Lessons Learned Blog Category | Teamgate CRM

Once you understand this single thing, you will be able to reach any goal you could ever set for yourself.

Understand That Success And Goal Setting Is Boring (Here Is Why)

That is true. That is what makes most sales people lag behind. Before jumping to any goal setting exercise, you have to understand that goal setting is a dreary thing. It is like you are making life hard for yourself, instead of having fun and doing whatever you want.

It is a life of self-denial. It is repetitions of the same principles and fundamental until you get to an “auto-pilot state”. That “auto-pilot state” is where doing almost anything seems natural to you. The truth is ONLY few salespeople reach that state.

How to Make Goal Achieving an Automatic Thing for Your Mind

Once you get that setting goals and success is boring subject, then the next logic thing is doing whatever you can to make it second nature in your life. Fortunately, there are some principles that you need to follow every single day to make the goal setting habit and a second nature in your life.

Here is what you need to do:

1. Learn to Motivate Yourself

If you are in sales and all you do is wait for your sales manager to give you a pep talk, then you will never get ahead. Successful people are those who motivate themselves every single day.

Now, you are probably asking, “How do I motivate myself?” It is simple. All you need to do is read more books in the subject of sales. At least, read one book a month about the topic of sales and marketing.

Doing this simple thing will give you more confidence and make you be able to think about sales. You will come up with more ideas that can help you improve your sales results improve each single month.

2. Know the 5 Systems in Sales and Improve In Each Area

Maybe you have sales goals, but the main reason why you are failing is that you do not know the 5 systems that go into a successful sales system. If you find yourself failing in sales and marketing, it is because you have not mastered the following key areas:

Prospecting
Cold calling
Follow-up
Presentation
Closing The Sale

For you to be successful in selling, all you need is to learn the five key areas and improve on them.

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Now, take a sheet of paper and give yourself on a scale of 1 to 10 how you are good at this critical area. Once you have identified that, go to the bookstore and buy a book that can help you improve in that vital area. Read it, take good notes, and practice it. The best time to read is early in the morning before you leave for work. That will give you more motivation.

3. Write Your Daily Goals Every Single Morning

You have heard it countless number of times, “You can’t hit a goal that you can’t see.”

You need to put your goals in writing. You must feel it and see it. And writing it down happens to be the best way of getting your goals to stick into your subconscious mind. The other benefit of writing is that it helps you achieve clarity on what you want to focus the most. When doing this process, you will face one setback. The first two days will be easier for you to write down your daily goals. However, the third day you will feel bored. It happens to every person, but you have to keep going.

4. Make Goal Setting a ‘Habit’ In Your Life

For you to make goal setting a routine in your life, you need 40 days. You need 40 days to make plans and to follow them non-stop. If you keep a goal of getting 50 prospects in a day, you have to force yourself to do whatever the circumstances call to get those prospects. If it is doing 10 presentations a week, it should be that. If you can do that within the next 40 days, couple of things will happen.

You will get the confidence and motivation to boost your sales
You will be in the ‘auto-pilot’ state where you will have mastered all the sales systems.

Finally, the 40-day challenge can help you bring a new habit or learn new techniques in sales. And if you can maintain it for the long-term, your sales goals will improve. Setting goals and achieving them is difficult and easy. It will be easy if you follow the above four principles. It will be hard if you make it hard for yourself. Goals are important because they act as a forcing system that can get you ahead in life. From today, see goal setting as a bridge to your dreams in life.

Now that the Rio Olympics have ended – let’s see what we can learn from the world-class athletes who competed there.

These athletes are working to go to the pinnacle of physical achievement; this means whatever lessons you learn can be applied to achieve entrepreneurial or sales success.

1. Prepare to the Best of Your Ability

This lesson is the most important and fundamental lesson you can learn from an Olympian. Do whatever you can to prepare.

Gather information by reading the bestsellers or joining networking events. Work tirelessly on your projects. Work out the kinks by going through the process again and again. Familiarize yourself with the ins and outs of the company or way of work.

“Luck Is What Happens When Preparation Meets Opportunity” – Seneca

Olympians prepare for every scenario and outcome, and so should you. Work down to the last detail and you will have maximized your chances of luck working in your favor.

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2. Adjust to the Circumstances

It is not uncommon to find, despite your preparations, things aren’t going your way. It is necessary to be able to improvise and keep going when your plans fail you.

You can see it is a common occurrence with rhythmic gymnasts to keep going and finish the routine when they lose or drop their apparatus. They know that their slip up will cost them valuable points and time, but it is even more important to salvage what time is remaining and complete the routine.

So it is that you too must keep going if and when a mistake happens. But it can be helped by some of the preparations you’ve made. Being knowledgeable and familiar with your work makes it easy to improvise and get back on track. Do not be discouraged!

3. Find a Mentor

Every athlete looking to compete on the world stage has a coach. Their coach trains them, provides them with knowledge accumulated through the years, has necessary connections, and much more. Why would you forgot a mentor as well?

This lesson is important for the young generation as well as the experienced. An instructor allows you to observe techniques and skills in a live environment. You will get first-hand experience and knowledge from the source. You’ll also be able to save a lot of time from trial and error through mentor teachings. With another person present, you’ll have the ability to bounce ideas off of them and compare notes to track progress. Remember to learn from them!

The second option, if a mentor is unavailable, is to join a group of peers who share the same interests and goals as you do. You’ll be in constant competition, keep up to date with current trends and ideas, and have help available to you if you fall short.

A side effect of having peers with the same goals is that it keeps you on track and avoids procrastination or other distractions. You’ll be improving because the group will be improving. It is a similar dynamic to Olympic teams; teammates push each other to do better constantly because there are limited spots available in an event.

4. Work In Cycles

Our bodies naturally perform in cycles. The most common cycle is the circadian rhythm. Our body’s natural clock functions in a daily cycle; this means the body functions in 24-hour periods. We work, eat, sleep, and do whatever else we need to do in these 24 hours. This idea is true for people on earth as it is for astronauts in space.

Olympians know that rest is vital to their performance because it is necessary after a day of training. So, this too applies to the salesperson. After working a long day, trying to close or learn a new technique, you must set aside time to recover. Take a break and don’t think about work. Do anything but work. Remember, work and then rest. On and off.

5. Always Set Goals

Athletes prepare for the Olympics months and years in advance. With this long period, it is easy to lose sight of your goals because what you want isn’t in the immediate future. Now, what do athletes do to stay on track each day?

They set goals for themselves. Long term goals that are years away can be made easier by breaking them down into monthly goals. Then, those goals are made more precise into daily tasks. Now, you have small checkpoints to know you’re keeping on track.

Do not underestimate the power of this technique. Spend some time to do a small task and it will be easier to do more. Then, do it every day and you’ll have reached your goals sooner than later.

6. Assume the Sale

If you have watched the Olympics, you will notice some athletes definitively stating they will take home the Gold. You will almost always see this type of declaration in Boxing. You may ask yourself, how can they say this and not worry about backing it up?

What is important to note here is the mentality these athletes have. They already assume they’re going to win, and so they shall as the saying goes. It even helps them because if they have made such a bold statement, then there is no choice but to make it come true.

Take sales for an example. It is the case that assuming you will get the sale naturally leads to the sale. Your mind focuses on the goal, and your body acts accordingly. It is a powerful tool and useful reference point for you to have when you are working.

In conclusion

If you follow these six lessons, you will see an increase in your productivity and results. Do all you can to prepare; then lady luck will be on your side. If, in the slimmest of chances, fate goes against you, adapt to the circumstances! Learn from an expert, or from the like-minded. Keep in mind that, work and rest are two sides of the same coin. Use goals as a tool to keep on track for long-term ventures. And when all of that is complete, have the mindset of someone who has already won.

“The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated” – William James.

Are you looking for new leads or working on retaining current customers? Of course, you are. Customers are such an important part of any business that a big amount of time and money are spent on them. And don’t waste time and money when you get new customers, just to forget about them after they’ve bought your product or service. Keep them interested and loyal to you. Let’s learn how.

In order to generate more leads and, ultimately, convert them to more sales, you should build strong trust and loyalty, both of which are very important.

Build A Strong Company Culture

Let’s take a look at a natural leader, Genghis Khan, and see what we can learn from him. He advocated loyalty to the group first and foremost. This focus on his people’s well-being is what made them so strong as a clan. As it is in business, you should do the same. Focus on the people you work with first and they in turn will treat customers differently. In psychology, it’s called the trickledown effect.

But how do you do this? One way is to give appreciation where it is deserved. As people, one of our most important needs is to feel appreciated. Let an employee know he’s doing a good job. Encourage an atmosphere of positivity and growth instead of one of stagnation. Compliment someone based on their merit and you will have built a strong bond between you and them.

Empathize With Your Customers

Think about your customers first. Think about their needs and wants. In one of my sales jobs, I had attended a company meeting to discuss sales and strategies. One of the most important points I learned was about buyer archetypes.

Given the different variety of customers who walk in to your store, it is important to filter out who will be the most likely to buy and who won’t. The way to do this is to group customers by certain traits, and these traits would be our way of approaching them.

It’s easy to dismiss this when it’s widely taught, but it’s very important because this acts as a cheat sheet to know what the customer wants and their way of thinking. Letting the customer know that you understand them and their priorities is what builds a relationship with the customer. In turn, it builds loyalty and retention. Ultimately, this leads to sales conversion.

Don’t Hold Back The Truth

When you have to tell a customer something unfortunate, tell them. If you do, they will know you’re being honest with them, because who wants to be the bearer of bad news? If you don’t, you run the risk of them finding out later and that leaves a very bad impression.

Another point about telling people the whole truth is they will see you as someone who is looking out for them. Even if they don’t like what they hear, they will feel good knowing you’re not hiding anything from them. This ties back to feeling appreciated, mentioned above.

Always Go The Extra Mile

This applies to everything. Listen to the customer when you’re talking with them. Take down notes on each customer so the interaction becomes personalized. Ask for and say their name once or twice. Ask questions about the customer and try to teach them something new. Give them something of quality whether it is content or product. A good example is to give insight about your competitors or peers. You’ll be seen as an expert in your field and someone everybody can go to for advice.

These things add up, and even if the customer doesn’t know it, they’ll come to trust you.

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Relationships Are More Important Than The Sale

Remember, relationships come first and then the sale. Always build the bond between you and the customer. Do this by following up with them over the phone or email. Another way can be mentioning something that was previously brought up in conversation. Like I’ve mentioned before, all these details add up.

This does two things:

It allows the customer to feel important. The more important they feel, the higher they’ll hold you in similar regard.
It builds repetitiveness in their mind each time you connect with them. Repetition allows you to stay on their mind. The customer will likely remember you after you’ve chatted with them on an ongoing basis.

Do this at least two or three times. How do you know when you’ve built a trusted relationship? A good indicator is when they ask you for advice on their problems. But when you have this trust, be very careful not to break it.

When broken, it is extremely difficult to get back.

Conclusion

You must start from within and build a sense of community focused on loyalty and wellness. Then you can focus on your customers and getting to understand them. Next, you be honest with customers and never hide details from them. At the same time, you do what you can to go above and beyond! Lastly, follow up! Let them know you value the relationship between you and them more than the sale. Do this and you will see your customer base and sales increase!

Customer Relationship Management software, in theory, is a godsend for companies everywhere. It offers many different capabilities in all areas of operation. It offers the capability to handle automated phone calls for customer service, generate marketing campaigns based on the stored information of customers, and streamline data entry processes so employees can spend less time inputting information into spreadsheets. Companies should be leaping at the opportunity to use this technology and cut back on other operating expenses, then, right?

CRM Software – Pitfalls and Confusion

As it stands, CRM software is subject to the same pitfalls and confusions that any disorganized department within the company would be, and these pitfalls cost money. Data gets inputted incorrectly or not at all, leading to inaccurate information; records of phone calls aren’t recorded properly, so customers may receive duplicate calls regarding a product or issue; inaccurate data on a person’s whereabouts leads to completely irrelevant marketing campaigns being generated for them. The issues are numerous. So why invest a bunch of money in this new software and then have to double back and input the data that CRM software misses? It’s understandable that many companies out there don’t want to use it just yet.

While there is hope on the horizon, it’s difficult to say how close or far away we are from a point where the software can be effectively utilized across the board from a technological standpoint. There are issues that need ironed out, for sure. But companies have a lot to figure out in the interim, as well – there are some key issues that they face to implementing said software.

First, using CRM company-wide can prevent a lot of issues where the topic of keeping complete records is concerned. If every department utilizes the same technology, it greatly reduces the number of gaps in the records that are likely to be left. Many companies already utilize a common operating system that is slightly specialized for each department, for example; those companies that purchase the license for the software would be able to utilize CRM in the same way, specializing the platform slightly for each department so that the tools better suit their needs.

Is CRM Software A Substitute For Good Communication?

Communication is also key. CRM software at its peak is definitely capable, but it’s not a substitute for good communication within a company by any means. If departments just rely on CRM doing what it does and don’t bother to communicate otherwise, it will just lead to more confusion and inefficiency, which hurts the bottom line. Especially where sales and marketing departments are concerned, good communication is absolutely crucial, and the best way this can take place with CRM in use is to allow employees the ability to update information as necessary. With customer service complaints, for example, this function could be extremely important – for an issue that requires follow-up, the original person who spoke with the customer may not be available. And how frustrating would it be if the next person to help the customer had no prior knowledge of the situation, and CRM hadn’t effectively recorded the information? The customer and the customer service rep are both unhappy and more time has to be spent gathering information again. Giving employees the ability to update the information lessens the chance of this happening greatly. Again, CRM can be a very efficient tool, but employees need to be able to act as a safeguard against inefficiency when necessary.

Data Flow in CRM

Data flow is also extremely vital – systems used by a company have to be able to communicate. Without the ability to translate the information received across different programs the company uses, CRM is significantly less useful. The technology has to be able to suit everyone in the company, from a sales representative to a top executive. After all, what good is it if the data a customer service rep needs is in the CRM database, but is unavailable to the program used to handle customer service issues? We end up with a situation like the one previously mentioned: frustrated customer, frustrated employee. Data flow and the ability to cross-communicate will make all the difference in the world for companies looking to use CRM to streamline their operations processes.

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CRM software is a big investment for a company to make, especially in terms of time and budget. To make it work effectively requires a top-down overhaul: programs already in use need to be made compatible with CRM. Employees may need training to properly use the software. Policies regarding operations may need to change to reflect the way the new software is being used. Despite all of this, it can be worthwhile and can eventually save companies money in the long run by allowing them to cut down on expenses like payroll and preventing the need to outsource to more call centers. But these companies will have a lot to figure out about how the new software will require them to adapt. Without proper communication between employees and programs alike, and without making sure the system is used company-wide, CRM implementation can easily fail. That’s why you must take a closer look at charts of top CRM tools and make sure that CRM you plan to implement is capable to overcome all these pitfalls and confusions mentioned.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has undoubtedly come a long way from where it began. From robots programmed to play chess in the 1950s to AI designed to allow cars to run on autopilot, the technology has improved by leaps and bounds. Pattern recognition capabilities for AI have become so much more intricate and complex, especially with the advent of technologies like cognitive computing and natural language recognition. Now more than ever, artificial intelligence is able to receive extremely intricate inputs and make sense of the data collected. Where the technology sits today is a far cry from the artificial intelligence we knew just a decade ago; every day, more advancements are made. It is little wonder, then, that artificial intelligence is being looked at as a way to improve Customer Relationship Management software.

In theory, CRM software is wonderful. It collects input from all sorts of sources – phone calls, email correspondences, and the like – and neatly and accurately places all of that information into databases where it’s easily accessible for marketing and customer service purposes. It’s a dream come true for many companies – the ability of automated systems to accurately collect and utilize information has the potential to help cut back on large, difficult-to-control expenses like payroll.

Outsourcing to a computer should be more economically beneficial than outsourcing to a call center, after all. The efficiency of CRM allows sales reps to focus more on achieving sales goals and less on data input. It allows companies to generate marketing campaigns based on a customer’s geographic location, and it even knows when to send automated customer service and marketing calls. Customers never deal with blunders like duplicate sales calls, and companies get a much better return on their investment by making sure their marketing campaigns are as true to the target audience as possible. Great, right?

Data Leakage and Data Missing

Again, this technology is great in theory. The hope is that CRM is capable of doing all of this and more, but the reality is that some CRM tools just aren’t up to snuff. While it sounds crazy for a business to not jump on the CRM software bandwagon, many companies are still leery of the technology – and with good reason: it could be a huge investment for a system full of inconsistencies. At this time, many companies don’t want to even try to utilize the technology because some part of the CRM software on the market is plagued with potentially horrible problems like data leakage, inaccurate information, and sometimes even missing data altogether. The prevailing attitude among businesses these days seems to be that outsourcing to call centers is still more efficient and better for the bottom line than using the call centers’ automated counterparts – after all, a human can reason and logically deduce where to place that information as it is collected, leading to greater accuracy. Lots of businesses are using CRM, but many, many more are not. CRM technology needs to be improved – and AI has the answer for all of its troubles.

Having More Effective CRM for More Benefits

It’s a daunting task, but it can be done. The type of AI used today is what’s known as Artificial Narrow Intelligence, or ANI. This technology is everywhere – from your cell phone to your car’s fuel injection system. This kind of AI is designed to recognize a specific set of parameters and trigger a reaction to them. The chess-playing robots of the 1950s were incredible at chess, but don’t ask them to organize any files on your computer- they simply can’t do it.

ANI can be fine-tuned to recognize speech patterns and figure an according response; and this kind of technology is exactly what CRM needs in order to improve hyper-compartmentalized ANI components that excel at recognizing data and accurately inputting said data into the correct spot to be utilized later. Again, it’s more complicated than it sounds, but here’s where startup companies could swoop in to save the day.

Lots of startup companies may be focused on fine-tuning this technology to be successfully implemented in CRM software in the future, ultimately making it even more effective. Doing this has great advantages for all parties involved – by increasing CRM efficiency, the technology becomes more attractive to potential business customers – after all, higher accuracy means a better return on investment, and ultimately an even better bottom line. And startups can benefit by selling the improved software.

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Whether a company opts for cloud-based CRM – Software as a Service – or a CRM database hosted on their own server, the improvement in the quality and accuracy of the tech will be evident in sales, marketing techniques, and customer service. From chat bots pulling relevant information from correspondences and storing the data accordingly to more accurately tracking the geographical location of customers, the benefits are numerous.

Conclusion

Let it be said that this technology has a long way to go. The task is daunting and there are many pitfalls. However, with startup companies beginning to hone AI technology and implement it effectively in the future, the dream of even more effective CRM software may be closer to a reality than many of us realize.

In today’s competitive markets, any company delivering services or products needs to constantly market in a bid to try and reach more people. As your sales team works tirelessly looking for new leads daily, it may get harder and frustrating over time. This is where CRM comes in. Every company who sells something, whether items or services, needs CRM. A CRM tool is a necessity because:

1. It lets you register your contacts and leads

2. It is possible to track customer interactions and build networks

3. It helps you manage and store your customer data

When it comes to capturing new sales leads particularly, this can be one of the hardest tasks for any sales team. Previously, it involved a lot of hands on work on the company website, events and use of advertisements. However, with social media platforms like LinkedIn, reaching a greater number of potential clients has been made so much easier. The only issue now becomes management of the sites and integration with the company systems. This is where Social CRM comes in.

Deeper into Social CRM

This CRM feature, simply involves using technology and particularly social media to interact with customers and build networks. This is as a result one of the major business growth tools for any serious company. Taking the importance of social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and many others in marketing today, it is necessary that CRM systems integrate social media sites. Especially with younger generations as a target, companies use social media to bring attention to their services, products, or brands, in order to build up customer relationships and increase the overall demand.

By having platforms like LinkedIn on the database, companies can communicate with customers to get and also track feedback like opinions, complaints and experiences. With such information, a company can get more insight into how they are perceived and know how to improve. CRM software platforms can also combine these social media trends and the internal survey data to make a comprehensive report. Thus, you as a company can make better decisions and improve their brand, products or service.

Social CRM and LinkedIn

LinkedIn is great for looking for new opportunities and sales leads. Moreover, on LinkedIn, through use of customer communities, clients can directly post reviews and interact with you and fellow customers in real time.

By use of referrals and follows, a company can therefore capture new leads and easily reach new markets. Through such interactions, finding new potential customers and building relationships should be a much easier task! Therefore, it is easier for sales teams to go through the whole sales pipeline where they can easily find leads, work effortlessly to turn them into opportunities, and finally complete with a sale.

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This is not forgetting Mobile CRM which refers to CRM apps for tablets and smartphones. This makes work more mobile for marketing professionals and sales representatives using GPS and the LinkedIn mobile app. That way, they can easily offer quality services while on the go. Best of all, now there are some software tools which allow you to easily import data to your CRM tool directly from your LinkedIn profile, such as name, company name, title, email address and telephone number, if provided.

To conclude, companies nowadays should consider using these CRM tools that can offer some social integrations, creating value for every company to capture new leads faster and with less effort.

Understand That Success And Goal Setting Is Boring (Here Is Why)

How to Make Goal Achieving an Automatic Thing for Your Mind

1. Learn to Motivate Yourself

2. Know the 5 Systems in Sales and Improve In Each Area

Do you have a CRM that keeps you organised?

3. Write Your Daily Goals Every Single Morning

4. Make Goal Setting a ‘Habit’ In Your Life

1. Prepare to the Best of Your Ability

Do you have a CRM that keeps you organised?

2. Adjust to the Circumstances

3. Find a Mentor

4. Work In Cycles

5. Always Set Goals

6. Assume the Sale

In conclusion

“The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated” – William James.

Build A Strong Company Culture

Empathize With Your Customers

Don’t Hold Back The Truth

Always Go The Extra Mile

Do you have a CRM that keeps you organised?

Relationships Are More Important Than The Sale

Conclusion

CRM Software – Pitfalls and Confusion

Is CRM Software A Substitute For Good Communication?

Data Flow in CRM

Do you have a CRM that keeps you organised?

Data Leakage and Data Missing

Having More Effective CRM for More Benefits

Do you have a CRM that keeps you organised?

Conclusion

Deeper into Social CRM

Social CRM and LinkedIn

Do you have a CRM that keeps you organised?

Mobile applications

Safe payments

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