A: CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software is a vital part of the new home sales and marketing process. You get it. You invest in this valuable tool designed to help your team. It’s inconceivable that any sales person wouldn’t be excited about having CRM, right? Access to information at their fingertips, the ability to manage their leads and prospects and stay on top of everything, and, of course, make more money by selling more homes. Yet, “How do I get my sales team to use the CRM?” is a frequently asked question.
According to Dave Betcher, Vice President of Lasso CRM, there are a few things that can be done to help get your team on board. “CRM is meant to go well beyond basic contact management. When used correctly, it takes customer data, preferences, interactions and engagement, and presents a clear picture of where that customer is in the sales cycle. Going a step further, CRM automates the processes necessary to nurture the relationship from prospect to purchaser, and from contract to close.”
Dave has a few suggestions for how to get your salespeople comfortable with the idea of using a new CRM tool:
1/ Get buy-in.
Treat your sales team like a prospective buyer – your job is to close the deal. Get the team together, buy them breakfast, and explain why you’ve selected a new CRM system. Ask for their feedback, and take their comments and questions into consideration.
2/ Demonstrate the benefits.
You need to sell the upsides to your team. It’s proven that homebuilders with a CRM system follow up with leads more quickly and effectively, resulting in higher conversion ratios and more sales. Create a flyer with this type of information and give it to your sales team during the initial CRM meeting. Remember the demonstration you received when you were initially sold on the software? Consider asking your new software partner to provide a demonstration to the entire sales team.
3/ Train, train, train.
You’ve invested in a new CRM system; now invest in your team. The magic of CRM doesn’t happen unless every single salesperson is using it the way they should. What’s more, training shouldn’t happen just at the beginning of the implementation. Regular training and usage tips should be ongoing. Incorporate it into your sales meetings.
4/ Be flexible.
Once your team is using the system, check in with them regularly. Ask what’s working, what isn’t, what can be improved upon, what isn’t needed. Remember, this is a tool to make their jobs easier so that they can sell more homes. Be open to their suggestions.
5/ Make it simple.
A clear advantage to a CRM is the ability to set up a sales process so that leads are not lost and there are predictable activities to complete as leads progress through the buying process. Define a sales process that doesn’t overwhelm your sales team—define one that helps them. Yours sales people don’t need 57 defined activities to follow up on a prospect; on the other hand, five or seven are great. Let them get used to the idea of activities created for them (along with email templates to save time) and then expand gradually over time.
Have a question?
Send it to melkman@grouptwo.com
