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CRM Software - Not Just for the Big Boys Anymore
Traditionally speaking, customer relationship management (CRM) software was only utilized by the larger enterprise as the complex programs demanded considerable financial investments. As a result, larger companies could be better positioned to serve the current and prospective client base. If your company does not fall into the large enterprise category, you would have likely kept track of customer information through other means and just hoped the information could be integrated with other platforms across the organization. In truth, however, manual processes couldn’t match the power of CRM software, and your employees couldn’t afford to spend all of their time managing data.
The Changing CRM Software Landscape
Luckily, today’s CRM software comes at an affordable price and features the same capabilities of larger enterprise CRM software. With CRM software, you can now enjoy numerous benefits, including streamlined management of your sales team and increased customer service delivery. You can opt to deploy a solution that resides on your servers, or leverage a hosted solution. Providers that can deliver both include NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics and even Oracle. Salesforce.com is a complete monster in cloud CRM software, and the company’s numerous acquisitions have only reinforced this position. Pricing can range according to the number of seats you need covered, the capabilities you want to have and if you opt for on premise or hosted CRM software.
Projecting for Success with CRM Software
Perhaps you want to organize the efforts of your sales team or you want to optimize all leads that come into your organization. You also may want to be able to effectively plan and forecast for the coming quarter. With the right CRM software platform in place, you should be able to create accurate forecasts and build your anticipated sales activities around that forecast. Throughout the quarter, you can use your CRM software to monitor the progress of your team and make adjustments where necessary. After all, if one of your top sales professionals uncovers a multimillion dollar opportunity that could close in a few weeks, you wouldn’t want to stand in the way of that success just because it isn’t in the forecast.
Rely on CRM Software for Maximum Management
It shouldn’t be any surprise to you that your sales team does not want to be closely managed. Yes, they should know that they have to meet certain expectations and should be expected to complete certain tasks during the day. But, let’s face it, if they are hitting their numbers, they will be resistant to micro-management. This is where CRM software can lend the greatest value. If you train your sales reps to make use of your CRM software platform as a tool that makes their job easier, you capture all the information you need on your sales reps, without contacting them directly every time you need the information.
Chances are, if you have been competing in the market for a while, you have some form of CRM software already in place. With the innovations that are constantly happening in this space, however, be sure to continue to evaluate available options so you can gain the most value from what is available in the market.
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