Talking CRM with your sales manager
Questions a CEO should ask before buying
To ensure sales representatives meet their objectives, your sales manager continually needs information from them about leads and active prospects. Here's how you can work with your sales manager to find out how CRM can best support sales goals.
Your sales manager's CRM priority: pursuing revenue
The sales manager is focused on moving your product and targets the following CRM evaluation issues:
| • | Supporting sales staff's efforts to secure business |
| • | Avoiding the disruption of a complete systems replacement |
| • | Obtaining personalized vendor support for new systems |
| • | Providing the data necessary to support sales goals |
| • | Integrating new solutions with existing data systems |
| • | Tracking leads with minimal data entry and paperwork |
| • | Helping sales force accept and adopt new CRM processes |
Questions for your sales manager
Get the details you need on how CRM can support revenue-generating activities:
| • | What kinds of sales history and forecasting data are now available? |
| • | What kinds of new CRM tools would help the team sell? |
| • | How much training do you foresee your team needing? |
| • | How are we currently tracking the competition? |
Conclusion
The sales manager is your best ally for initiating a CRM project. Champion the CRM selection process with sales input to gain compliance when the sales division uses the new tools. Investing in the right CRM solution supports your sales team's best practices, resulting in the optimal outcome: closing more deals.
Next steps
