Integrating sales methodologies within CRM solutions
The Aberdeen Group has published an interesting white paper entitled “New Approaches to Sales Methodologies and CRM” that discusses the integration of sales methodologies within CRM (customer relationship management) software solutions.
CRM software has always been a great way of tracking customer contact information, customer interaction activities and sales opportunities. However, in many instances organizations are using CRM software to track this information more as a static snapshot of what has happened in the past.
The Aberdeen Group proposes that by integrating sales methodologies within a CRM solution, the CRM solution becomes more of a “dynamic participant” in the sales process by driving sales people through a shared sales process with defined steps and milestones. They propose two ways in which methodologies can improve sales effectiveness and efficiency: opportunity optimization and sales process optimization.
Opportunity optimization. Most companies focus their sales efforts on the “A” opportunities and ignore the rest. However, studies have shown that 40% of ignored leads could have ended up as eventual sales. Aberdeen suggests that opportunity management can be optimized by setting up a lead segmentation and scoring system that places leads and opportunities into several categories. The most qualified leads (i.e., those with the highest scores) are followed up by salespeople – who are the most expensive opportunity follow-up resource – while the least qualified leads can be pursued via low-cost marketing activities that hopefully can push these leads into the higher scoring, higher qualified categories.
Sales process optimization. The next area that can be optimized is a company’s sales process or methodology. Sales process optimization takes over where opportunity optimization leaves off. Aberdeen points out that one of the issues with most sales forecasting systems is that the sales people aren’t using similar opportunity scoring mechanisms and milestones, and therefore the meaning of a particular forecast value varies from salesperson to salesperson. Similar to a manufacturing system, “quality” needs to be defined throughout the sales process, not just at the end of the sales process. Specific sales process steps, terminology and scoring mechanisms must be defined for the entire process and, as a natural result of following a specific sales process, sales opportunities and leads are rated and scored along the way. By embedding the sales process within the CRM software solution, sales people not only benefit from the software guiding them through the sales process as a means of “better selling”, but opportunity scoring and forecast information is built automatically as opportunities are managed throughout the sales process.
Aberdeen recommends that while companies can adopt any of the well-known sales methodologies (Solution Selling, Sandler, etc.) as their own internal sales methodology, they should adjust it to make it their own. The ideal approach is to codify the best practices of its own salespeople – in particular the strong performers – so that the methodology embodies how the company likes to do business and, most importantly, how its customers can best be served. As additional benefits, the strong performers will be further empowered to improve their sales productivity because their process is automated, while providing “better selling” tools for both new sales people as well as sales people who are not yet in the upper echelon of sales performance.