Commence CRM, Filling the Gap for Small to Midsize Companies

By Larry Caretsky – Commence Corporation

CRM software is failing to deliver a measurable return on investment for many small to mid-size businesses.  In fact, according to a Gartner report as many as 73% of CRM systems fail to get properly implemented and used. That’s an astounding number, almost unbelievable, but apparently true.  The question is why is this happening? I believe that I have the answer and a remedy as well.

It’s no secret that every business regardless of size wants to streamline the internal business processes that impact how they market, sell and provide service to their customers. A good CRM solution will provide this, but there are two important prerequisites here that are often overlooked. First, you must have the internal processes in place to automate them. Many businesses do not, and management somehow has this false expectation that the CRM software will do this for them.  Well here’s a news flash – it won’t.

Secondly, you need experienced sales, marketing and customer service people on board to maximize the return on investment you can get from the CRM system and here lies the problem.  In many cases small to mid-size firms are resource constrained. They do not have these people on board and may not be in a position to hire them.   So now you have an environment whereby you do not have the proper internal policies in place and you do not have the experienced staff on board to create the policies or support them via the use of the CRM system. If you can identify with this, then you will agree that it’s irrelevant which CRM system you select. You are about to become a member of Gartner’s 73% club.

This is quite a dilemma for small and mid-size businesses, but there is one company that is taking a leadership position in helping small to mid-size businesses address this challenge.  That company is Commence Corporation.  Commence offers a robust CRM solution that rivals many enterprise level solutions costing much more. It’s not the software that has contributed to the company’s growth and notoriety, but instead the value-added services the company is providing to small and mid-size businesses.

Commence has a staff of highly trained sales, marketing and customer service professionals that are engaged with every CRM implementation before, during and after the sale.  This staff averages more than 15 years of service with the company and has been engaged in hundreds of successful CRM implementations.  This has enabled them to help customers create a structured sales methodology for managing every stage of the sales cycle; create and distribute targeted marketing campaigns; efficiently manage leads so that they do not fall through the cracks; and streamline customer service using automated self-service programs built into the software.  This is the differentiator between Commence CRM and other alternatives and why Commence customers continue to use our products and services to manage and grow their business.  To learn more about Commence visit commence.com.

source http://www.commence.com/blog/2018/01/30/commence-crm-filling-the-gap-for-small-to-midsize-companies/

Is it Time to Reengineer Your Sales System?

By Dave Kahle

There was a time, just a few years ago, when a smart distributor knew how to organize a sales effort. The conventional wisdom dictated that you hire “outside” salespeople, assign them to geographically-defined territories, set up a straight commission plan, and challenge them to “go forth and sell a lot.” You hired nice guys with some experience in the business, expected them to learn on the job, and set them free. As business grew, you just hired another one and duplicated that approach.

Easy. Simple. This “traditional” approach has worked well for years. Many distribution businesses are built, at least in part, on this system.

But the last few years have brought with them radical change. You know the litany: Growing competition, increasing rate of change, new channels of distribution, increasingly sophisticated customer expectations, mergers and consolidations at every level of the business, new strategies and demands by manufacturers, pressures on margins – too much to do and not enough time to do it. The world surrounding your business is dramatically different than it was when you first created your sales approach.

All that means is that it may be time to question the way in which your sales efforts are organized.

In order to think clearly about this, it’s necessary to understand a concept – “sales systems.” According to the dictionary, a system is “an orderly, interconnected, complex arrangement of parts.” You have a number of systems in your business. For example, you have a system for receiving and processing a purchase order. That system involves certain processes, certain equipment (like computers, printers, etc.) certain people, and a number of policies and procedures. It’s easy to understand that particular combination of people, resources, and processes as a system. In the same way, it’s easy to understand the way in which you receive inventory, pick and ship an order, create and collect an invoice, etc., as various systems. Your business would not exist were it not for effective and efficient systems to handle these important functions of your business.

Now, think of the way in which you create a customer and acquire an order as a system also. That system has been simple in the past. You followed the approach discussed above. You just hired a salesperson and expected him to do it. That’s the equivalent of hiring a customer service person and charging them with the task of receiving and managing orders without providing any other pieces of the system. You wouldn’t think of doing that. You’d made sure you have the best computer system at his disposal, clearly defined expectations and procedures, and a set of effective resources for him to use – all elements of the customer service system. You’ve probably been personally involved in the development and refinement of those and other systems in your business, understanding that your business’s success depends on the effectiveness and efficiency of your systems. Now it’s time to become just as sophisticated in your sales system.

Your sales system consists of these elements: purpose, people, processes, and paraphernalia. The purpose is to acquire orders as well as to expand the relationship with customers of various types. The people are not only the outside salespeople, but everyone involved in helping to acquire orders and grow customers. So your customer service or inside salespeople, as well as your technical service people, sales managers, and yourself are all part of your sales system. The ways in which you identify, approach, understand, present to and service a customer are primarily the processes. The paraphernalia refers to the tools used in this process: the brochures, computers, call reports, telephone scripts, etc., that go into the process. Put all this together, and it becomes a sales “system” – “an orderly, interconnected, complex arrangement of parts.”

The first step in becoming more effective in your sales efforts is to understand that you don’t just have salespeople, you have a sales system.

Now, when you reengineer your sales efforts, you reconfigure elements of your company in order to create a system that more effectively and efficiently acquires orders and creates customers.

Most distributors who have reconfigured their sales systems end up with a system composed of a combination of many of the following elements:

• a set of highly specific job descriptions and expectations for a number of different kinds of salespeople
• a well-defined role for customer service
• a concentrated and targeted direct mail/fax/email marketing campaign
• a contact management software system
• a highly specific list of targeted accounts
• a highly visible sales role for the company’s executives
• a set of specific expectations and measurements for the system
• a database of customer information that enables the company to make informed marketing and sales decisions
• a variety of sales methods tailored to different market segments.

Compare this with the simple, old days of one person/one territory, and you have an idea of what your organization may look like after you have finished your reengineering process.

There are a number of compelling reasons to consider reengineering your sales system. Money is probably the strongest. Carefully examine your P&L statement. You’ll note that sales force compensation is the largest single deduction from gross profit, far outdistancing anything that is a close second. In most distributors, sales force costs approximate 30% of gross margin. The distribution executive in search of costs to cut and productivity to improve would do well to look first at the sales force. It could be that your current sales efforts aren’t as effective or productive as they could be.

If you’re concerned about the future of your business, and worried about reducing costs so that you can operate profitably in light of those steadily shrinking margins, doesn’t it make sense to look closely at that portion of your business that represents your single largest cost category? Of course it does.

Next there’s the issue of productivity. Your are probably on your third generation computer system. You’ve streamlined your inventory and warehouse operations, learned how to pick an order with fewer errors and less cost than ever, figured our how to process a P.O. ever more efficiently, have cleaned up your receivables and invested in relationships with your key manufacturers. But in all of this, you probably have done very little to improve the productivity of your sales force. In all likelihood, your salespeople are doing the same thing today, in the same way, that they did five years ago. For most distributors, the operant rule has been, “Hands off the sales force.” As a result, you probably have not had productivity improvements among the sales force that compare favorably to other areas of your business. Maybe it’s time to scrutinize that part of your business.

Then there are the customers. Customers are expecting both more and less from distributors. They are expecting more service, quicker response, more knowledge and more information. At the same time, they have less time to spend with salespeople. If your salespeople have not adjusted to these changes in your customers, and are continuing to do business the way they did a few years ago, it’s likely that your current sales system doesn’t adequately meet your customer’s needs.

Let’s not forget about the strategic reasons to reengineer your sales system. From my vantage point, I see more and more manufacturers who are reshaping their distribution strategies and channels, and expecting their distributors to help implement those new strategies. But, too often, the distributors are unable to accomplish the manufacturer’s strategy because their sales force is unable or unwilling to implement their bosses’ commitments. The manufacturer-distributor relationship is jeopardized as a result.

On the other hand, a number of perceptive manufacturers are looking for genuine and concentrated sales efforts for their product lines as well as ways to cut their costs. The distributor sales system which can provide the sales power for manufacturers will be a highly prized organization. One of my distributor clients successfully grabbed this opportunity by working very closely with their primary supplier to streamline the combined sales system. As a result, the supplier’s sales force was reduced from 59 to 16 people, and the distributor was far more important to that supplier. It’s likely that your sales system isn’t up to this emerging challenge.

Unfortunately, too often the sales force is undependable when it comes to carrying out the distributor’s strategic plan. More and more distributors, seeing the value of creating a strategic plan, are developing initiatives and priorities designed to guide them through these turbulent days to success at the end of the tunnel. However well-conceived these initiatives may be, they are often stymied at the point of implementation by a sales system that is a vestige of the past. It’s difficult to implement a strategy that demands sales calls on new niche customers when the sales force is content to visit with old friends at established accounts.

Here’s one final reason to consider a dramatic reconfiguration of your sales system. Technology has produced opportunities to dramatically increase productivity. There are a multitude of technology advancements that can be used to streamline sales systems. Fax on demand, Internet web pages, intra-net networks for customers, sales force contact management programs – these are just some of the more dramatic tools developed in recent years. Forbes Magazine recently ran an article that reported that in circumstances where contact management software was successfully implemented, sales force productivity rose between 10 and 40%. Distributor sales systems which make use of these new technologies bypass their less sophisticated competitors like a Ferrari passing an Escort.

All this means that it is a new day for sales efforts. The distributors who rely on the simple systems of the past will be left in the wake of those who are streamlining their systems. Now is the time to reengineer your sales system.

******************************************************************
Copyright MM

Originally published on davekahle.com

About the Author:

Dave Kahle is one of the world’s leading sales authorities. He’s written ten books, presented in 47 states and ten countries, and has helped enrich tens of thousands of sales people and transform hundreds of sales organizations. Check out our Sales Resource Center for 455 sales training programs for every salesperson at every level. To connect to the Sales Resource Center use this link:
http://www.thesalesresourcecenter.com

source http://www.commence.com/blog/2018/01/26/is-it-time-to-reengineer-your-sales-system/

Let Go of Unproductive Behavior

This is a Sandler Weekly Sales Tip from guest poster Shulman & Associates.

The STORY:

“The best sales thing I ever did,” said Melinda between sips of soup at lunch, “was give up trying to reach a dollar goal.”

Bob stared with a shocked expression on his face.  “Sure,” he said, “you who could coast for a year on what you’ve closed in the last fourteen months.  Easy for you to say.”

“I suppose you could say that, but that’s not how I got to where I am.”

“Come on; get real.  It’s me, Bob.  Remember we both started the same day three years ago?”

“Sure,” she replied, “I remember.  I also remember that for the first year, I had a sign hanging up on my bathroom mirror that had the monthly amount I needed to make on it.”

“Yeah, and you hit it more often than not.”

“Yes, I did.  But that’s when I discovered something else more important.”

“What’s that?”

“That not a single prospect or customer gave a damn whether I reached it or not.  As far as they were concerned, there were 10 other salespeople selling the same thing; I just happened to get there first.”

“Tell me something I don’t know.”

“I just did; you just don’t want to hear it.”

“What?”

“Here, I’ll make it simple for you.  They don’t care about me, but I need their money.  To get their money, I have to give them something they need.  The more energy and time I can spend on their needs, the more I can give them.  The more I give them, the more money they give me.”

“Hate to admit it, I still don’t get it.”

“You’re thick.  I have a new sign on my bathroom mirror.  It reads, ‘What prospect needs have you discovered today?'”

“And this makes you more money.”

“Who’s the one, as you put it, who could coast for the rest of the year?”

“A low shot, Melinda, a low shot.  Finish the soup.”

The RESULT:

Melinda has discovered for herself that no matter what she wants, her customers and prospects are the ones who put money in her bank account.  The only Melinda behavior that counts is what makes those deposits happen more and more often.

DISCUSSION:

Why do some salespeople insist on using a certain pen?  Why do some have a lucky tie?  Why are others convinced morning appointments are “closable” and afternoon appointments a waste of time?

Simple.  At some point in time, a sale was made and a certain pen was used.  Or, that blue tie was worn when the Jones account closed for seven figures.  All of these could be dismissed as salespeople exhibiting superstitious behavior.  Unfortunately it’s not that minor.

All of these beliefs have a common element underlying them.  In essence, the reason the sale closed had nothing to do with the customer’s need or had nothing to do with the ability as a salesperson; the sale closed for some other reason.

What other reason is there?  If the customer didn’t need what was being sold, would the tie make the slightest bit of difference?  If the customer did have the need but the salesperson was a bumbling idiot, would the felt tip pen matter at all?

APPROACH:

Ask yourself a question.  Do the prospects care whether I put money in the bank or not?  Are they going to stay up all night worrying about my personal financial condition?  Probably not.  Why should they?  Absolutely no reason in the world they should.

Consider this line of thought.  Why should I waste my sales time thinking how much this sale would mean to me if I made it?  My prospect doesn’t care about my needs; he only cares about his needs.  If I take time to think about my needs, that’s time away from answering the needs of my prospect.  That lessens the chance of the sale being made.

Thus, the more of my time I can devote to my prospect’s needs, the more sales I will make.  Seems pretty simple.  It is.

Does each task or behavior you engage in during the sales day solve a prospect’s need?  If they do, you have let go of unproductive behavior.  If there is any behavior done during the sale day that does not attempt to solve a prospect’s need, it should be done on non-sales time.

What’s non-sale time?  Those are the hours when you could not possibly make a sale.

THOUGHT:

Does a salesperson put money in the bank by focusing on a monthly sales amount or by closing sales?  Pick one or the other.

About the author:

Shulman & Associates is a professional development firm specializing in sales and management training and sales force evaluation. Visit their website and sign up to receive the free sales tip of the week. Learn how to increase sales, improve margins, and accelerate new business development.

source http://www.commence.com/blog/2018/01/18/let-go-of-unproductive-behavior/

Commence Adds Project Management to Popular CRM Software

Commence Corporation, a provider of CRM software for small to mid-size businesses, has introduced an integrated Project Management application with its popular CRM software. Well regarded for its robust functionality, ease of use, and affordable price points, the company continues to lead the way with new innovative capabilities that differentiate Commence CRM from the competition.

Commence CRM offers a suite of modular applications for managing sales, marketing, customer service and now project management. Commence fits squarely between low cost, out-of-the-box CRM solutions and overly complex expensive products like Salesforce.com. Customers consistently give Commence a five star rating for the company’s customer service. To learn more about Commence CRM visit the company’s web site at commence.com.

source http://www.commence.com/blog/2018/01/12/commence-adds-project-management-to-popular-crm-software/

Learn What Unproductive Behavior Is

This is a Sandler Weekly Sales Tip from guest poster Shulman & Associates.

The STORY:

“Well,” said Bob, “the whole point of this brochure is to make sure that the prospect remembers me a week later when he comes across it.”

“I have to say,” Janet responded, “they look very nice sitting on the corner of your desk in that plexiglass holder.  Did you have them printed?”

“No,” responded Bob, beaming a smile in return, “I found this paper catalog that has these tri-fold brochures pre-printed in color.”

“How did you fit the text in then?”

“The same company has the word-processing templates.  You tell the program what tri-fold template you have, and it automatically fits the text into the designs.”

“Still must have taken a ton of time to do.”  She reached over and took one.  Opening it up, she remarked, “Gee, these are really well done.”

“Thanks.  Took me at least a week using every minute I had here that I wasn’t actually talking to a prospect and then at least a couple of hours every night.”

“If I paid you for some more of their paper, do you think you could print some up for me?  I’ve got a couple of ideas for some different text I’d like to use.”

“Sure,” responded Bob, “since there’s no one in right now, why don’t you drop what you are doing and we’ll start now?”

“Sounds like a good idea.  The only thing I was about to do was call some of the folks who came by two months ago to that open house we had.  This sounds like more fun.”

“Yeah, I figure that this brochure will mean more to prospects a week later when they come across it instead of the run-of-the-mill business card.”

Janet looked at Bob’s brochure for a moment.  “You know,” she began, “if you made this type size about twice as large, the business phone number would definitely stick out further.”

“No problem,” said Bob, “let me fire up the computer right now.  I can make the change, print one, and then we can see.”

The RESULT:

Bob produced a very professional-looking and well-written brochure.  It’s now proudly sitting on the edge of his desk in one of those “Take one” plexiglass holders.  All he needs to really be satisfied is for someone to take one.  What has Bob really accomplished?  What is Janet really going to accomplish?

DISCUSSION:

Setting goals for yourself is not all that complicated.  There are no secrets.  You’ll probably never see a half hour on one of the cable channels dedicated to “The Secrets of Goal Setting.”  Nor will you find 25 CDs for three easy payments of $49.95 plus tax, talking about the wonders of this guaranteed sales closing technique called “Set Goals, Close ‘Em & Reap Millions!”

In the story, Bob readily admits to spending the better part of a week on creating, laying out and printing the brochures.  But does he ever ask himself, “Does this activity reach any of the goals I have set for myself?”

Sadly, the answer is “No.”  In fact, at best, Bob’s response would be nothing more than a repetition of what he told Janet.  “If the prospect doesn’t buy from me, then she will have something to remind her of me later on.”  If this truly were the goal of the brochure, might not a telephone call of two or three minutes length, a day or so after the first meeting, accomplish the same result?  And accomplish it in a much more efficient manner?

But Bob had no goal for the brochure.  His goal was to fill up a week of sales time with an activity that might somehow lead to sales sometime later down the road.  This he accomplished.

APPROACH:

You may have heard the old saying, “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.”  This is the situation with far too many sales people, which is allowed to happen by far too many sales managers.

If the salesperson does not have specific and measurable goals, then how can that person ever decide on what behavior to follow to reach those goals?  Since there are no goals, then any behavior will get him there.

Should you think you have goals, try this simple test.  Write down exactly what you think they are and what your performance responsibilities are.  Now ask your sales manager to write down what he feels are your goals and performance responsibilities.  Compare the two lists.  If you match 20% or less of the time, you have no specific, measurable, or agreed upon goals.

It’s time to set some goals and to formulate behavior that will help you reach those goals.

THOUGHT:

If you don’t know what the specific and measurable goal of the behavior is, then the behavior is unproductive and nothing more than a time filler.

About the author:

Shulman & Associates is a professional development firm specializing in sales and management training and sales force evaluation. Visit their website and sign up to receive the free sales tip of the week. Learn how to increase sales, improve margins, and accelerate new business development.

source http://www.commence.com/blog/2018/01/09/learn-what-unproductive-behavior-is/

Three Keys to Handling Objections Effectively

By Dave Kahle

It’s the moment that many sales people dread.  You’ve asked the customer to do something – give you an appointment, issue a P.O., or schedule a demonstration and, instead of saying “Yes,” the customer gives you a reason why he/she does not want to do what you’ve asked him or her to do.

During all the interaction before this, the customer and you have been on the same wavelength.  You’ve found something you have in common, and you’ve jointly uncovered and analyzed some pain.  Now, however, the nature of the interaction has changed.  From a cooperative, give and take atmosphere, a hint of conflict now appears.  You want him to do something, and he doesn’t want to do it.

It’s an objection.

What do you do?

Here are three keys to effectively handling the objection.

One:  Preparation.

Objections are a natural part of the sales cycle.  If you are going to talk to customers about your product and service, you are going to hear objections.

I know your product is terrific, and everyone should buy it.  But people and companies are different; they don’t always think like you do.  They may see the situation differently.  Rather than being stunned into quiet confusion by an objection, think it through and prepare for it beforehand.

After just a little experience with a product or service, you can anticipate the most common objections you are likely to hear.  Spending a few minutes thinking about and preparing for your most common objections will provide you with a great deal of confidence.

This isn’t as intimidating as it may seem.  A few moments spent thinking about the objection and how you will handle it can make a huge difference.  If you are prepared, you’ll find yourself being more confident, and actually looking forward to the objection.

Sit down in your office with a blank sheet of paper or a computer screen, and ask yourself, “If my prospect says this…, how should I respond?”  Create a short 3 – 5 item outline.  Then craft some powerful language that you may want to use, and finally think about what “proof” you can supply which supports your position.

With just a few moments of this kind of preparation, you’ll be ready for almost any objection you are likely to hear.

Two:  Attitude.

For many sales people, the natural reaction to an objection is either to argue, or to leave.  Neither confrontation nor flight is effective.  Rather, welcome the objection.  It means that your customer is working with you and respects you enough to tell you why he/she isn’t ready to do what you want them to do.  That’s a good thing.

“Overcoming objections” is a phrase that we’ve all seen frequently.  It helps encourage an attitude that I think is unhelpful.  I’d rather you think about handling, not overcoming.  Overcoming implies that you are going to struggle with the customer and eventually win.  In any struggle, there is a winner and loser.  So for you to overcome, your customer has to lose.  If you enter into this phase of the sales process with the attitude that you must struggle with the customer, that attitude will show itself.  Your customer will become defensive, and potentially harden his position – creating exactly the opposite impact than that which you want.

The opposite is also true.  If your attitude is open and collaborative, it will show as well.  Your attitude should be that you and the customer are in this together, seeking ways to agree, and that you welcome and accept the customer’s thoughts.  This creates sincere interest in you, and your customer responds with a softer attitude as well.

Three:  Implementation.

Your tactical response at the moment in which you react and respond to the customer is very important.  Those moments in which objections are exchanged are often tense moments, when saying or doing the wrong thing can blow the sale.  Treat the customer aggressively, say a couple of wrong words, appear unconfident – all these things can trigger a negative and harder reaction by the customer.  So attention to the details of techniques of implementation is important.

Here are a few suggestions regarding tactical implementation:

• Always keep the other person’s ego in mind. Find a way for the customer to be right.
• When in doubt, ask a question. It buys you time to think, gets the customer talking, and almost always provides new information for you.
• Watch your language. Words like “yes, but…” signal that you differ from your customer, and put him/her on edge.

The list of specific tactics can go on and on, but you have the idea.  The few moments of interaction that surround an objection are often the most potent in the entire course of the sales process.

If you are going to catapult your sales performance to higher levels, focusing on effectively handling objections will take you part of the way.

Originally published on davekahle.com

About the Author:

Dave Kahle is one of the world’s leading sales authorities. He’s written ten books, presented in 47 states and ten countries, and has helped enrich tens of thousands of sales people and transform hundreds of sales organizations. Check out our Sales Resource Center for 455 sales training programs for every salesperson at every level. To connect to the Sales Resource Center use this link:
http://www.thesalesresourcecenter.com

source http://www.commence.com/blog/2018/01/03/three-keys-to-handling-objections-effectively/