CRMs – Do it the right way!
Why do CRMs so often fail to meet expectations? I’ve known many companies to launch CRMs with such excitement and hope, only to be bitterly disappointed within months of the launch. Recognizing the difficulty companies have with change management and with CRM implementation and ongoing use, salesforce.com tries to help its clients with this process by providing tools and a designated “Customer Success Manager.” Ultimately, though, a company can greatly increase the success and effectiveness of its CRM by following some basic guidelines and rules. 1) Clearly state the reasons why you want a CRM. Articulate what it is you hope to achieve with a CRM, and make this vi

Blocking & Tackling
In a meeting last week one of the people I spoke with used the term “blocking and tackling” to describe the basic yet essential tasks and duties a sales person or sales manager does. At the same company the CEO spoke about the importance of being detail-oriented and understanding the business in depth. Whether you’re a salesperson or sales manager, do you and/or your team “block and tackle” well and know your territory inside and out? Sometimes we get so caught up in the noise and busyness of our jobs, we lose sight of some basics. We run around, chasing our tails. As sales managers we put out fires, always dealing with the crisis du jour.  Soon we�

Success Stories
This morning I read a spot-on article by Wendy Weiss on using success stories to help close deals (see http://bit.ly/tJjjt). Along the same lines, success stories in every day selling can provide salespeople and sales managers with powerful testimonials and evidence of their company’s effectiveness in solving customers’ problems. They also can do wonders for a new salesperson’s confidence. I remember an especially awkward moment early on in my time at as a sales manager. On a sales call a very important customer of ours asked my salesman and me who some of our customers were for a particular product (we were presenting this same p

Overcoming “The Brush Off”
Yesterday I read a good post on the Eyes on Sales web site titled “Call Me Back Next Month! Putting an End to the End-of-Quarter Blues” (http://bit.ly/3st8AJ).  The author, Colleen Francis, gives some good tips on how to overcome resistance when you’re trying to close deals at the end of a sales cycle. Equally frustrating is facing this same type of brush off from prospects early on as you try to establish a relationship and get in front of them. How can you accelerate your prospecting? The techniques I’ll suggest are really more suited for qualified prospects, in other words, companies you know have a need fo

Enjoy
Last week I ran across a picture of my old sales team taken during a white water rafting outing. I scanned it and posted it on Facebook so I could share it with some of them. It brought a smile to my face as I remembered how much fun we had that day. I was fortunate to have had so many great days with this group despite a heavy work load and constant, intense pressure. I know some managers that work hard at keeping distance between themselves and their sales team. They keep their guard up, and salespeople feel like they never get to see a personal side to their robot-like manager. I’ve always sought to first earn the respect of my team; of course this