Thanks to everyone who visited us at Mobile World Congress 2015 and for the awesome response to our first mobile version of SalesSeek.
Our conference theme was Life’s a Beach and while we didn’t actually get chance to hit the beaches in Barcelona, we showed how our platform can enable sales people to work anywhere.
We reckon we really struck a chord, as delegates expressed strong views about their Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems – lots of sales people can’t stand their CRM, while many in management roles can’t live without them. We thought we’d share some comments and explain why SalesSeek takes a different approach to traditional CRMs – delivering a complete platform that’s easy for sales people to use.
Measure and manage
“Our CRM system is essential for managing sales
people and keeping track of what they’re
doing. With automated reporting, we know exactly
what’s in their sales pipeline and what opportunities
they’re working on.”
“I love my job and wish I had better tools to
manage my territory and make more effective use
of marketing ideas. Sometimes I feel I spend too
much time on maintaining data for management
reporting.”
CRM platforms should make it easy for sales and marketing teams to share information and tasks, as well as support reporting. This is why SalesSeek’s workflow tools are designed to help improve teamwork and productivity.
Sales people can do marketing
“We spend a lot of money on marketing and want
to make sure our messages are consistent with our
brand. If we were to let sales people chat on social
networks, we’d want to approve their content first.”
“I want to develop my skills and learn how to do
content marketing. I know my clients’ businesses
better than the marketing department.”
Sales people have product expertise and sector knowledge that should be put to use. SalesSeek provides tools to support all forms of selling, including social selling online. These help sales people to engage with contacts and publish content via email and social networks. By doing some of their own marketing they can find leads, strengthen brand awareness and improve customer relations.
Traditional CRM systems are complex
“We’re concerned that our CRM system is slow to
change and difficult to use. Some sales people
refuse to use it or don’t use it properly. Our CRM
administrator has to continuously chase them to do
necessary data entry.”
“I update every conversation that takes place, but
all this data entry makes me less productive and
doesn’t help me to see the wood for the trees.”
Data entry is important for providing a complete picture of potential and existing customers, but this information needs to be easy to use. SalesSeek’s visualization tool lets sales people see at a glance the most important deals to focus on, using graphics and color to represent the sales funnel.
Private sales forecasts
“There’s only one forecast and that’s the company
forecast. Sales people should focus on maintaining
activity rates, not manipulating their forecasts.”
“I need to be able to maintain a private forecast and
don’t want to disclose opportunities until I have a
level of confidence in them. I do this in a separate
spreadsheet.”
SalesSeek gives sales people control over deal tracking and forecasting. They can keep private forecasts and create separate reports for management. By giving sales people flexibility they’ll be more motivated.
This also ensures they use the platform and not separate spreadsheets.
Customers and prospects are company property
“We want everyone in the office using a
standardized system. I’m not sure we’re ready to let
people access our CRM on their personal mobile
devices. If a sales person leaves our company we
don’t want them taking contacts or customer
information.”
“I work hard wherever and whenever. My clients
expect me to be available all the time. I need to
manage my territory at home and on holiday.”
SalesSeek offers flexible working, so sales people can connect with clients whenever they want and on whatever device is most convenient, whether they’re on their mobile, tablet or desktop computer. Sales can be made anywhere – even on the beach!
Sales & Marketing automation should strike a balance between the needs of field sales and management. Traditional CRM applications have pushed the balance in favour of management because they are the economic buyers of most CRM systems. The productivity unleashed by motivating sales & marketing teams with smarter tools greatly outweighs the efficiency gains from better management control.
