Do Clients Really Need a CRM System to Grow Their Business?

The most fundamental requirement for growing a business is having sound sales processes that can be tracked, measured, and audited. Such processes must be written down and followed closely, not shared through word-of-mouth like an urban legend. A documented sales processes allow your clients to create a repeatable blueprint for success.

So where do they keep such data and monitor their results?

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Ask These Questions & Help Your Clients Act on the Answers

An excellent way to determine your need for a Dynamics 365 CRM system is to assess how well they are handling the essential business functions listed below with the related questions.

Sales

• Sales Cycle per Product: It is too long or what you’d expect? Do you track each phase of the sales cycle? What steps can you take to reduce the cycle length for each product?
• Revenue per Closed Lead: What is the average revenue generated per closed lead? Are improvements needed?
• Cost per Lead: Can you quantify this cost and if so, is it higher than you’d like? What can you do to reduce it?
• Quote-to-Sales Conversion Ratio: How easy or difficult is it to calculate this metric? How are you using it to evaluate your sales success?
• Win-Loss Ratio: How are you calculating this measure relative to quotes issued? Are you losing more than you’re winning? What factors are driving these wins and losses?
• Average Cost per Sales Call: Is it higher than expected? What should it be to maintain profitability? Do you know which costs provide the best returns?
• Sales Losses: Why do reps lose sales? What are the patterns relative to market, product, and individual sales rep? Do you have the data needed to convert more losses to wins?
• Sales Process Compliance: Do you have documented sales processes? Which sales reps are (or are not) following those processes? How do you track and follow up on individual compliance?
• Buying Potential: Are reps approaching the right customers with the right opportunity? How do they assess a customer’s buying potential for a particular product?

 Marketing

• Lead Generation: Is marketing generating the right kinds of leads for your business? How do marketing and sales collaborate on lead generation? Are the lines of responsibility clear and formalized?
• Sales Territories: Do you know your market share by sales territory? What tools do you use to regularly assess and define each territory?
• Sales Pipeline: Is it robust enough to sustain continuous growth? Are prospects viable and easily qualified? Which lead sources add the most value to the pipeline?
• Value Proposition: Are marketing and sales aligned on your product’s value proposition? Is sales selling what customer service can effectively support? How do you monitor this alignment?

 Customer Support

• Customer Satisfaction: How do you define it? Measure it? Analyze it? Do you have the appropriate insights to improve customer engagement and satisfaction?
• Problem Resolution: How many open services issues have key customers had in the last 30-days? Do stakeholders across the organization have visibility into outstanding and resolved customer issues, including billing concerns?
• Customer Engagement: Are sales reps and account managers communicating regularly with key customers? How do you determine where improvements may be needed?
• CLV: Do your reps known the lifetime value of their top 20% customers? How do they calculate this metric?

​If you are trying to keep track of the above information in something other than a CRM system, well lots of luck.  How well is that working out for your growth plans?

We like Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM in the cloud for addressing these needs.  

 Let me know how I can support your efforts as a resource – call Bob 330-929-1353 x5224