We have all experienced the feeling of being overwhelmed by the daunting learning curve that comes with learning a new software program. That feeling only intensifies if the learning process involves deploying a CRM, which is among the most complex of all business computing software packages. The good news is that these programs usually come with lots of training hours and tutorials to help people learn what all the buttons do, so it won’t be long until you can navigate the system with a fair amount of confidence. The bad news is that this basic “burn in” training is almost exclusively about features and functions; users will not learn anything about the powerful strategies for leveraging the CRM to drive revenue. This brings even worse news: if sales reps don’t know how to use the CRM to make money, they probably won’t use it at all, except maybe to store their address book and record their sales.
For this reason, nothing about CRM deployment is more important that making sure sales makers receive comprehensive, ongoing training and coaching on the strategies for how to use the CRM to drive revenue, close quota faster, and accelerate sales growth. As we have been emphasizing from the very beginning, the CRM is a powerful sales enablement tool. With the right training, sales makers will learn how to smoothly and confidently navigate through all the functions of the system and use those functions to support sales activities in all of their accounts.
CRM strategy training has an entirely different purpose than functional training. Functional training is all about acquiring knowledge: it only helps sales makers understand what each button is for and how to access and manipulate data on each screen. CRM strategy is all about changing behavior; it employs the CRM as tool to achieve the much more valuable goal of helping sales reps to more effectively do their jobs. In other words, strategic CRM training will transform the way reps approach the sales process by:
As sales reps are exposed to this type of practical, results-driven training and coaching, their activities will begin to be more productive and profitable almost overnight. Experience reveals that this type of training delivers a minimum ROI of at least 20X1, while increasing forecast accuracy, growing pipeline and accelerating revenue. For these reasons, Strategic CRM training truly delivers a WIIFM for everyone in the organization.
Baker Communications was recently recognized as one of the top ten Sales Force Automation training companies in the world. We know what it takes to make CRM and SFA work for your organization. In this series, we are sharing some of those secrets with you. In the meantime, if you would like to know more, visit http://www.bakercommunications.com/sales-training/.
Walter Rogers is the President and CEO of Baker Communications. Baker Communications is a sales training and development company specializing in helping client companies increase their sales and management effectiveness. He can be reached at 713-627-7700.
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