Designed for Growth: Scale your recurring revenue with the new Teamgate SaaS CRM. Explore SaaS Features →

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Designed for Growth: Scale your recurring revenue with the new Teamgate SaaS CRM. Explore SaaS Features →

Book a demo today and save 50% off your first month, or 20% off your first year.

Get a free sales audit to uncover hidden revenue opportunities!

Every company looks for the different ways to increase its revenues. How are you planning to edge past your competitors?

The amount of revenue you generate depends on upon different factors, including the strategies used, the product you’re selling, as well as your marketing efforts. It’s the sales team and the sales marketing strategies that you use that can make a considerable difference at the end.

Understanding Sales Metrics – Making Informed Decisions

As a business, you would see your sales increase and decrease at times. If things aren’t going the way it should be, it’s important to identify the problem.

And that’s exactly where your sales metrics can help. Understand how you could improve the parameters to boost your sales. Here, we have listed some of the most important sales metrics that will help you in analyzing your performance.

1. Optimum Time Utilization

Your customers wouldn’t wait for you. You need a marketing team, which can reach out to your customers and close in on the deal as soon as possible. The lower the time, the better.

Monitor the time spent by the sales representative (rep) on the deals. If the rep successfully closes the deal, analyze the time needed for it.

Check the number of opportunities handled by a rep in an interval. This will help you in allotting more leads to the sales rep.

The response time for a query is equally important. According to a survey, if you answer the query within an hour, it increases chances of converting lead by seven times. The more time you take to respond, the lesser are the chances for a conversion.

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2. Sales Cycle

It is directly proportional to the time taken to close the deal. You can analyze different deals. Some deals will take more time to close while others will take less time – check on the parameters responsible for the deal to close.

Your aim is to close the deal sooner than later. When you analyze a sale cycle, you will know the number of leads to send a sales rep to help them perform to their best.

Related: Could The Traditional Sales Model Really Be Hurting Small Businesses?

3. Analyzing Results

The results help us to take decisions regarding the future deals. Some deals are easier to close while others can be more difficult. Understand the common problems so that you can address them.

This includes understanding the strengths. Remember, different deals require a different amount of time investment. Consider working on the opportunities according to the time requirements.

Some of the sale reps are better with certain types of deals, and take less time. Some sales reps perform better with small deals while some are good at bigger deals.

Analyzing the types of deals a sales rep closes quicker will help you to assign similar deals to them, to enable faster conversions.

Allot deals according to the ability of the sales rep. In addition, identify the weaknesses, and work on them. It will strengthen your team, directly or indirectly, for the future dealings.

Teamgate has a perfect insight tools for all the most important metrics your business needs.

Related: Your Rally Road Book Is Your Sales Forecast

Teamgate Insights

4. The Deal Size and Amount

If you find that the majority of deals are smaller amount deals, it’s important to identify the problem. You need to work to bag in bigger deals. That’s where Teamgate can also help you – with the most important deals view, you can see a clear picture of deals you need to focus on the most.

While the deal size is important, the other question is the number of deals you have in queue. You don’t want too many to avoid missing deadlines – but you do need some to keep your employees engaged.

As a manager, work hard to attract as many deals as possible. If you’ve too many deals in queue, it’s a happy problem that you can deal with and increase your team size.

5. Cost to Revenue Ratio

Don’t just look at generating revenues – instead, look at the cost to revenue ratio as well.

Calculate the costs of your inputs like salaries, expenses, marketing costs, commission rates, and the total revenue you earned from all the deals. This will provide an insight on how to manage your investments.

Optimize your investments – it will help in boosting the efficiency of your team and garnering maximum productivity.

Doing More by Looking At the Sales Metrics Data

The aim is to be able to harness the power of your sales representatives. You can achieve this by managing your time efficiently, allotting opportunities according to rep’s capability, boosting the morale of your sales team, and maximizing net revenue.

There are other factors as well including the lead response time. The quality of leads will always matter and the marketing team can help you get the perfect leads who are interested in your products. You can even keep a track of the number or percentage of opportunities you are winning. For every ten opportunities that you are getting, how many have you been able to successfully convert? Aim to improve the opportunity win rate.

No matter what business you’re in, focusing on these metrics will surely yield better results and help improve overall performance.

Related: How CRM Helps Companies in Logistics Industry to Improve

Every business needs to revolve around the customers. They’re the core and the foundation of your potential success. Make them happy and you’ll make your business strive. This is why customer communication and relationship is always a top priority. No matter what size of a business you have or what industry you’re in, you always have to control how you communicate with your current and potential customers.  

Customer relationship management (CRM) implementation is thus the main tool all your teams will use to understand your customers and provide them a top-notch experience. Why? Because as a result, you’ll be able to boost sales, increase leads, and provide improved customer satisfaction. But, to achieve these results, you need to know what proper CRM implementation is and how to do it.

Below, you’ll find the ultimate CRM implementation with all the information you’ll ever need:

header image source: Pexels

 

What is CRM Implementation?

Before we dig any deeper into the process of CRM implementation, we should first define what it is and explain the basics. So, what exactly is CRM implementation?

CRM implementation is a process of selecting and setting up CRM software that the business will use to keep a record of all communication with the customers. Businesses use it to achieve goals and KPIs they’ve previously set for different business areas, including:

Simply put, you’ll be able to gather all the customer interactions into one centralized database and that means a business can implement CRM within one or more areas of their business and keep track of all customer communication activities.

CRM implementation is most commonly introduced as a response to a certain issue a business is facing. The challenges are then addressed through the CRM and hopefully removed. Recognizing its significance, many SMEs and government entities are collaborating with digital transformation consultants to optimize CRM adoption as a key component of their modernization strategy.

What Are the Benefits of CRM Implementation?

CRM can be crucial for the success of your business, especially if you’re just getting started. In fact, most companies invest in CRM within the first 5 years of launching.

You may be skeptical about investing all the effort into CRM implementation since you’re not completely aware of the benefits. Below, we’ve listed the top CRM benefits you can expect from introducing this practice to your business.

Here’s what CRM implementation can help you achieve:

  • Improved Customer Service

When you implement the right CRM software, you’re able to gather and centralize customer information. This provides the valuable insight you and all your employees can then use to boost customer service. The more you know about them, the better relationships you’ll build.

When you centralize all your sales data, you’ll be able to find the weak spots and work on improving them. Your customers will appreciate the improved service and you’ll gain their trust. Also, you will be able to create a universal sales process that all your employees could follow. This will create a unified experience that will boost your brand image.

You need everyone on your team to work productively and efficiently. CRM helps automate certain tasks and improve the overall workflow. This is due to a better-organized task schedule as well as a centralized database of crucial information.

  • Higher Customer Retention

All of the above results in higher customer retention. As you improve different segments of your business and interactions with the customers, you’ll see that their overall satisfaction is being improved.  CRM will help you track user behavior, convert leads, and promote customer loyalty.

Successful CRM Implementation: Preparation

As you can see, CRM implementation is a layered and multi-purposeful addition to your business operations that can bring more benefits than you’re aware of. This is why you need to learn how to do it successfully, step by step.

Below, we’ll break down the entire preparation process into segments you can easily follow for a successful CRM implementation. Let’s get started.

  • Define Your Goals

Before you start planning your CRM implementation, you have to look at the big picture. Knowing where your business stands and where you want it to be is a huge plus. So, before you make any specific steps, you need to know why you want to do this.

So, answer the following questions:

  • Why am I Implementing CRM?
  • What issues do I want to address?
  • What goals do I want to achieve?

Imagine your business before and after CRM implementation and be aware of the specific changes you want to make. This will help you focus on your mission and find the right way to do it successfully.

For instance, many businesses find the following to be the most important goals:

  • A better understanding of the customers’ needs, journeys, and expectations.
  • Improved business forecast.
  • Finding better ways to sell and improve the sales process.
  • Convert more leads.
  • Increase monthly income.
  • Automate repetitive tasks.
  • Build team efficiency.
  • Reduce costs.

Whatever your goal is, make sure you aim for it specifically with your CRM plan. That is the only way you’ll do it successfully and be able to track and measure the results.

  • Choose the Business Areas

The next major step in your strategy is choosing the business areas you’ll want to cover with your CRM implementation plan. This is closely connected to your goals.

For instance, you’ve set a goal to increase sales. So, which business areas do you need to include in the CRM process? You’ll have to include sales, marketing, and customer service.

  • Put Together a CRM Team

CRM implementation is a demanding, time-consuming process. It’s complex and requires a team of people to work on it together. That means you need to put together your team before you move any further.

But, who should you include?

You need to decide which of your employees will be able to play the role of:

  • CRM project manager 
  • engineer or software developer
  • IT manager
  • sales team leader

You can either choose from your in-house staff or outsource if you feel the need. Assemble the team and give them a brief introduction to what you plan on doing.

As you build the CRM team, plan for change management and company-wide adoption. Create a dedicated comms stream that reaches frontline and desk-based staff through a mobile-first employee experience platform. Use it to centralize launch updates, training, SOPs, and quick-reference forms; enable SSO to your CRM and related tools; run pulse surveys and recognition to sustain momentum; and track engagement with analytics.

Then, move on to the next steps together.

 

  • Perform CRM Analysis

The next step you and your team will need to take together is to perform a CRM analysis of the status quo. You know where you want your business to be in the future but you also have to understand the starting point.

So, take a closer look at where your business stands today. Try to define:

  • what are your current business needs
  • what processes do you need to introduce
  • what are the weakest links in your workflow 
  • what needs updating

This will help you develop a deeper understanding of your needs which will lead to you choosing the best possible solution. Analyze your organization top to bottom and decide on the top priorities to be addressed.

  • Discuss Data Migration

When you’re setting up a new system, you’ll need to transfer some or all of the old data into it. Data migration is a crucial part of the CRM implementation process, and you and the team need to decide which data to transfer and how.

The data you’ll need is the one that:

  • is significant for your business
  • will play an important role in the new system

So, if there’s any data you don’t need, just leave it behind. Otherwise, you’ll just occupy valuable storage space. 

Once you decide which data to migrate, try out data transfer on a sample to test how it goes. If everything’s in order, you can transfer all of the selected data.

image source: Pexels

  • Decide on the Must-Have Features

Before you choose the CRM software you’ll be using, it’s a smart idea to list the must-have features for your business.  Simply, think of the things you absolutely need to make the CRM implementation a success. 

Below, we’ve listed the top features most businesses look for in CRM software:

  • track interactions
  • customer opportunity management
  • lead management
  • email tracking
  • automated reports
  • custom dashboards
  • trend analysis
  • mobile CRM
  • sales data
  • marketing automation
  • forecasting

A study by SoftwareAdvice found the top-requested feature to be contact management, followed by track interactions and scheduling/reminders.

There are other features your business could benefit from, so do your research before making any decisions. Check to see what’s out there and which vendors offer the best features. Once you do that, you’ll know how to make the best decision.

  • Choose the Type Of CRM 

Depending on your starting point, needs, and goals, you’ll need to decide on the type of CRM you want to implement. Your organization is unique and you need to choose based on its specific characteristics and position.

There are three main types of CRM, and each one comes with a set of functionalities, features, and processes that make it work for you. Those are:

  • collaborative CRM

It focuses on teamwork and links together everyone in your organization. It makes sure you’re all using the same data, channels, and tools. It makes your work unified and consistent. That leads to a smooth and seamless customer experience. 

  • operational CRM

Operational CRM focuses on improving the internal processes of your organization. They help you detect and solve issues in the way your departments are functioning and help your employees perform at their best. They mostly focus on automating certain processes to help your employees focus on top priority tasks or simply use their skill and creativity for something more valuable.

  • analytical CRM

Finally, analytical CRM systems help you use the most out of the customer data you collect. It provides better analytics and data reports.  If you aren’t sure about writing reports or you need help with any writing assignments, evoessay.org is the best choice. They have a lot of writers who specialize in different topics so there is nothing you should worry about. Additionally, they also offer free services to help outline or format your documents, so you can devote your time to more important tasks.  

The data reports help you get an improved understanding of your customers and thus make better decisions on how to behave. As a result, you and your customers have a much better relationship.

So, choose the type of CRM system your organization would benefit from the most.

  • Draft a CRM Plan

Here’s what you’ve covered so far:

  • you know where you stand
  • you know where you want to be
  • you have a team
  • you know the type of system you want

Now it’s time to create a final plan that will break down the process of CRM implementation into stages. Each stage will help you complete a minor goal and move forward in your general plan. For each stage, you should:

  • set up a timeline with deadlines
  • decide who are the people in charge
  • define the tools and resources you need

Once your initial draft is complete, let it rest for a couple of days and allow everyone in your team to rethink their suggestions. Get back to it after it all settles and make some changes, if necessary.

Then, write the final version of your CRM plan and you’ll be ready to start working on it.

Successful CRM Implementation: Key Steps

You’ve done all the hard work and prepared your team to successfully implement a new CRM system. You are now ready to follow the steps of your previously defined plan.

But, if you aren’t sure what this plan should encompass, we’re here to help with that as well.

Below, you’ll find a list of key steps in a winning CRM implementation process.

  • Choose a CRM Vendor & Software

After analyzing your needs and analyzing what’s being offered on the market, you’ll need to choose the best CRM vendor for your organization.

Read through their instructions and guides to ensure you know the nuts and bolts of it. If needed, contact their customer support for additional help. 

  • Clean Up Your Data

Follow by cleaning out the data you found useless and redundant. Prepare your systems for data migration and do a thorough clean-up.

This will ensure only valuable and useful data get transferred in the data migration process.

  • Train Your Employees

Your new CRM system won’t be much of success unless you train your employees on how to use it like professionals. You should organize team training and have every department learn about the new tools and processes they’ll be in charge of.

Make use of the trial version of the software to get everyone on board as soon as possible. Then, provide additional practice time and mentorship for the most complex operations.

Only once you’re certain your team is ready to take on this new challenge can you start using the new software.

  • Integrate With Other Apps & Software

Even though you’re building a new system for your organization, you still need to keep what’s best from the old system. Integrating the new CRM with the previously used third-party apps and software is a must.

So, the next step includes you deciding which third-party apps you’ll continue using and then integrating them with the new CRM system.

It could be anything that makes your organization perform better- from Slack to MailChimp, just as long as it makes things run smoothly.

  • Test

The system you chose will come with a set of requirements it needs to meet. You’ll set your expectations according to what the vendors promise you. But, you can’t just trust them blindly.

Instead, you should perform CRM testing to see if things are running smoothly, as promised. So, make sure to:

  • test for deficiencies, errors, and bugs
  • check all the functionalities
  • read the specification carefully

You need to be sure that you receive what you’re paying for and are able to face new challenges.

  • Launch

Launching your new system will be the final step that you’ll be ready to take only once all the previous steps have been completed. You’ve done all the necessary preparation and you’re ready to move all your data and operations to the new environment.

  • Measure Adoption

Your employees are well-trained but you need to ensure they’re using their knowledge the way they should. 

So, monitor their activity on the new system and help them onboard successfully.

  • Assess

Still, once the launching is finished, you’ll need to keep your eyes wide open for potential issues and bugs. 

Also, it’s important to monitor the performance of your CRM system and ensure it’s helping your business the way it’s supposed to. If your business undergoes additional changes, you’ll need to re-think the features and functionalities you’re using and potentially change your preferences.

Final Thoughts

Yes, CRM implementation may seem like a huge bite for you at first. There’s so much to think about, analyze, and decide on. Plus, you need to assemble a team of people to help you do it right. But, with a strong strategy and detailed plan on how to do it, you’ll be able to perform a successful CRM implementation process without any trouble.

The guide we’ve shared above will help you prepare for this process, one step at a time. Use it to remove doubts and triumph at CRM implementation for your organization.

image source: Pexels

Devyni būdai išlaikyti produktyvumą sunkiu laikotarpiu: 

  • Ribokite naujienų apie karą srautą.

Europą purto didžiausias nuo šaltojo karo laikų konfliktas – išbandymas žmoniškumui ir didžiulė grėsmė viso regiono saugumui ir stabilumui. Rusijos sukeltam karui Ukrainoje tęsiantis jau daugiau nei dvi savaites, daugelis susiduria su nerimu, sumažėjusiu produktyvumu ir galimybėmis susikaupti įprastai kasdienei veiklai. Nieko nuostabaus – žmonės yra bendruomeniškos būtybės.  Stebint beprasmiškas mirtis ir kančią istoriškai ir kultūriškai mums artimoje valstybėje negalime likti abejingi. Nors tai yra normali reakcija, demonstruojanti mūsų empatiją ir rūpestį, susidoroti su emocijų antplūdžiu gali būti sudėtinga. 

Daugelio iš mūsų kasdienybę užpildė nuolatinis naujienų iš fronto tikrinimas, bandant suprasti, kodėl visa tai vyksta ir ieškant vilties žiburiu – pranešimų apie laimėtus mūšius. Karo beprasmybė palieka mus nesibaigiančiame minčių rate, bandant atsakyti į klausimą, kodėl visa tai vyksta. Tačiau, norėdami padėti Ukrainai, visų pirma turime padėti patys sau. Tai reiškia rūpinimąsi savo fizine ir emocine sveikata. Vertėtų nepamiršti kasdienių įpročių ir mažų ritualų, kurie padėtų išlaikyti dienos ritmą ir produktyvumą darbe. Nors įprasta veikla šiuo metu gali atrodyti beprasmė, tačiau svarbu, kad kiekvienas visuomenės narys toliau stengtųsi būti naudingas, prisidėtų prie ekonomikos funkcionavimo ir stabilumo šiuo sudėtingu laikotarpiu. 

Taigi, kaip galime padėti sau, kad galėtume padėti kitiems? 

Visų pirma verta imtis priemonių, kurios padėtų suvaldyti emocijas ir apsaugotų mintis nuo informacijos pertekliaus. Grąžinus į gyvenimą ritmą ir stabilumą, galėsite ramiau reaguoti į išorės įvykius. Štai keletas nesudėtingai įgyvendinamų patarimų, kurie padės atrasti vidinę ramybę, kiek tai įmanoma šiuo sunkiu laiku: 

  • Ribokite naujienų apie karą srautą. Pranešimų apie karo Ukrainoje eigą gausa tiesiog stulbina. Šis karinis konfliktas yra pirmasis pasaulio istorijoje, kuris yra taip gausiai įamžintas. Išmaniųjų technologijų ir socialinių tinklų dėka mus pasiekia net smulkiausios detalės iš fronto, tarp kurių ir itin žiaurūs, karo nusikaltimams prilyginami vaizdai. Tokiu būdu agresijos prieš laisvą šalį beprasmybė jaučiama visame pasaulyje. Įsitraukimas ir nuolatinis naujienų iš karo tikrinimas gali tapti tam tikra priklausomybe. Pabandykite apriboti tokios informacijos kiekį ir dažnumą. Jums gali padėti vadinamasis “Pomodoro” metodas. Nustatykite laikmatį ir 25 minutes dirbkite, po to 5-10 minučių skirkite poilsiui. Pertraukos pabaigai taip pat nustatykite priminimą. Tai padės ne tik produktyviau dirbti, bet ir apriboti naujienų apie karą srautą. Po trijų tokių ciklų, skirkite daugiau laiko poilsiui – bent pusvalandį ar valandą. Šį kartą iš tiesų pailsėkite – ne tik nuo darbo, tačiau ir nuo naujienų, ekranų, galbūt ir nuo kolegų. Stenkitės prablaškyti savo mintis, pailsėkite nuo informacijos, kad galėtume tinkamai ją apdoroti. 
  • Pasivaikščiokite. Sportas – puiki priemonė padedanti valdyti stresą. Jei šiuo sudėtingu laikotarpiu nepavyksta ryžtis intensyviai treniruotei namuose ar kelionei iki sporto klubo, pažadėkite sau bent jau pasivaikščioti. Mūsų nervinė sistema vis dar mena protėvių, kurie gausybę laiko praleido vaikščiodami, laikus. Ši veikla padeda įveikti stresą, pyktį, liūdesį ir kitas slogias emocijas, kurias daugelis iš mūsų šiuo metu jaučiame. Vaikščiokite bent 15 minučių ar ilgiau, porą kartų dienoje. Rezultatą pajusite netrukus. 
  • Ribokite alkoholio ir nikotino vartojimą. Emocinę įtampą mažinti psichotropinių medžiagų pagalba nėra geras pasirinkimas. Trumpuoju laikotarpiu alkoholis ar kitos priklausomybę sukeliančios medžiagos gali padėti užsimiršti ir atsipalaiduoti. Tačiau toks poveikis tėra iliuzija. Ilguoju laikotarpiu žalingi įpročiai sukels tik didesnę emocinę sumaištį, taip pat padidins fizinį kūno patiriamą stresą. Sekite suvartojamo alkoholio ir nikotino kiekius, stenkitės šių medžiagų nevartoti daugiau nei įprasta. Jei įmanoma – iš viso atsisakykite. 
  • Išsikelkite sau realistiškus tikslus ir siekite juos įgyvendinti. Šiuo metu atmosfera pasaulyje bauginanti ir chaotiška. Visiškai suprantama, jei jaučiatės prastai. Dėl šios priežasties verta nekelti sau nepamatuotų lūkesčių darbe ir asmeniniame gyvenime. Suprantama, kad negalėsite atlikti įprastų užduočių visų 100 procentų. Neverta graužtis dėl sumažėjusio produktyvumo. Verčiau stenkitės atlikti užduotis geriausiai kaip galite ir būkite sau atlaidūs kuomet nepavyksta išlaikyti įprasto tempo. 
  • Ribokite nereikalingus streso šaltinius. Įprastai galime toleruoti ir įveikti daug smulkių kasdienių streso šaltinių. Tačiau ne šiomis dienomis – daug mažų dirgiklių gali peraugti į didelę emocinę problemą. Visi turime smulkių ir ne itin svarbių reikalų, kurie savo eilės ir dėmesio laukia mėnesių mėnesius. Dabar ne laikas dėl jų griaužtis, leiskite sau juos pamiršti ir nesileiskite jų blaškomi. 
  • Stenkitės maitintis sveikai. Krentant produktyvumui dažnai kenčia sveiki įpročiai. Neefektyviai praleistas darbo valandas kompensuojama laiku, kurį skirtume maisto gamybai ir valgymui atsipalaidavus. Nesveikas, saldus ir greitai paruošiamas maistas taip pat gali atrodyti viliojanti išeitis patiriant stresą, skubant ir siekiant greitos emocinės paguodos. Tačiau, greičiausiai, suprantate, kad tokie pasirinkimai veda į uždarą kaltės ir vis mažėjančio produktyvumo ratą. Skirkite pakankamai laiko pertraukoms pavalgyti.
  • Išbandykite meditaciją. Kuomet mintyse chaosas, gali neužtekti tiesiog patogiai įsitaisyti ir nusiraminti. Išbandykite vedamą meditaciją, kuri padės sąmoningai ilsėtis.Tam skirtų programėlių ir grojaraščių galite rasti YouTube arba Spotify. Koncentruojantis į kito žmogaus balsą nusiraminti bus lengviau, nei savarankiškai bandant kovoti su neramiomis ir nuolat galvoje besisukančiomis mintimis. 
  • Vienu metu susitelkite į vieną užduotį. Bandymas daugiau suspėti atliekant kelis darbus vienu metu jus tik dar labiau išvargins. Prisiminkite “Pomodoro” metodą. Dirbdami atsiribokite nuo visų įmanomų išorės dirgiklių, ypač socialinių tinklų ir naujienų portalų pranešimų. Vienu metu atlikite tik vieną darbą. Šiuo laikotarpiu sunku atsiriboti nuo slogių minčių. Neapsunkinkite savęs dar labiau šokinėdami tarp kelių skirtingų užduočių.  
  • Apmąstykite savo vertybes ir jomis vadovaukitės priimdami sprendimus. Ramūs galime būti tuomet, kuomet tikime, kad elgiamės teisingai. Akivaizdu, kad šiuo metu, vykstant karui, susiduriame su didele neteisybe. Natūralu, kad kyla noras prisidėti, siekiant šią padėti ištaisyti. Daug žmonių pasaulyje jau prisidėjo prie savanorių kariaujančių Ukrainoje. Tačiau ne visi turi tam reikiamų įgūdžių ir galimybių. Tam, kad padėtume Ukrainai kovoti už laisvę, nebūtina atsidurti fronte. Padėti galite aukoti pinigus arba savanoriaudami. Šio įrašo gale rasite aktualias nuorodas. Dabar kaip niekad svarbu neprarasti bendruomeniškumo jausmo, prisidėti prie panašiai mąstančių ir aktyviai veikiančių bei pagalbą nukentėjusiems nuo karo teikiančių žmonių. Mažais žingsneliais ir gerais darbais galima atstatyti teisingumo jausmą ir puoselėti viltį. 

9 Ways to Keep Your Productivity during hard times:

  1. Limit your exposure to war news.
  2. Take a walk.
  3. Limit Alcohol/Nicotine intake.
  4. Set realistic goals and expectations.
  5. Examine your values and live by them.
  6. Reduce unnecessary stress triggers.
  7. Eat healthy at least once a day.
  8. Try guided meditation.
  9. Reduce multi-tasking.

It’s the N’th day since our daily life flipped to something of a dystopia playing in front of our eyes. We, as humans, are social animals, and seeing members of our society suffering so needlessly, pushes our brains into a loop of trying to find an explanation why is it happening? Many of us find ourselves lost in thoughts and emotions. Many can’t stop reading through all the news for that glimmer of hope. Searching or those small battles won. Looking at the horrors of war, reminding ourselves, that currently, we as a society, are choosing between our humanity and the chance of losing it all.

And for many of us, we feel locked by our emotions. Our brain is stuck in a constant loop of looking for a reason. But to help Ukraine, we need to keep our mental health strong. We need to be able to focus and be productive. We need to support our governments, so they could support Ukraine now. Most important – to rebuild Ukraine in the future. We need to keep our economies strong even with the energy prices rising and the war raging. 

So how to help yourself, so you could help others?

I started looking for a way, to control my emotions, to try and stop my brain from burnout with all that information overload. Constant thoughts, looking for a logical answer that does not exist. I came to these things that may help you during these hard times:

  1. Limit your exposure to war news. Both: the frequency and the amount. It is the first, so well documented, act of aggression against a free nation, with all of its war crimes and horror at your fingertips, constantly being updated. What may help you is an old productivity trick, called the Pomodoro technique. Set a timer on one of your smart devices or download a chrome plugin. The quick explanation is – turn on a timer and work for 25 minutes, then have a 5-10 minutes break. Use a timer for a break as well so you would not get lost in the news. During one of those short breaks, you might find it grounding to briefly check “what’s buzzing today?” offering a lighter way to reorient without overwhelm. After 3 Pomodoro, take a longer 20-30 minutes break. But here take a real break, from work, news, and even other people if possible. As your brain needs to digest everything that is happening. I myself do it with 90 Minutes of windows and 15 minutes breaks, with an hour’s break after 2 or 3.
  2. Take a walk. For some, it is already hard to leave the bed in the morning, so we can forget about offering aerobic exercise. However, walking is an amazing stress reliever as well. Our nervous systems were built for our ancestors that walked daily and with the amount of stress and anger, a lot of us are feeling – walking some of it out, helps wonders. I would recommend doing it at least twice a day, for at least 15 minutes.
  3. Limit Alcohol/Nicotine intake. For many, these help to forget, get lost and relax. However, that is only a perception. Both of them create physical stress on our bodies. And when your head is in the wrong place, you may not notice, how you’re increasing your average intake. Count how much you consume and pre-agree with yourself on what you will consume.
  4. Set realistic goals and expectations. You are not okay. The world is not okay. The situation is not okay and you should understand that. If we can’t deliver 100%, we should understand it and not beat ourselves down for it. There is already enough stress in our current situation, just deliver the best you can, but dedicate time slots for it.
  5. Examine your values and live by them. It is important for our brains to act the way we believe is right. And for many – the current situation is not right at all. There are many, that are already left to help on the front lines, but not all of us, have the skills and the ability. However, you can always join your local protest and donate to the charities and Ukrainian government to support them during this horrible war. You can find details about this below. Now more than ever you need to join people that think the same and fight for what you think is right as your brain needs assurance, that humanity stands against it so that you could keep your humanity.
  6. Reduce unnecessary stress triggers.  There were a lot of small stress triggers, that we could ignore, but now, every bit matters. Remove those small things, that are causing you stress. Maybe it is a small task you keep on forgetting. Maybe is something you promised yourself to do – but in the current situation it doesn’t matter anymore, so let go of it.
  7. Eat healthy at least once a day.I noticed getting more and more lost in eating mostly pre-made and junk food, because I tried to compensate for the lost productivity by spending less time on making and consuming food, then I would want comforting food due to the emotional load and the feeling of guilt for underperforming. Finding simple ways to prepare something fresh — even using a beginner friendly slow juicer — can make healthy choices feel effortless and help you rebuild consistency. However, getting at least one proper, homemade meal a day goes a long way for your mental and physical health.
  8. Try guided meditation. There are apps and playlists on youtube and Spotify. When you are already overwhelmed and your brain has issues with comprehending the situation it is close to impossible to do a proper meditation, without assistance if you are not a professional at it. However guided meditations help with it, as you can focus on another person talking to you, instead of trying to push your own thoughts away.
  9. Reduce multi-tasking. This one works perfectly with the Pomodoro technique. During your period of work mute all communication apps. Focus on one task at a time. We all know that there will be thoughts in the background, that are already hard to control. 

We can only hope, that freedom and democracy will win and the current situation does not escalate into nuclear war. But for that, we need to keep on going and support Ukraine. 

You can help Ukraine by donating to one of these accounts :

National Bank of Ukraine Special Account to Raise Funds for Ukraine’s Armed Forces

Official Ukraine Crypto Account

Hospitaller (the pinned post has the account data )

Blue Yellow ( an organization active since the Crimea invasion)

Ukraine RedCross

Header Photo by Andrea Piacquadio

Tools that can boost conversion rates by 300%, sales by 29%, productivity by 34%—yes, these are powers of customer relationship management (CRM) systems. A technology that is the cornerstone in customer relationship marketing provides a helping hand for most sales and customer support teams. Still, a proper CRM system can assist in all the departments, including marketing, logistics, IT, finance, or other employees—better internal communication and increased productivity are just a few among many benefits. And even though there is a large variety, there are websites like Sofware World that provide software comparison and make choosing best lead management software an easy task.

A simple fact: 91% of businesses with ten or more employees use CRM software. The number witnesses that CRM can be beneficial for almost any company, despite its activity. Plenty of possibilities allow you to choose software that is the best fit for your business. A CRM tool helps in storing and organizing customer/prospect/lead contact information, identifying sales opportunities, scheduling appointments, recording issues, managing marketing campaigns, and so on. And all this information is centralized in one database that is conveniently available to any employee who might need any data.

CRM has a lot to offer. But how to get the best out of it? Here are the four best CRM practices that can boost your business success.

  1. Live and targeted communication

Integrating a customer communication solution, such as Intercom, opens up the way for more efficient and successful customer relations. First of all—with Intercom, you can run targeted live communication: chat real-time with the customers on your website or Facebook. Integrated products also allow you to interact inside your web and mobile apps, by email, SMS, etc. A few numbers about live chats: one reply in a chat increases a visitor conversion to 50%. Besides targeted communication that pays off, another pro is convenience: all communication is in one place. That leads to smooth and effective communication with any customer. And we all know the power of positive customer experience, right?

Here is how it looks from the Intercom’s side:

Also, live communication helps you have a more detailed view of customers: not only salespeople but also the customer support team collects the information about the clients. So you double your resources of customer knowledge!

  1. Efficient customer support

When you have a lot of information about your customers, it gets easy to meet their needs. Managing requests properly is one of the key factors in successful customer service relationships. Integrating a request management tool—e.g., Zendesk—is a huge help here. It allows seeing all the data about customers and their requests in one place—including who and how solved particular questions. It is super convenient if you want a smooth collaboration between customer service and sales teams. They both have access to the same data, everyone can see the newest information, and close the cases faster. So you can keep high-quality customer relation way easier.

  1. Exploiting custom fields and tagging

Segmenting customers is another CRM practice bringing benefits for sales. For example, Teamgate CRM makes this process super easy, smart, and highly customizable. There is plenty of possibilities to exploit custom fields and tags functions. You can create them according to the company’s needs—some may find useful tagging by marital status, for others access to the client’s LinkedIn profile would be invaluable. Tags may refer to the customer lifecycle stage (lead, prospect, customer), action taken (filling contact form, downloading an ebook, making an order), interests, and so on. They are generally used for info that can quickly change. Meanwhile, custom fields are convenient for a more permanent data: name, phone number, birthday, employment status, social network profiles, membership duration, subscription type, company size, revenue (continue as desired). In Teamgate CRM, there are four main custom field categories—People, Companies, Leads, and Deals—which you can fulfill with further detailed info about each of them.

In any case, segmenting customers generously assists in reporting, filtering, searching, and—of course—targeted marketing. If you send an email with a personalized subject line, the open rate increases by up to 26%. What’s more, researches show that targeted emails generate around 58% of revenue for a company. Personalization is not the future of marketing—it is present already.

  1. Leveraging analytics

Nowadays, marketing is data-driven. A CRM system is made to collect and organize customer data, so why not using this to the max? When you have a clear picture of your customer, it gets way simpler to present a customer-specific offer. And modern CRM tools are capable of generating data-driven decisions that are based on the most recent, real-time information. They can perform analysis (thus saving your valuable time)—so you can instantly see and interpret the metrics, spot the weakest points, and the most promising ones.

Any company can make the best fit

These customer relationship marketing best practices show that CRM tools bring benefits to companies of all sizes. Convenience, time efficiency, better customer relations, better customer experience, profitable marketing, bigger revenue—these are several advantages of how CRM can help. It is especially useful for small or medium companies that often need an effective solution for streamlining the processes. The mentioned practices testify that CRM can be customized and adapted precisely to each company’s needs—and this is an efficient way to achieve maximum results.

Enhance Customer Experiences and Increase Revenue by Storing Live Chat Information in Your CRM

A century ago, the world was buzzing with excitement about a new lucrative industry that promised to transform the way we live – oil. In the digital era we live in today, that industry is data. In business, analyzing data allows us to action evidence-based business decisions in a way that was never possible in the past. It grants us deeper insight into how our customers behave and what they really feel about our products and their experiences with our brands. It’s a smarter way of doing business. One that leads to improved ROI, increased customer loyalty, and better customer experiences.

Today we’re going to delve into how including live chat information in your CRM supports these goals of a data-driven future. We’ll be discussing the importance of live chat CRM software, specifically focusing on Intercom CRM integration. Let’s take a look.

The Importance of Having Live Chat Information in Your CRM

CRMs have been continually evolving both in style and functionality in recent years. Advanced and varied integration options are now a common feature of CRMs. In recent years there has also been an increased focus on offering multiple communication channels to customers. The logic is simple: people are a varied bunch, and as such, our communication preferences vary. This shift goes hand in hand with the increased focus on shaping customer experiences.

While companies of the past would predominantly compete on price, today companies compete by offering excellent customer experiences. Convenience is a huge commodity in the digital age, and consumers have made it clear that if you can make their interactions with a company easy, convenient, and painless, they will keep coming back. Customers also favor companies who have a thorough understanding of their wants and needs, and this is something that can only be achieved through data analysis.

Today, live chat is the leading digital contact method. Customers expect to be able to talk to companies in real-time over chat. Live chat solutions benefit both businesses and customers. One study by Kayako found that 79% of businesses reported that implementing live chat resulted in increased sales and revenue, as well as increased customer loyalty.

The usefulness of live chat goes beyond simply offering a different communication preference that customers enjoy. All live chat conversations can be easily collected, stored, and analyzed. This means you have a continuous historical snapshot of your customers at all times. This becomes possible with Teamgate and Intercom CRM integration. A fully integrated Teamgate and Intercom CRM allows you to see the full picture and take a dynamic approach to supporting your customers.

The Benefits of Collecting Live Chat Information in Your CRM

  • Centricity – Client information can be better analyzed if it’s all in one place. Sales and customer support agents have instant and comprehensive access to customer information. They can use this information to inform their upsell or support strategy.
  • Cohesion between teams – Both the customer support team and the sales team have access to all information. This means that the salesperson can gain a deeper understanding of the day to day struggles of the customer and use this to empathize and build a rapport with them when going for the sale.
  • Communication styles – By its nature, live chat is a great way to have fast and less formal interactions with your customers. A more light-hearted approach to communication allows customers to share their thoughts and feelings more freely. The benefit of this is that customers will often tell you how to best help them. They will tell you what they want. They will tell you what they like about your products, as well as any negative experiences they’ve had. This information is invaluable.
  • Access to Information – The average customer service response time on live chat is 2 minutes. When you compare that with social media (10 hours) or email (17 hours), it’s easy to see why live chat is often preferred by customers. For businesses, the quicker you can respond to customers, the better. Not all customers will wait for a response, some will simply move on and forget about it. When this happens, you’ve missed the opportunity to learn more about that customer.
  • Analysis Made Easier – It’s easier to analyze text data than recorded voice data from calls. Although voice recognition software is improving each year, it’s still much easier to gain powerful insights from text data.

What Does Intercom CRM Integration Look Like?

When you integrate Intercom with your CRM, all chat information from your clients will be attached to the client’s contact card in the CRM. This means you will have a complete communication history right in front of you when you need it the most (each time you interact with that customer).

Who Benefits From Intercom CRM Integration?

We’ve already established that live chat is a convenient way to connect with your customers in real-time and offer more value. But where does this integration have the most impact? Is it primarily for large businesses, or do small and medium-sized businesses stand to make huge gains too?

The truth is, while businesses of all sizes can experience great benefits from Intercom CRM integration, small and medium-sized businesses stand to gain the most. For small and medium-sized businesses, curating excellent customer experiences is how you set yourself apart from the competition. When you cultivate convenience, create positive memories, and deliver the customer exactly what they want, you can greatly increase customer loyalty and boost your retention rates. Although studies on this topic vary considerably on the exact numbers, the pattern is clear: customer acquisition is always more expensive than customer retention.

Get Started Today!

Teamgate CRM offers an exclusive and direct integration that is unique in the market. With Intercom and CRM integration, every conversation with a customer via live chat is automatically displayed as part of the communication history on your Teamgate CRM. We are committed to empowering businesses to achieve their goals of effective and efficient communication with customers.