We’re sharing helpful tips from Kevin Baumgart at Set Sales, which we call “Sales Hacks.”
For this series, Kevin shares tips and strategies that he’s seen work in print shops.
In this installment of Sales Hacks, Kevin discusses how to choose a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool.
A CRM (customer relationship management) tool is the cornerstone of sales organizations and the main tool salespeople use to manage their day-to-day activity. It can absolutely help shops sell more effectively, but implementing them correctly and buying the right CRM is critical.
There are a few main areas of functionality that are key to shops using a CRM:
- Contact management
- Outreach/activity history
- Conversation notes
- Contact information
- Pipeline oversight/forecasting
- Understanding deal flow
- Business planning
- Reporting
- Business/pipeline health
- Team/team member performance
- Win rates
If you’re looking to implement a CRM in your shop, here are some key things to look for:
- Ease of use
- Price
- Scalability
- Functionality (specifically email marketing/automation)
- Integrations
Here are some of the most commonly used CRMs in our industry:
- HubSpot
- Pipedrive
- Streak
- Monday
When’s the right time to invest?
- Do you have the bandwidth to implement it effectively?
- Do you have the right people to use it daily?
- Do you have the right structure to manage accountability of usage?
I think shops often believe that if they implement and start to use a CRM, it will solve all of their sales challenges. This tool is a key component of a successful sales strategy, but it’s not the only thing that’s needed to sell effectively.
In my opinion, having a sales process, proper sales messaging, and a strategy for selling outbound is even more critical than having a CRM in place. However, CRM can still increase the effectiveness of a sales team.
Good Selling,
Kevin
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