A customer relationship management (CRM) system can improve a company’s relationship with existing customers, as well as facilitate its quest to secure new prospective customers, and win back former customers.

One of the prime benefits of using a CRM system, customized to support your business needs, is enhancing customer satisfaction. By using this tool, all dealings involving servicing, marketing, and selling your products or services to customers can be carried out (and documented) in an organized and systematic way. Using the data collected, a company can improve the effectiveness of marketing campaigns and improve sales efficiency. A CRM system also facilitates upselling and cross selling.

Here are some questions to ask when assessing CRM needs:

  • How many initial and potential CRM users do you envision having in your organization, categorized by role (management, sales/marketing, customer service, and administration)?
  • For what purposes will your sales and support teams be expected to use their computers?
  • What hardware is in use today (desktop computers, laptops, tables, smart phones, and servers)?
  • How old is the hardware you are using today?
  • What software do you use? (Outlook? Accounting? Sales database?)
  • Do you or will you do written proposals and quotes? How do you track them?
  • How do you generate leads? How do you track them?
  • What do you do for marketing and what is the budget (direct mail, website, SEO, payper-click, advertising, trade shows, gifts, trips, etc.)?

In 2001, Roy Chomko co-founded Adage Technologies, combining a passion for technology and the desire to build a company focused on driving business value through web technology. As president, Chomko’s energy and customer-centric approach have helped to grow Adage into a well-respected, award-winning creator of content-rich websites and e-commerce solutions.

But like any business, there were challenges. Chomko was stretched thin and needed a better sales infrastructure. He knew he needed to change if he was to continue growing fast. Chomko was a rugby player and he knew you won rugby matches by getting the fundamentals right.

As a sales consultant, I helped him install a complete new sales infrastructure. We put sales processes in place, along with performance metrics, a goal and quota-setting system, a structured forecasting process, a hiring system, a format for facilitating productive group and one-to-one sales meetings, and customized his CRM system for activity tracking and performance reporting purposes.

Here is what a smooth selling system and accountability can do in a short time. Adage increased booked orders by 32 percent, forecasted sales by 142 percent and the sales pipeline by 26 percent during the first nine months of working together. Year over year sales increased by 51 percent.

Sales enablement systems enhance the ability of the sales team to increase company revenue through smooth selling. To find out how to implement smooth selling techniques at your company check out my new book.

Smooth Selling Forever enables small and mid-size business leaders to generate significant, predictable, and sustainable sales growth. Based in the science of selling, when applied correctly and managed vigilantly, smooth selling produces revenue results in a systematic fashion.