Motivate your team to use the CRM

This article was included in the March 1st, 2017 issue of the LACRM Newsletter.

When starting with a new CRM, it can be hard to see why you need it. After all, the transition takes time and effort away from your business, and benefits are rarely immediately obvious. For seasoned CRM users, the value of a CRM is clear: stronger relationships with your contacts, more effective follow-ups, and better organization of your entire business workflow. But it can take time for team members new to CRMs, or those who’ve just joined the team, to see these benefits. As we’ve stressed before, a CRM is only as useful as you make it, so it’s especially important you and your team to dedicate time to it in order to reap its rewards.

As Mario Raia, President of Combined IQ, says:

“With any new system, policy, or procedure, there is always a transition period. I realized that this was exactly the same when it came to CRMs. The first month, you’ll hate using it; the second month you’ll start to like it, and by the third month, you can’t imagine you’ve ever worked without it.”

-Mario Raia, President of Combined IQ

Tips to try: There are a number of ways you can motivate your team to use the CRM, and the best ones start with making it a habit right from the get-go. But another great way to get your team to actively use the CRM, is for the CRM to be an active part of your business:

• Assign tasks and schedule events for one another in the CRM so that everyone gets a reminder each day to log in and complete their tasks and view their appointments.
• Use the CRM to pull sales reports for meetings.
• When scheduling one on one meetings with team members, use the Activity Report to see how things went the past month.

Whichever way you go, the key to success with any new system is to ensure that everyone is on board. It takes time for rewards to make themselves evident, so don’t fall into the trap of setting unrealistic expectations about how a CRM will boost your business immediately. Show your team that slow and steady wins the race, and your CRM will start paying you back!

If you have any questions, or want some more ideas on how to motivate your team to use the CRM, just contact us!

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