Companies that use a customer relationship management (CRM) system correctly can increase revenue by 41. In fact, 91% of companies with 11 or more employees use a CRM system.
But it’s not enough to simply use CRM software. To see the best results, your team needs to use it correctly.
In this post, we’ll cover the best CRM practices for sales teams, so you can get the most out of your CRM investment.
1. Track every lead
Sales teams rely on leads to fill their pipeline and drive growth. But not all leads are created equal. Some will be ready to buy, others will be in the research phase and some will be a poor fit for your product.
That’s why it’s important to track every lead in your CRM. This will allow you to prioritize your follow-up based on the quality of the lead and where they are in the sales cycle.
It will also help you identify which marketing channels are driving the most qualified leads, so you can allocate your budget accordingly.
2. Use the CRM for customer communications
Salespeople are busy, and it’s easy to fall into the trap of only using the CRM for data entry and reporting. However, that’s not the best way to use a CRM.
Instead, use your CRM to manage all of your customer communications. This includes emails, phone calls, in-person meetings, and any other interactions you have with your customers.
By using your CRM to manage customer communications, you can keep all of your team members on the same page. This is especially important if you have multiple people on your team who are interacting with the same customer.
It also makes it easy to look back on past communications and see what was discussed. This can be helpful if you need to follow up with a customer or if you’re working on a deal that has a long sales cycle.
3. Keep the sales pipeline up to date
The sales pipeline is a visual representation of your team’s opportunities and where they are in the sales process. It’s important to keep the pipeline up to date so that your team can easily identify which deals are ready to close and which need more work.
In addition to updating the status of each deal in the pipeline, sales reps should also update the value of the deal and the expected close date. This will help your team forecast future sales and identify any potential issues early on.
In addition to updating the pipeline in your CRM, you can also use the pipeline view to identify any trends or patterns in your team’s opportunities. For example, you may notice that your team is spending too much time on leads that are unlikely to convert, or that they are not spending enough time on leads that are likely to convert.
4. Prioritize your sales leads
Leads are not all created equal. It’s important to prioritize your leads and opportunities based on the likelihood of them closing and the potential value of the sale.
Use your CRM to rank your leads and opportunities so you can focus your time and effort on the ones that are most likely to convert and have the highest potential value. This will help you to be more efficient and effective in your sales efforts.
There are many different ways to prioritize leads and opportunities in your CRM. You can use lead scoring to automatically rank your leads based on their behavior and engagement with your business. You can also use opportunity scoring to rank your opportunities based on factors like deal size, stage in the sales cycle, and the level of engagement with the prospect.
5. Use the CRM for sales forecasting
Sales forecasting is the process of predicting future sales performance based on historical data. This is an essential part of any sales strategy, as it helps you set goals, allocate resources, and make other important decisions. When paired with MRP software, CRM systems offer even greater visibility across sales and production, improving demand planning and resource allocation.
Your CRM system can be an incredibly useful tool for sales forecasting. By tracking and analyzing your sales data, you can identify trends and patterns that will help you make more accurate predictions about future sales.
For example, you can use your CRM to track the average length of your sales cycle, the average deal size, and the number of leads in your pipeline. By analyzing this data, you can make informed predictions about how many sales you can expect to close in the coming months.
6. Automate as much as possible
We’ve mentioned a few times now how a CRM can help sales teams save time, and that’s because it helps automate a lot of manual work.
For example, CRMs can automatically log emails, track communications, and manage contacts. This means your sales team can spend less time on data entry and more time on selling.
In addition to automating data entry, you can also use your CRM to automate lead scoring, lead assignment, and follow-up emails. This can help you identify the most promising leads, assign them to the right sales rep, and keep them engaged throughout the sales process.
Automating as much as possible can help your sales team be more efficient and effective, and it can also help you get the most out of your CRM.
7. Use the CRM for customer service
Your sales team should be able to see notes and information from the customer service team in the CRM. This helps to provide a seamless customer experience and ensures that your sales team doesn’t ask customers the same questions that have already been answered by customer service.
For example, if a customer has an issue with their order and the customer service team is working to resolve it, your sales team should be able to see that information in the CRM. This will help them to avoid any potential issues and provide the customer with a positive experience. Lack of visibility between teams can lead to repeated efforts, poor service, and ultimately low morale across departments, something a well-integrated CRM can help prevent.
8. Create a sales process that everyone follows
A sales process is a set of repeatable steps that a sales team takes to move prospects from the initial stage of awareness to a closed sale.
A good sales process will help you:
• Keep your team on the same page
• Make it easier to predict revenue
• Identify which team members need more training
When creating a sales process, make sure that it’s simple, easy to follow, and repeatable. You should also make sure that your sales process aligns with the buyer’s journey.
The buyer’s journey is the process buyers go through to become aware of, evaluate, and purchase a new product or service. There are three stages of the buyer’s journey:
• Awareness: The buyer realizes they have a problem.
• Consideration: The buyer defines their problem and researches options to solve it.
• Decision: The buyer chooses a solution.
By aligning your sales process with the buyer’s journey, you can provide your prospects with the right information at the right time, which will help you build trust and close more sales.
9. Use the CRM for sales training
With the wealth of data your CRM collects, you can use it to help train your sales reps.
Your CRM can provide a ton of examples of successful sales calls and interactions, which can be used as training material to help teach new reps best practices.
This is especially helpful for remote sales teams, as it allows you to provide them with the tools and resources they need to succeed, no matter where they are.
On the other hand, your CRM can also provide you with examples of interactions that didn’t go so well. Use these as examples of what not to do during your sales training sessions. And just as CRMs support training with real-world sales data, headless CMS benefits include giving content teams more freedom to test and iterate without relying on developers.
10. Use the CRM for marketing
Sales and marketing should be closely aligned, and one way to ensure that happens is by using the CRM for marketing.
Sales teams can use the information they have on hand to personalize their marketing messages. They can also use the CRM to track the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns.
By using the CRM for marketing, sales teams can ensure that they are targeting the right leads and that they are sending the right messages at the right times.
11. Get everyone on board
Finally, make sure that everyone on your sales team is on board with using your CRM. This means training them, setting expectations, and making sure that they understand how the software will help them succeed.
If your team members don’t see the value in using a CRM, they won’t use it. And if they don’t use it, you won’t get the benefits of having a well-organized, data-driven sales process.
Make sure that everyone on your sales team is on board with using your CRM. This means training them, setting expectations, and making sure that they understand how the software will help them succeed.
12. Integrate your CRM with other essential tools
To get the most out of your CRM, it’s important to ensure it works seamlessly with other tools your sales and marketing teams use. Integrations allow you to consolidate data, streamline workflows, and maintain a single source of truth for customer information.
For example, if you run referral programs using platforms like ReferralCandy, it’s crucial to have all referral data integrated into your CRM. This way, your sales team can see referral sources, track leads generated through referrals, and follow up accordingly—all without switching between multiple systems.
Integrating your CRM with referral, marketing automation, customer support, and analytics tools helps you build a more complete picture of customer interactions and drives better-informed sales decisions.
Conclusion
These CRM best practices are the foundation of a successful sales strategy. When you prioritize organization, customer needs, and team-wide collaboration, you can create a more efficient and effective sales process.
