Friday 28 July - Update your CRM immediately

Hello Subscriber,

Yesterday, we reviewed the importance of finishing every meeting with customers with agreed next actions. Now that we know who is going to do what by when it’s time to get this data into our CRM.

The best time to update your CRM system is immediately while everything is fresh in your mind. Often, the most important information to capture in your CRM is who has agreed to what and by when.

If you’re using a modern CRM platform, you might find that it’s quickest and easiest to use your phone to enter the information.

If we spend all of our time with customers talking about what we’re selling, we will learn little to put into our CRM. By contrast, if we spend the large majority of our time with customers asking great open questions, we will learn lots to put into our CRM.

Here’s one area of practice to emphasise today

What to put in your CRM

• Here are the most important CRM updates you can make after a customer meeting:

  • The agreed next actions.

  • Automated reminders for you to ensure effective follow-up.

  • Update the expected value, close date and probability of opportunities and deals.

  • Notes from your discussions.

• And here are some of the other things to get into your CRM:

  • The names and contact details of any other key people.

  • Updates of company information if required.

To Repeat: One area of practice to emphasise today

Feeling uncomfortable until we get it in our CRM!

• My hope is that you begin to feel uncomfortable if you ever have a significant conversation with a customer that hasn’t yet been recorded in your CRM!

• There’s always the risk that you’ll get distracted by an incoming email or call.

• Something significant from that terrific recent meeting might not be recorded and be forgotten.

• You’ve worked really hard to:

  • Talk less about what you’re selling

  • Get your customer talking by asking great open questions

  • Set the agenda for a meeting that makes the best use of everybody’s time

  • Finished the meeting with clearly agreed next actions.

• Make sure that you do the last necessary bit of capturing this in your CRM

• And then, you can relax and move on to your next priority.

What does success with today’s practice look like?

• All you need to do is establish the reliable habit of updating your CRM immediately after every significant contact with customers.

• Your CRM will always be up to date!

• This is an outstanding habit to establish.

• You will not have to remember anything, so your head will feel less cluttered.

Coaching Focus

Here are some suggestions about what your sales team leader or coach can do to help you with today’s practice focus.

You could invite your sales team leader or coach to help you to:

1. Help you to review your CRM records about recent meetings and opportunities to reflect on the elapsed time from the meeting to the notes and the quality of the notes.
   

2. Ask you some coaching questions about the quality of your CRM entries, for instance:
   

   1. How easily can colleagues who were not in these meetings understand the most significant aspects of the discussions?
      

   2. How effectively have you followed up on agreed next actions that have been recorded in the CRM?

Final Reminder: One area of practice to emphasise today

If you have questions or comments, it would be great to hear from you. Just hit reply and send me an email.

Have a great day!

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