For a lot of sales people,CRM systems is a waste of time but who can really blame them?
To the top performers who spend their time dialing, smiling and closing deals, it is a valid complaint. Sitting idle and waiting for a screen to load is definitely not where they want to be but where the money is at.
Excel Versus CRM Software. The pain of having to wait for a screen to load to access a telephone number so a phone call can be made, so a deal can be closed shouldn’t be underestimated. Productivity can be crippled when the typical wait for a screen to load is 4 plus seconds. Add to that the frustration of trying to find key data and the difficulty in entering new information and you can understand why many sales people choose to rely on Excel.
Now Excel is fast – but that is really all there is to it. It’s hard to organize data, hard to share and unreliable.
Here are some of the usual complaints and limitations most notable of Excel as a customer relationship management tool:
-No File Storage. In Excel, what you see is what you get. It does not allow you to attach important files such as invoices, emails, letters, quotes, etc relevant to a client’s record. You need to store these documents elsewhere, where they can be forgotten, corrupted or lost completely.
-No Sharing. Excel does not allow reading and writing of multiple people at the same time. For businesses with one sales person, this isn’t a problem. A nightmare indeed, if you are in a team.
-Limited Field Control. Creation and organisation of the fields in an Excel spreadsheet can be done only manually. The number of fields you can use comfortably has some limitations due to the layout of Excel. For example; first name, last name, phone number, email, last call date, call related notes address, notes, invoices, quotes, lead categorization etc etc all in one row, it’s not easy.
If speed is the reason why you use Excel, what if a CRM system can provide all the speed of Excel plus all the benefits of a genuine CRM system?
With a proper CRM you have:
– The ability to schedule tasks
– Set reminders
– Chart call outcomes
– Track Campaigns
– All important files can be attached to the client’s record i.e., invoices, quotes, emails, letters, etc
– Manage your email
– Instantly assess your sales pipeline
– Much, much more.
Bulky, slow and holds up work flow-these are what traditional CRM systems were way back then. Speed has been built as well for the newer CRM systems. Pi in particular uses a new framework our team spent 5 years perfecting in order to give the fastest user experience possible.