We here at People.ai talk to a lot of salespeople. It’s kind of what we do. On the subject of CRMs, feelings are often mixed, but most pros tend to have one major anxiety in common: there’s probably more they could be using it for.
It’s an understandable feeling to have, because (and we hate to be the bearer of bad news) for the most part, it’s true. It’s not your fault! CRMs are a goldmine of company-specific information, data, and insight. With perfect control over all of that information, you could practically divine the past, present, and future of your sales pipeline.
But then, CRMs don’t tend to work like that, do they? Well, here’s the good news: while your CRM may never become a crystal ball, it could become a LOT more helpful. It just needs a little support. That’s where CRM tools come into play.
One other thing salespeople tend to have in common? They underestimate how much CRM tools can impact results. Sure, they think CRM tools could help organize a few processes or speed up a few others, but that’s not what we’re talking about. We’re talking about fundamentally transforming not just your CRM’s utility, but your entire sales process.
Sound like a big claim? We’ve got the exact whys and hows:
Transformation #1: Centralize, Integrate, and Go Beyond Organization!
Now, we’re not saying your impression of CRM tools that integrate with your CRM are wrong. They do help organize and centralize your sales information to make it easy to find. But that’s not all the organizing they do. You can think much bigger.
CRM tools have the capacity to integrate ALL of your sales team’s information—from emails to campaigns across platforms to calendars and more—into a single, convenient location right within your CRM. Not only can your sales team access their own information from one location, but managers can see and coordinate everyone’s information, drastically improving visibility and unlocking new coaching opportunities.
Know which salesperson is talking to which prospect or customer, which campaigns are running, how everything’s performing, and what you need to do to kickstart the next initiative, all from a single dashboard.
Transformation #2: Better Management Through the Power of Data
How do your managers figure out how their reps are spending time right now? If you’re not using any CRM tools, the answer is probably: they make do with what they’ve got. But what they’ve got is usually incomplete at best and biased at worst. Without visibility into how the team members they’re supposed to be managing are performing, how are they supposed to…manage them?
CRM tools can change that. Not only can CRM tools auto-populate all the rep information managers need straight to a dashboard, they can also automatically create benchmarks for performance based on past performance, targeted performance, and top performance.
CRM tools like People.ai take this one step further by spotlighting opportunities for growth and improvement. Is one rep not touching base with clients enough? You can see that. Is one letting prospects slip mid-funnel? Find out why. CRM tools don’t just make management easier—they provide the data required to make it measurable and optimizable.
Transformation #3: Better Sales Through the Power of…Time!
Now, we would never dare call any sales rep lazy. Perish the thought. BUT, they don’t like busywork much, do they? And who does? Given the option, your sales reps would rather be on call with clients, setting up meetings, or following up rather than endlessly populating, populating, populating fields in CRM.
Well, CRM tools aren’t just great for sales managers. The right CRM tools can automate nearly every logistical necessity your sales reps have, turning what could be hours of daily busywork into a few taps of a mouse.
You get better, more accurate data, they get time back they can commit to doing what they really want to do. CRM tools (like PeopleGlass by People.ai) don’t just streamline the process; they allow salespeople to focus on the real work they (and your business) care about.
Transformation #4: Never Stop Getting Better
If you’re anything like us, you’re already punchdrunk with the possibilities we just laid out. Now, let’s put them all together: What do you get when you combine more time for your reps, more data for your managers, and better access to data for everyone?
OK, now what do you get when you go one step further with a leading CRM tool like People.ai? What happens when you can dig into individual rep performance with actionable AI-powered insights to locate strengths and weaknesses and generate informed, data-driven recommendations for improvement?
You get a roadmap for consistent, continuous growth. See how your reps perform and why. Understand what they need to keep getting better. Give your managers the opportunity and tools they need to teach those skills.
Close, rinse, repeat. Quarter over quarter, year over year. All with the data your CRM already has. That’s the kind of transformation the right CRM tool can offer.
Want to learn more about CRM tools and how they can integrate into your existing CRM and process? We’d love to talk to you. Get in touch or schedule a demo of People.ai for a no-obligation test drive to see how you can use CRM tools to transform your GTM processes today and increase revenue per rep every single year. You won’t want to go back.