Is your sales team using their CRM effectively?

You’ve invested in a good CRM software program for your company – but are your employees using the system in the most effective way? And to its full potential?

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems can often be underestimated, when in fact, they are a very valuable sales tool when used correctly.

If adopted and used correctly, a CRM system is guaranteed to boost the performance of any sales team.

It will help your sales team store and present data, optimise selling, and monitor staff performance. And when used effectively, the software should enable your employees to take better control of their work activities, improving productivity and time management.

However, using a CRM system without proper training can sometimes cause more problems than not using one in the first place. That’s why employee training is absolutely key to getting the most out of your CRM.

Here’s why you need to make sure you’re providing proper CRM training to your sales team.

The Risks of Neglecting CRM Training

Your CRM system should help to boost sales performance. Yet problems can arise if staff members are forgetting or failing to fill in fields correctly. Or when things are simply not being kept up-to-date.

According to a recent article, just over a third (35%) of CRM users cite technology issues, such as data problems, functional shortfalls and poor usability. The same study found that 38% of CRM users believe their problems are the result of people issues, including slow user adoption, poor change management and training.

Some employees may think that using a CRM simply creates more unnecessary work for their role, as filling out forms about customers requires a certain amount of time. They could feel that the CRM tasks are keeping them from their main job – selling. Others view CRMs as just another way for their bosses to keep track of staff and are reluctant to use them.

Without proper training, employees may fail to see the significant benefits a good CRM can bring to their daily work tasks, as well as their sales career.

The Benefits of CRM Training

There’s no doubt that introducing new working processes and practices can be tricky, but it’s important to put in time and energy, to help employees learn and embrace the new system.

Ongoing CRM training is the best solution to overcome any change resistant behaviour or negative attitudes towards the product.

Through training, your sales team can begin to appreciate the following benefits of using a CRM system:

• Your CRM safely stores all your customer-related data, allowing your team to analyse and understand your customers’ needs, with everything kept meticulously up-to-date.
• It frees up your sales teams from the majority of admin tasks, by reducing and even removing certain repetitive actions that take up a lot of time.
• The system helps staff to plan out their daily schedules and prioritise tasks, ensuring customer are contacted on time and as planned.
• CRMs track all customer communication, letting you know the right time to contact individuals for product replacement, contract renewal, or a new product or service.
• The system helps streamline the entire sales cycle, resulting in closing deals in your sales pipeline and helping everyone in the team to reach targets faster.

With proper training, sales staff will be able to use the system to its full potential and take advantage of these benefits, and many more.

Online CRM Training for Your Sales Team

Research firm Forrester believes companies must view CRM training as a continuous improvement process.

As the Forrester reports states: “Traditional training methods will not work in an age where sales staff can use online services and data sources to build customer relationships. To make the most of your CRM system, your firm must adopt a proactive approach to training that uses on-demand, interactive tools.”

Relying on traditional classroom-style learning simply isn’t the best approach for CRM technology – staff really need to get into using the system in a hands-on way. And online courses provide the interactive, engaging training methods that are your best bet when it comes to CRMs.

One of the best ways to ensure successful CRM training is to use an interactive online course. Online training courses will teach staff to not only use the CRM effectively, but help them to make the most of the system to get top results.

Take a look at the Go1 platform, to see the CRM training courses we have to offer for your team.