3 Big Benefits of Integrating CRM and Sales Enablement
When you hear the term “sales enablement,” you may already think of a customer relationship management tool. But while CRM is indeed a big part of the sales enablement equation, it is most effective when it is integrated in a way that truly helps sales reps, and this may require adding CRM to your sales enablement tech stack. Beyond providing visibility to management, a robust, integrated CRM can reduce sales admin time, measure sales effectiveness in the field, and create an efficient sales process. Let’s dig into each of these ideas a little deeper.
CRM and Reducing Sales Admin Time
CRM was initially designed as a tool for management to keep track of new revenue and pipeline generation across the sales team. Because of CRM’s traditional watchdog role, a struggle has developed between efficiency-minded leadership and sales reps when it comes to CRM solutions. Sales reps might tell you they get hounded by their managers for not keeping accurate data in the CRM, and the reason most often given for this failure is the amount of time it takes to enter notes manually. If a seller has multiple meetings each day, there is little to no time to update the CRM, so they're reduced to inputting data in bulk at the end of each day or week. This process ends up being ineffective because it’s difficult to remember every detail of every meeting when it’s not as fresh in your mind.
Deploying a CRM and then simply expecting adoption just doesn’t work. To benefit both management and individual contributors, a CRM system should be integrated into a mobile sales enablement tool that allows data to be both pulled and pushed during the sales process, including during live pitches. Pushing data to CRM can be accomplished by tracking content used in meetings and sending notes directly attached to the opportunity or contact in your system. This process cuts down on the time a sales rep would need to spend on the activity later.
CRM and Measuring Sales Effectiveness
A CRM solution is excellent for pulling reports on sales deals moving through the pipeline, but it doesn’t always tell the full picture. Forward-thinking companies will want to know the cause and effect of closing deals. What is moving some deals forward, and what is preventing other deals from progressing?
Diving into this question means tying ROI back to content used throughout the sales process. Here, too, when CRM is paired with other sales enablement platforms, capturing meeting materials becomes easier. Marketing can easily understand what content drives revenue, so they can focus on creating more of what is adding value to sales and less of what is not. This feedback loop quickly results in sets of meaningful content that sales teams will value and use.
CRM and Increasing Process Efficiency
Logging post-meeting follow-up isn’t the only place an efficient CRM can save time. Consolidating sales tools is one area many companies don’t take into consideration. If you ask as a sales rep to prepare, present, and follow up on meetings in three different tools, it is creating more work than necessary.
When sellers push meeting data to their CRM and marketing measures what’s most effective, this feedback loop opens up more areas for efficiency. Marketing can suggest content to sellers based on what’s worked well. The materials can tie to each unique sales interaction based on the industry, buyer persona, or stage of the opportunity. Drawing on this data allows sellers to be efficient and effective in each meeting by replicating success seen across the organization, presenting what buyers care most about, and saving time searching for the right materials.
So as we’ve seen, a CRM system can reduce sales admin time, measure sales effectiveness, and increase process efficiency if it’s leveraged the right way. Today’s sales enablement tech stack options allow integrations with CRM that will make it even more effective. Sales enablement tools now provide one single place for sellers to prepare, present, and follow up on meetings while pushing and pulling data from the CRM to make sellers more effective.
Tony Kavadas is the executive vice president of global alliances for Mediafly, working to expand business and enhance relationships through partnerships. Joining the company in 2016, Kavadas is responsible for creating a strategic vision to propel Mediafly's partnerships forward on a global basis. Kavadas leads and manages Mediafly’s global expansion and team in EMEA and is a driver for managing change while making decisions to support market conditions.