The Secret Way Great Companies Get Their Salespeople to Use The CRM

If you’re sold on rolling out a CRM to your sales team, but anticipate resistance, you are not alone. Fear of non-adoption is the number one objection business owners share with me.

In fact, it’s often born out of experience. It seems everyone has a story about how they burned thousands of dollars on a system while the team kept on working the way they always have.

Change is hard. But, it’s also necessary for growth.

What got you here isn’t going to take you where you’re going. Scale requires consistency and optimization. And when it comes to sales teams, fully adopting your CRM is the best tool for accomplishing these goals.

Our work with scalable sales teams showed us that there was a proven road map to fanatical adoption. By reverse engineering what the most productive teams were doing differently, we found a plan that you can use to bridge the same gap at your company.

We call this roadmap “The Three Keys to CRM Adoption.”

Key 1: Design a system to add zeros to your day.

Have you ever dealt with a salesperson who was convinced that they could not sell your product without feature X, or at this price point? You probably learned that like Vince Lombardi used to say, “whether you think you can or you think you can’t… you’re right.”

Unless you were able to change their belief, they never came around.

Show them they “need” the CRM to sell more and watch their reluctance disappear.

Before I ever begin talking about how to use the CRM, I make sure I’ve made a compelling case for how the new system will add zeros to the rep’s day. By showing them automation tools and templates, I discuss how a pipeline can multiply from ten deals to 100 potential deals. How one sale per day can turn into ten. I am essentially changing their view of their own potential by showing them how other teams have eradicated the busy work and overhead that steals their selling time.

I want them to lose sleep every night they don’t have these tools.

Once a salesperson truly sees how the CRM will “add zeros to their day,” you won’t be able to get them to stop asking for it.

Key 2: One operating system.

If I asked every sales rep on your team what defines a sale at your company, would I get a consistent answer? Would Jane say a signed proposal equals a sale? Or will Tim argue that deposits are what count the most?

Now, what if I asked each rep to list out the key stages of the sale at your company? I bet the variety of answers (or blank faces) might concern you.

Here’s a pattern you’ll notice with rainmakers at small companies. They tend to have loose definitions and vocabulary around the sales process. A stark contrast to larger teams where standardization is key to organizational growth.

Whenever I see a clear difference in companies who have scaled vs those who haven’t—I take notice.

Standards are rampant on the teams that have broken through, and elusive to the rest of us.

I call this combination of the team’s vocabulary, processes, templates and strategies the “operating system.” When setup correctly, your CRM can naturally install a consistent operating system across your sales team, no matter how large or remote it may be.

See Habit 6 in 7 Habits of Scalable Sales Teams for more on how to start the process of defining a sales team’s operating system.

Key 3: A show—not tell—environment.

How often do you ask your salespeople for a result—such as calls made today or demos given last week—and they give you a story instead of a number?

We salespeople like to talk, but when it comes to keeping score of our efforts and outcomes, the words can get in the way. Setting up concise reports in your CRM not only allows a salesperson to see if they are on track but it provides a huge payoff for working through the CRM and ensuring all of your data is up-to-date.

Imagine walking into a meeting every Wednesday morning where your manager and peers will be looking at your scoreboard. Right there, up on the big screen. I bet you’re going to be damn sure that every sale you’ve made and every proposal you created is being accounted for when those numbers go up.

Winners love to keep score, and a “show—not tell—environment” will attract and motivate your best performers. And, it will make them better.

Effective dashboards and scoreboards strip away the noise and let organizations see what is really moving the needle. Don’t settle for verbal reports from your team. Keep score and coach them on how to raise the score and win more.

These “show—not tell” sales meetings police CRM use in a sneaky way.

. . .

The combination of these keys naturally brings the team into alignment and makes it virtually impossible for salespeople to go rogue and manage their pipeline in spreadsheets. If you’re ready to build a Scalable Sales Team, start by committing to the The Three Keys to CRM adoption. Your team, and your bank account, will thank you for it!

If you want to use this proven system to scale sales at your company, I’d like to help. Reach out today to set up a consultation about your sales technology.