During this unprecedented moment in history, most businesses have seen a slow in operations due to the novel COVID-19 coronavirus. This forced slowdown provides a unique opportunity to take a look into your development strategy, analyzing data, and identifying gaps and opportunities to pivot. As we wait to see what the future holds, gathering those insights to pivot is more critical now than ever.
Your Salesforce CRM is designed to provide visibility and standard processes for the front end of your development procedures. It can track everything from call and email activity to talk time and opportunities generated, making it the perfect tool for sales enablement.
However, less than 40% of CRM users have a 90% or more adoption rate. With such low adoption, it’s no wonder over one-third of CRM projects fail. How can you save your company from these stats?
To start, see if your current CRM usage is answering the following critical development questions:
- How does this (month, quarter, year) compare to what we did in the past?
- Where are we winning now?
- How is that different from where we won before?
- Are there new lanes we should be focusing on in the current environment?
If your data isn’t giving you these answers (or at least an indication), it’s time to refocus on how you’re viewing it through dashboards and reports.
Dashboards
One of the biggest hurdles in CRM adoption is an inability to understand data outputs. Make your data easier to process and interpret with targeted dashboards. Dashboards give a quick, easy-to-read view of what you’re doing right now so you can keep your pulse on your current state. To reap the real benefits of targeted dashboards, be thoughtful, and address the following areas identified by Salesforce when creating one:
- The purpose of the dashboard
- Who needs to see it
- How often it will be seen
- What it looks like
- How much data is included
- The time period it will capture
- The types of chart(s) to use
Each role should have its own dashboard so your team can focus on their current performance each day. There should also be a dashboard specifically for executives to review at regular meetings so they can stay in touch and reassess strategy as needed.
Reports
While honed dashboards provide insight into your current state, reporting helps you see where you’ve been to determine where you’ll go. To build great reports, focus on the following:
- Make data entry part of company culture
- Determine your KPIs
- Decide on KPI goals by week, month, quarter, and year
- Identify the best outputs (graph, pie chart, etc.)
- Have a dedicated reporting and analysis resource
Get a Partner to Build, Interpret, and Sustain Growth
With so much on your plate, it’s challenging to focus on these essential pieces for CRM success. Too often, executives and managers aren’t able to dedicate the full-time support needed to sustain focused Salesforce revamps, no matter how well the new solutions work.
At NuGrowth Solutions, we work with our clients to set up, clean up, and shore up their Salesforce CRM systems with one-time check-ins and long-term support. See how you can invest less than the cost of a full-time CRM support rep for a larger return.
Get in touch at 614.304.3922 or fill out this simple contact form to see how our CRM services can bring your firm long-term solutions.
As Director of Platform and Content Services, Chuck is responsible for leading the CRM, Marketing Automation, Website, and Content teams to ensure successful sales efforts for NuGrowth engagements. He has developed extensive skills in CRM management, marketing automation, and website development that allow him to coordinate how these essential tools work together for clients and get actionable data to sales reps as quickly as possible.