For 25 years, 50% of CRM implementations have failed to meet expectations.
This is primarily due to lack of adoption by sales people. It’s been the case since the inception of the word CRM.
In recent years, it’s been tempting to hope that younger generations, having grown up with computers, would be more enthusiastic but, it’s not the case.
Why do salespeople undermine the business, the rest of their team and their customers in this way?
Typically, it’s not willful or conscious. However, there are those cases. The classic Big Brother scenario – they just don’t want you to know what they’re
up to.
Most often however, it’s just a fundamental resistance to systems and structure.
In many ways, what draws salespeople to the profession is the “freedom” and lack of structure.
Top performing salespeople may bring their own system of organization to the table and modifying that to the company mandated CRM can be challenging. New
or underperforming salespeople often just don’t have the basic organization skills that make the great great in all walks of life.
The following are quotes from some of the greatest of the great. The most accomplished people in human history all had a way of prioritizing, organizing
and creating repeatable systems. Achieving, and let’s be honest, hitting your quota IS quite an achievement, requires daily priorities and organizing
and systems.
As well, working together as a team is increasing crucial for businesses. Of course, salespeople are the linchpin of any system designed to enhance the
customer experience. Recognizing that the CRM system is the platform that allows service, support, marketing and the entire rest of the organization
to execute their plans effectively is crucial to seeing the value in adopting to the systems prescribed by the CRM.
Today’s marketing automation and sales enablement platforms are all about integrating the
experience of the customer. Providing a seamless flow of personalized messages, actions, perfectly timed responses and ever increasing engagement is
impossible without the salesperson fully on-board to support the team, the system and the customer.
“The bottom line is, when people are crystal clear about the most important priorities of the organization and team they work with and prioritized their
work around those top priorities, not only are they many times more productive, they discover they have the time they need to have a whole life.”
“To be in hell is to drift; to be in heaven is to steer.”
“Time is the most valuable coin in your life. You and you alone will determine how that coin will be spent. Be careful that you do not let other people
spend it for you.”
“The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.”
“Action expresses priorities.”
“Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent and not enough time on what is important.”
“It is not a daily increase, but a daily decrease. Hack away at the inessentials.”
“Setting a goal is not the main thing. It is deciding how you will go about achieving it and staying with that plan.”
“Failures, repeated failures, are finger posts on the road to achievement. One fails forward toward success.”
“Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.”
“What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.”
“The secret is to work less as individuals and more as a team. As a coach, I play not my eleven best, but my best eleven.”
“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.”