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Tom Metcalf

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President, Telenotes CRM Inc.

44 points

Currently President of the Telenotes CRM Sales Productivity System Inc. Previous experience includes Sales Management, Regional Sales Representative and Business Owner.

Affiliated with MANA, CSC, AIM/R, and ITRA.

WEB: TeleNotes SPS Inc.

Sept. 6, 2011

Tom Metcalf and 4 other people answered this question

What are the top 3 areas sales people can use CRM to leverage personal productivity?

Great answers!
Here are a few more thoughts...
Improving personal productivity is the KEY to CRM adoption.
1. A sales rep must be able to easily see who they have called on and what commitments they made in their previous visits with their customers and prospects. They ... more

Sales Force Automation

Aug. 16, 2011

Tom Metcalf and 3 other people answered this question

Have overall user adoption rates for CRM increased?

Here are some numbers that might help:
In 2007 user adoption was hovering around 40%. CSO Insights has been studying CRM user adoption for over 17 years and their most recent research states: "68% of the companies in our overall survey have their adoption rate ... more

Information Technology

Nov. 22, 2010

Tom Metcalf recommends this answer by Kendra Von Achen

How long does it take to implement a 20-user CRM system?

I agree with all of the posters except for Brad (sorry!). No good implementation can be done in a day. Sure, you can purchase/subscribe to the software, turn it on, and start using it. But the huge pieces of the puzzle that allow success for ... more

Customer Service

Information Technology

Nov. 16, 2010

Tom Metcalf recommends this answer by Steve Young

What is your method for getting "in the door" with that "perfect" lead?

Tim –
Getting “in the door” with a “perfect lead” is not a challenge – because the lead is perfect. Getting a meeting (“in the door”) with a “dream client,” however, can be a tremendous challenge. Since “perfect” leads represent prospective clients who are easier ... more

Nov. 12, 2010

Tom Metcalf and 3 other people answered this question

Are webinars a valuable sales training technique?

Webinars are very useful if you engage your reps in the presentation.
Here are some things we have found useful with our team:
1. Most webinar services allow you to see who is paying attention as well as who has clicked off your presentation and is ... more

Sales Development

Sales Training Techniques

Nov. 8, 2010

Tom Metcalf and 9 other people answered this question

What are the challenges in implementing CRM in small businesses?

First, Scott's post is right on! When and if you choose to engage in CRM it must be with both feet. Lean on, and invest in, those who do CRM for a living. Reinventing the wheel only makes for a very bumpy ride!
Second, think corporate ... more

Customer Service

Nov. 1, 2010

Tom Metcalf and 7 other people answered this question

What are some benefits to choosing a web-based CRM?

#1. Practicality. Unless you live and breath maintaining software programs then don't go buy more software programs.
#2. No upgrade issues. (Robert nailed this one) A good CRM will always provide you the latest of the latest.
#3. Mobility. True, more CRM vendors are adding mobility ... more

Customer Service

Information Technology

Oct. 22, 2010

Tom Metcalf and 5 other people answered this question

You have a $1 to spend on development, do you allocate it to your sales reps or your sales mgt team

Management.
Good managers will coach, teach, train and enable their reps to focus on revenue producing activity, and eliminate time wasting non selling activity. Great football coaches can lead virtually any group of players to a winning season whereas poor coaches, with the same group ... more

Sales Management

Sales Managements Impact

Oct. 21, 2010

Tom Metcalf and 34 other people answered this question

CRM adoption: How do you get sales reps to use your CRM system?

Hey Dan,
Sales reps love to sell their stuff and make money! Anything that takes away from selling time and puts them behind a computer or in the office doing "call reports" is a waste of selling time (see Neils comments on "Sales Rep DNA"). Most ... more

Oct. 5, 2010

Tom Metcalf recommends this answer by Chris Butler

What can a good CRM system do for a business?

David - I think you'll find that is an advert :)

Oct. 1, 2010

Tom Metcalf and 3 other people answered this question

What do you consider to be the components of "sales management"?

Glenn,
Here is another take on the title/position of Sales Manager...
Think about this time of year (I love college football season). Star athletes view their coaches as trusted advisors; people who can see opportunities and then give instruction on how to best capitalize on those opportunities ... more

Sales Management

Sept. 28, 2010

Tom Metcalf recommends this answer by Marc Casaccia, CLSSGB

Should SMBs use different CRM systems than corporations?

I wouldn’t be as concerned about which system best serves which company size. I would be more concerned with which system is best for my companies needs.
Many of the cloud-based CRM providers on the market today have multiple product levels. For example, Salesforce.com has ... more

Sept. 21, 2010

Tom Metcalf and 3 other people answered this question

From a sales perspective, what CRM reports are most important to evaluate?

Sales Numbers are a direct result of Selling Activity.
How are you spending your time? Dials, or face-to-face customer/prospect connections per hour/day/week. Set some goals and measure your activity based against your goals.
Are you calling on the right customers/prospects? You need to profile your ... more

Customer Service

Sept. 14, 2010

Tom Metcalf recommends this answer by Barrett Powell

What are the top challenges of implementing a CRM system?

1) Lack of user buy in
2) Lack of planning (objectives)
3) Lack of (sufficient) implementation resources (financial and human)
Solutions are being oversold and under-utilized for many reasons. Add to this the fact the target is moving...market forces and a changing economy have created ... more

Implementing Crm

June 12, 2010

Tom Metcalf recommends this answer by Harald Henn

Don't you expect CRM tools like salesforce.com to aggregate all such Sales 2.0 functionality?

The CRM vendors will take different approaches. Some will aggregate socialmedia, web 2.0 and alike functionality. Some others try to focus on certain niches and rather try to best cover certain functionality. In the past we have seen vendors trying to integrate all CRM functionalities ... more

Focus Interactive Summit

April 28, 2010

Tom Metcalf and 9 other people answered this question

What do you think is the best web based CRM system?

Kara,
Bill nailed it! Take a look at what you need to drive business. One of the largest roadblocks to successful CRM implementation is user adoption.
As for the $$ side of things, ROI is very easy to calculate...if your people are more productive because of the ... more

Feb. 24, 2010

Tom Metcalf recommends this answer by Susan Raisanen

Focus Research Insight: Ideas for new CRM features?

Hi Jessica, I agree with Tom's point about knowing your specific needs. CRMs are a dime a dozen, and so many are available. What information are you trying to track? Whatever you do, make sure that whatever system you implement will MAKE YOU MONEY. That's ... more

Focus Research Insight

Feb. 23, 2010

Tom Metcalf and 1 other person answered this question

What are the major drawbacks and advantages of ACT CRM?

Jeff,
Kendra is right on! I recommend making a list of the top things that drive your business and then work from there. There are countless options out there so you can really be picky and look around to get just the right fit.
Ask ... more

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