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Chris Bell

Signs That It’s Time to Upgrade Your CRM System



If you have been in business for any length of time, it’s very likely you have a CRM system. If you don’t, it might be time to hop on over to these guys! Your system is a gateway between your business and your existing as well as future customers. This system is what keeps your employees organized and working in sync to consistently improve the productivity of your business.
Due to the fact that your CRM system is so near and dear to the heart of your business, it can be easy to overlook warning signs that you need to upgrade. In fact, many business owners put off the process of upgrading and end up falling well behind where they could be, as far as productivity goes, if they had just simply upgraded. We are going to share some warning signs below that you should look out for and realize mean that it’s getting time to upgrade your existing CRM system to ensure your business’s productivity stays at its best.

Your Sales Quotes Are Constantly Off for Customers

Losing money is never fun, especially when you lose it because of things that were in your immediate control. Old CRM systems can lack the tracking of customers deals and discounts. When this happens your employees quickly calculate quotes on what they believe the discounts are, which can lead to errors that are costly.

A newer CRM system will likely possess the CPQ quote feature, such as the ones at SalesForce.com. This stands for configure, price, and quote. This feature will allow you to run discounting rates and exceptional deals to see what your profit margin will be for specific customers. This feature permits you to run multiple tests and gives results instantaneously. This is a feature that can help to ensure your profit margins always stay up while having the luxury of offering customers a discounted rate during the sales process.

Your Sales Team Doesn’t Interactively Use The System

Having a CRM system doesn’t do your business any good if your employees don’t use it to increase productivity. This is something you truly need to look at as a manager or business owner. It’s very likely that employees are being able to do things faster by hand instead of using the system like it’s meant to be used.

This is something that should send a signal to you. Asking employees about what the system lacks and getting ideas on features you should look for in the next system is optimal. Realize that newer CRM systems have been developed with the sales staff in mind. They’re much easier to navigate and allow for much more customization to fit the needs of your staff.

Lack of Marketing And Sales Collaboration

If you are noticing a gap between your marketing and sales team, it’s a problem. When your two departments aren’t working side by side to turn leads into sales, you are losing money. Lack of communication is typically due to not having a streamlined system where sales and marketing can interact with each other. Using a newer system that allows for an integration of leads management will help the sales team to better understand the potential leads. This means more leads turned into customers of your business.

You need to stop turning a blind eye to these obvious signs that things aren’t working smoothly in your company. Upon accepting there’s a problem and digging a little deeper into it, you’ll likely find that your outdated CRM system is to blame. Be sure to always keep an eye out for these signs and get working on finding a newer system.