CRM software can be an invaluable tool when it is used properly. All too often, though, it is not used properly, or even at all. Like so many other things in the workplace, CRM software needs to be adopted to work well, and if your staff aren’t on side, then you are just wasting money and the systems could be holding your productivity back rather than amplifying it.
Sales reps often hate CRM software because it is so slow and clunky. Entering data is not something that sales reps enjoy. They like talking to people and building relationships. Time sat in front of a computer doing clerical work is time when they feel that they are not doing their job.
Reports or Results?
If you look at this blog which covers 6 reasons sales reps hate CRM software, it becomes clear that the core issue is that CRM software serves managers, not salespeople. There is a disconnect between the two, and the software is designed to produce reports, while the sales people simply want to get results.
Both approaches are valid. In a team with one or two sales people, it’s not a problem for the sales reps to manage relationships in their own way. Bigger teams, though, need to do things in a different way. They need to make it easy for the other reps in the team to find out whether someone has already been contacted, what they are interested in, and what relationship the company has with that individual.
The Case for Bespoke Software
CRM software gets a bad reputation because the off-the-shelf, one-size-fits-all software is so difficult to use and is often completely inappropriate for medium-sized teams. Rather than relying on generic software, which can frequently be quite expensive to purchase and set up, it often makes more sense to get a simpler bespoke system that is designed with your business in mind, or at the very least have the software that you choose heavily customized to suit the project in question. With the right software, it should be possible to improve the productivity of your employees and the service that you provide for them, rather than hindering the work that they do.
If you are in a position to make decisions about CRM software within your company, then spare a thought for the people that will actually have to use it, and ask them what would make life easier for them.
