even able to map connections between people and show you the easiest
approach pathway.
Flexibility and openness characterise Geoff’s approach. A
connection through another connection is a lot more valuable than a cold call.
It’s messy, it’s chaotic, and it’s human and warm. If the digital natives on
your team have trouble with this, your most experienced salespeople may be the
right people to train them.
4. Keeping customers
means more than winning them
Sales Directors often trumpet their big acquisitions louder
than their long term retentions, which is a shame, because Geoff’s trio of long
term customers delivers a profit margin of 30% every year. Contrast that with
the three years it takes a new client to break even. Turnover is good, but
profits are better.
Every sales person knows it’s easier to win new business
from an existing client than a cold lead. So keep congratulating your young team
on each big win, but make sure they’re not neglecting last year’s client win.
They need to learn the importance of maximising Customer Lifetime Value.
5. Formalise the methods
– but don’t freeze them
Geoff likes the golf course but he always checks whether a
new prospect prefers football. Expert users of CRM software have a tendency to
formalise “what works” in terms of “hard aspects” rather than “soft aspects”.
This is another approach Geoff uses that’s perfectly in tune
with best-practice CRM. His methods don’t change from sale to sale, but his
execution does. Rather than blasting all prospects with the same offer, he
adapts each touch point to a situation he knows the prospect will prefer. All
of this contributes to a sky-high conversion ratio.
6. When the time’s
right, “make the sale” to Geoff
Geoff isn’t techno, but he’s pragmatic. When he sees
something working, he adopts it. So when he realises the wealth of client
information in his notebooks can do more for the company as part of its CRM
database, make the time to help him put it in there.
As a closing exercise, take Geoff’s numbers from last year
and calculate your jump in sales if every new client win delivered the same
billings at the same profit margin. 30%? 100%? You can do it – with Geoff’s
help. That’s why Geoff might be your CRM system’s greatest asset.
Your old-school sales guys aren’t just sales executives.
They’re mentors for the next generation. Your CRM application is just waiting
to make use of their knowledge.
Twitter : @csmconsultants1
by Grant Stanley 2015
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