(This winning tip brought to you by Meeting to Win, LLC – www.meetingtowin.com)
Many sales teams are taking a break from investing in new tools – CRMs, on-line sales training, lead sources, Hoovers, etc. Most spending now is on customers, not on ourselves. That may not be such a bad thing. I see it over and over again. The corporate office is looking at the latest bells & whistles for their sales teams. The lastest presentation technology, the latest CRM upgrade, the latest on-line collaboration tool, the latest _________, the latest ________, the latest _________ (you can probably fill in the blanks). They put out an RFP maybe and salespeople come in and share all the great things their _____ can do. All great and probably all very true. It seems the problem comes at the implementation and adoption phase of the project. As new tool is only great when it is used. Too often the latest _______ is rolled out and before it is being maximized, the buyers are off to the next latest ________.
As a sales leader, do a quick inventory of the tools available to you. Do this with your team. Figure out how you can create more efficiencies, drive more leads, shorten sales cycles, eliminate unnecessary work using the tools you already have.
Here is one that applies to a lot of us. Outlook is a tool most of us have. Set up “rules” in Outlook to categorize e-mails that come in. You can color code e-mails based on who they are from, if you are the sole recipient or if you are part of a distribution and so on. You would be amazed at how much less your e-mail controls you once you have these “rules” in place to help you prioritize how you read and respond to e-mails.
Your CRM is a big one, also. Most salespeople don’t use a large percentage of the capabilities of their CRM. What is one way you can use your CRM to help you run more efficiently? Can you mine leads, create a better communication plan with an existing customer, what else?
There are many more ways to maximize the tools available to you. I’d love to hear your ideas, also. Sell more efficiently during a tough economy by maximizing the capabilities of existing tools for you and your team.
Thank you,
The Meeting to Win Team
