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Why are sales people not updating their accounts in CRM? How do you deal with this?
Best Answer
What we hear most commonly are:
"It takes too much time to enter all that stuff in there..." (So they aren't aware of any benefits for them. And perhaps the system is more combersome than it needs to be."
Some are afraid of "big brother" - they haven't had transparency into their activities before the CRM system and they don't want management to see exactly how many calls they are (more likely are NOT) making.
The "system" (meaning software and the use of it) should be structured in such a way that by entering their sales actions in the system all (or to the extent realistically possible) of the dreaded "sales reports" are created without any effort on their part. That is a benefit for them and for the company.
Another concern can be they are afraid that other sales agents can shark their accounts if they put the contact info in the system. The system should be utilized in such a way that potentially competitive positions only have access to their own data and not to peer data where this is a concern.
Some organizations tie compensation to system use - if you opportunities are not in the system, you do not get commissions when they close. That motivates!
There are many reasons for such a scenario, such as those pointed out above about visibility into activities, and the potential to lose deal because other sales people are "spying" on your activities. But in my opinion, it all ties back to this: if the CRM solution makes peoples jobs easier, they will use it. If it does not make it easier, they won't. So if the sales people are not using it, find out why. When the current system was configured, did sales have input of how things were set up? If not, that should be done now.
I've been in sales and I've been in marketing.
COMMISSION BASED PAY: Sales people are paid on commission. We don't want to spend any more time with the system than we absolutely have to. I don't want to sit in front of some silly software screen and type in a bunch of stuff to make my bosses happy. No, instead I want to visit my customers, drink coffee and play golf with my top clients - so that I can maximize my commission and drive sales. And the "silly CRM" (speaking from a sales rep's perspective) is NOT helping me bond with the customer.
EASILY REPLACABLE: If I, as a sales rep, put all of my data into the CRM system, then I am much more easily replacable. But if I hold back the details, then I have leverage with my employer. The last thing I want to do is put in all my secrets about the client so that the sales guy who replaces me has it easier. Because odds are high that I will be recruited by a competitor and thus continue to work with this customer.
These two factors are not understood by marketing guys. Marketing guys are into numbers, not individuals. Marketing guys are paid a salary typically, not a commission. Marketing guys don't feel the "end of the month" pressure and stress that the sales folks feel.
These two breeds live on two worlds. Business Development reps are from Mars and Marketers are from Venus.
So all the discussion in the world will not help unless you understand these two fundamental differences.
Some simple ideas are as follows:
(a) Have the marketing folks go on sales calls with the sales reps. This will help them understand their world.
(b) Add a commission component to the Marketing Manager's salary. This will help him be motivated to ease off the numbers and be glad when the reps are with clients rather than in the office entering data.
(c) Make CRM Data Entry part of the pay structure for sales folks. Doesn't have to be much. Maybe 5-10% of the commission will be based on quantity and quality of data entry. It is easy to pull history reports (calls, meetings, tasks, opportunities, opportunity stages, new opportunities, won/lost, etc...) and see the numbers as well as read the quality of the notes within a CRM.
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Related Activity
Hi Don!
Sales people listen to WII-FM: What's In It For Me?
Marketers listen to WWYI: We Want Your Info.
The remedy: sit 'em down in a room together and tune in to KIAC: Keep It About Customers.