How CRM Is Changing the Role of Sales Professionals let’s learn and understand the differences of the CRM and their effective connection with sales professionals.
The proliferation of CRM sales force automation tools has radically transformed the sales world inside out. And the best example to prove this is the latest report from CRM Search that shows the traditional demarcation of inside and outside sales teams getting blurred.
The reason cited for this is: New-Age CRM tools that have made it possible for any type of salesperson to connect with leads from anywhere. So the whole concept of in-house and field salespeople have blurred. Instead what we are getting now is Hybrid Salesperson, who can fit into either sales role.
CRM Search further suggests that this changed role of sales professionals is not just limited to in-house or field sales jobs. A few of the companies have merged their sales people with the customer support process.
Mark Cotlier, (Research Analyst) comments – ‘’this is indeed a new development happening across different verticals. In the lieu of offering unified sales and customer support, companies are taking every possible endeavor. One of which is to coalesce the sales and customer support professionals and arm them with tablets and smart phones.’’
With cloud CRMs available in every internet-connected device, the employees are getting the flexibility to connect or respond to the leads or customers from practically any location or time.
Because all the data is stored in the CRM repository, both sales and support professionals are equipped to switch in their roles whenever required. Within seconds of using the CRM, they know the:
•past interactions of the customer with the company
•exact position of the customer in the journey
Inevitably, this is giving them the confidence to effortlessly handle leads or customers.
Stany Malinowski, (Vice President of Next Plus, Inc,) comments –
“Online CRM products have been no less than a boon to the businesses. In view of the fact that Cloud CRM solution give the ability to access customer contacts, opportunities and other records via any internet-device, both sales and support professionals are stepping into each other’s shoes effortlessly. Today sales rep Tom is competently resolving the query of customer John in between the floors or support rep Tim is up selling to customer Mary while crossing the road. The lifelong excuse of ineffective customer service or sales because the concerned rep is missing does not exist.
Forward-thinking organizations are taking advantage of the ubiquity of Cloud based CRM to give rise to the concept of a virtual sales world; where they are empowered to cater to the customers across any channel or medium.
Daniel Trailer (sales expert, author, speaker and consultant) comments – ‘’Companies’ focus is shifting away from where its salespeople are based to how the customer wants to interact with the company. So if the clients demand a conversation over any social media platform (which many are) then the company is delivering that without a hitch.’’
Leveraging the power of New-Age web based CRM solutions that offer an array of functionalities (online conferencing, Social Media & Gmail Integration), the sales force are equipped to deal with the client on any chosen platform. And this has precisely changed the game for many.
For instance, Tony Blitzer (VP & Co-Founder of an inbound sales agency), states – ‘’Customers have always been wanting for more online deals and now with New-Age small business CRM solutions, we are finally being able to provide that. Technologies like Web conferences, GoToMeeting and WebEx technology are all ubiquitously present in modern Cloud CRMs, facilitating to collaborate with customers online.’’
It’s a consequence of this trend that the perception of outsides sales as “opportunity generators,” and inside sales as mere “order takers,’’ has diminished. Now, inside sales are armed to take the sales process from prospecting to deal closure without intervention.
Blitzer further comments, – ‘’this paradigm shift has reduced the cost of our business. Instead of having two separate sales teams (in-house and field), today we are relying heavily on one integrated sales force team to generate the revenue.’’
While a section of experts claim that the rise of virtual sale doesn’t mean the end to the traveling salesman – the need to do so has definitely gone down. Today, for every sale, there isn’t as much need to put bodies on airplanes and do face-to-face meetings. Both the customers and the companies have the flexibility to collaborate from any location of the world and meet only if it really demands to do so.
In fact, CSO Insights’ state that, CRM using sales people hold an advantage over traditional field sales reps. They continue to outpace field sales by using cloud CRM software and joining forces with the customers at any spur of the moment. As a result, (CRM using) sales people are ahead of their counterparts in moving their targets from leads to customers stage.
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