As we near the end of the year, it’s time to make resolutions to do better next year. One way your business can improve is through a fresh, new business development plan, starting with how you gather, store, and use data.
According to a Salesforce Research Team “State of Sales” report, up to 66% of salespeople say the majority of their time is spent on administrative tasks, like data management, in a given week. That’s a lot of time that could go towards active sales, lead nurturing, or other critical pieces of the development process.
How do you tackle this time-sucking data beast? Here are five steps to get you on the road to wrangling data to help, rather than hinder, your sales process.
1. Reset Your Database
We don’t mean unplug it and plug it back in again. To reset, you need to perform a database audit and cleanse your system of old or corrupted data. Chances are you’ll want to leverage an outside service to flag invalid email addresses, honey pots, and duplicates, among other tainted data. And, once isn’t enough: schedule regular clean-ups to ensure you’re always operating with the best information.
2. Define Your Data Needs
You know data is valuable, but do you understand what specific data is valuable for your unique business? Too often, businesses go overboard and collect anything and everything on prospects, resulting in data overload. To keep things manageable and effective, determine your must-haves, nice-to-haves, and beyond. Common valuable data points include industry segment, prospect origin (how they came to you), activities, and interest level.
3. Set Up Systems for Data Management
Without an organizational system, it’s almost certain your database will become a mess again. Set up practices to maintain proper data management, such as where data should go (specific fields) and who enters data. Schedule and plan additions, and deletions, from your database. Studies have shown as much as 5% of your database will go bad each month, so these regular audits will keep you out of trouble.
4. Establish Data Analyzation Methods
Quality data and good database management are important goals, but they are not your endgame when it comes to data. Ultimately, data is collected and maintained to be analyzed and put into action. Identify your development goals and determine what data you need to assess and improve your processes. Data analysis can be used to define the buyer’s journey, determine best pricing, and capitalize on cross-selling and referrals, to name a few. Put your data to work!
5. Name Data Point People
A Harvard Business Review study found 57% of employees think their leadership does a poor job of providing direction on data management. Generally, this poor management is a result of little to no clarity on who is in charge of data. Put a person or team in charge of keeping track of your data, everything from ensuring cleanliness to analysis and action.
Take Charge of Your Data with NuGrowth Accelerator
Establishing a data management system can be tricky, but you don’t have to do it alone. We at NuGrowth have put our over 70 years’ experience into our latest business development tool: NuGrowth Accelerator for Salesforce.
With a host of features to provide your business with data-driven results to maximize workflows and increase pipeline, Accelerator works with you to manage your data better. Discover built-in go-to-market strategies, custom KPIs, and intuitive, adaptable workflows: get in touch today at 614-304-3917 or sales@nugrowth.com.
Sarah Deak is a veteran copywriter and content strategist with NuGrowth Solutions. She likes to look for the unexpected angle and uses her background in education, business development, and marketing to create interesting and informative pieces to equip readers with actionable data