By Mike McIntyre

Part 1 of the article was yesterday

Commit to continuous improvement of the system and ways of working that meet the needs of sales.

Independence

Promise to spend less of their time second-guessing or endless probing of what they are up to and putting them on the spot by asking -What will you close this month?-
Explain that the system will enable management to make sure that everyone else is doing what they ought to be doing to help sales win the order.

Effectiveness

Sales only value they way spend their time if it helps them achieve quota or earns them money. (Not always the same thing!).

Explain that you will ensure the data they have to update and use is minimized but you will require them to keep good data. The benefit will be that they will increase the ratio of selling time to admin time because the system can:

Sales effectiveness is determined by the sales process, the competency and behavior exhibited in each activity.

Point out that the system will suggest what the right process for the sale is, it will help them prioritize what they should do next, and it will show them their key sales activity ratios that they need to adjust in order to be most likely to beat targets. It will help management help to spot which sales people need help to develop their skills and competencies.

Most of all, the solution will help them manage the increasing complexity of the sale as more routine sales are increasing handled by sales administrators and the web.

Reward

Introduce reward structures that pay out for the way people work, not just the results. The system will provide the information you need that will predict probable outcomes and when management needs to intervene. The forecast is the most tangible thing to tie to reward payments. Drill downs from the forecast will reveal the accuracy of the data entered by sales. If sales know that management will drive the business by the system forecast, then let them know they only get paid if they have updated and created an adequate forecast.

Security

(OK Fear). Sales are increasingly vulnerable to the web. Their future hire-ability will be determined by their ability to embrace the business benefits of an effective sales and marketing automation system.

Changing Mindsets

There is no one way to create the right culture and mindsets that where these selling messages will lead to fast adoption of a new system.

We suggest that once the purpose of the system has been defined in terms that will benefit users, you should run facilitated workshops to:

Summary

There are enormous benefits in getting sales teams to adopt a well designed CRM solution. The programme must be designed to help sales succeed and will have to work hard to open closed minds, avoid rejection and drive adoption.

Mike McIntyre is a partner in Xenogenix, http://www.xenogenix.co.uk, who offer CRM project services for UK business.