I’ll begin this first entry with a subject that is near in dear to me CRM. This blog will give you a quick real life approach to creating profits with CRM.

Unless you didn’t make past 5th grade you’ll know profits equal the amount of money you keep. Therefore there are two items that help create profits with CRM; cutting cost and increasing revenue.

Let’s look at cutting cost with CRM. I’ve been a CRM consultant since 1997, and I must say this is one powerful way of getting ROI out of your CRM application.

• Reduce Paper Trails: Use CRM to store the information needed and rely less on paper based systems. Yes, even in today’s high tech world, I find a HUGE number of people still printing out paper. Just because you use Excel or Word doesn’t make it any better. I’ve seen cost reductions of 3%-7% to fulfill orders placed by your customers.
• Communication Hub: Do you know much your internal communications are really costing you? Cell phones, long distance charges mount up fast. Using CRM as the center of inter-office communication reduces the need for these expensive alternatives. In addition, it creates more inter-office harmony and LESS DRAMA.
• Reduce Mistakes: LOL… this never happens does it? Mistakes generally happen when there is a mis-communication between your ordering/accounting department and your sales department. With CRM everyone is on the same page in an orderly fashion. Emails back and forth often get misunderstood or lost in a shuffle.

There many ways in which CRM can help reduce cost. Those are just a few off the top of my little head. Now on the flip-side is the all important creating REVENUE!! (Yeah Baby).

• Lead Management: Sound cliche? Well you wouldn’t believe the number of times I’ve worked with a group and marketing and sales don’t even speak let alone share the same data. Tracking leads from both ends insures everyone is on followed up. Often times I’ve marketing spend $15K+ on a tradeshow, get millions of names, store them in excel and call it a success. Excuse my language here (WTF!). OR! I’ve heard several times a salesperson say “I never follow up on those crap leads marketing gives me”. Leads=$$$
• Pipeline Management: So are you top heavy or bottom heavy? Either one is bad news. LOL you don’t want to “back up your system”. CRM can tell you went you are about to get into a unwanted situation of having a lot of deals that won’t close or a lot of leads and nothing else. Moving these people through your sales process does one thing INCREASE SALES. As sure as prune juice, it will help keep you regular.
• Team: This is by far the best value. No, one rockstar salesperson can match the power of team. Marketing to Inside Sales to Outside sales, all working together to generate revenue. This can only happen if they all use the same CRM to build customer relationships.

Those are just a few tips to put you to sleep for the evening. Check out my Audio CD coming out soon. It will be available at www.edrivenip.com titled The Silent Sales Army:CRM 4 Sales Managers. Later I will have a follow up CD called  The Silent Sales Solider:CRM 4 Sales Professionals.