Statistics show that 91% of companies with more than 10 employees use a CRM system.
According to a study, every dollar spent on a CRM returns $8.71. That seems like a pretty good return on investment.
It’s important to note that this isn’t a general blog post about CRM. Instead, we’ll cover things that are TOP secrets to most companies.
What are the benefits of a CRM system?
- Lead Information: All lead data is in one place, making it easier to find.
- Lead Status Tracking: The status of leads is clearly trackable.
- Centralized Client Hub: View all contracted clients in one place.
- More Effective Follow-Ups: Salespeople can follow up more efficiently.
- Customer Feedback: Better management leads to improved customer responses.
What are the 7 key features of CRM systems?
- Better Transparency
Create statuses such as:
- New Lead
- Appointment Booked
- Awaiting Follow-up
- Offer sent
- Contract sent
- Won
- Lost
This clarity helps the team focus on the right status. The “Contract Sent” column is crucial for closing deals, while the “Won” column is essential for customer retention.
- Prioritization
Have you heard of the 80/20 rule? The 80-20 rule, also known as the Pareto Principle, states that 80% of all results come from 20% of all actions.
So, if you have 10 leads and you focus on the 2 with the most potential, you’re more likely to increase sales.
It’s important to clearly mark “HOT LEAD” in the CRM system, indicating a potential customer, or you can just move to the right “HOT LEAD” column.
- Customer History
With many clients, it’s hard to remember what was said or what tasks were completed.
Imagine a client asking the project manager or account manager about the last two weeks’ activities.
This is likely to require extra time to gather information from the responsible party via Slack or other apps.
The customer journey feature addresses this by making all completed tasks with the client visible. (Check out the customer journeys on Gammatica.com)
- Timing
A great CRM allows you to add deadline tasks for a given client.
These tasks appear on your calendar, so you know exactly where to focus your efforts.
For key leads, it’s worth setting up recurring tasks to ensure follow-up until a contract is signed.
- Personalization
Psychology is crucial. How do we address the client? Do we use informal or formal language? When should we call them? Did they give us a preferred phone number?
Knowing the client’s preferences is essential to providing a personalized service.
Add extra comments to the CRM so that when a colleague is on vacation, the team still knows these details.
For example, hotels often note a guest’s birthday and prepare a small surprise in the room. What kind of photos do friends take? Exactly these thoughtful, unexpected acts.
- Reports and forecasts
Advanced reporting is essential for showing results and making forecasts.
In CRM systems, you can specify the client’s value, e.g., Sample12 Ltd: $1500 / month or Sample13 Ltd: $2000 / month.
The “Contract Sent” column shows the value of all deals, which helps to estimate the expected revenue if, typically, 20% of deals are closed each month.
- Time is money
Top salesperson vs. less efficient salesperson?
CRM provides answers by tracking follow-ups and contracts signed by each salesperson on a monthly basis.
If salespeople are performing the same tasks, it’s likely a system issue if one closes 12 deals a month while another closes only 2.
The solution? Review the client histories of the top salesperson versus the less effective one and discuss areas for improvement.
Still unsure which CRM system to use? Try Gammatica’s system for free, which is more than just a CRM—it’s an extravagant work management system that could save you and your team 2 days a week.
