While 60 to 70 percent of distributors have a CRM system, only 10 percent are getting the most out it, according to Brian Gardner of SalesProcess360, and author of ROI from CRM, in Increase ROI from Existing Technology.
By not optimizing existing systems, you are potentially leaving dollars on the table, according to Gardner and other consultants, but a renewed focus on getting the most out of existing systems can yield numerous benefits.
“You can improve profitability by putting on a new front end to an old system,” says Bob Srdoch, owner, Laurel Consulting. “You can increase stickiness in terms of services for your customers because it will make it harder for them to leave.”
But this requires a culture change at many distributors. It takes the C-suite committing to technology and also ensuring the company’s early adopters will then champion existing technological capabilities to others.
“Companies should leverage the early adopters in their business, in their company,” Gardner says. “Make the other people in the company see the success that an early adopter is having with a system like this.”
Getting the most out of your technology, specifically your CRM, is the topic of an upcoming MDM Webcast, ROI from CRM: 3 Do's and Don'ts to Transform Your Sales Process, on Aug. 25 at 1 p.m. Eastern time.
In it, Gardner will present three do's and don’ts with CRM that will help you think differently about the sales process. He’ll talk about how a sales-driven approach to CRM and a focus on the front end of the sales process will uncover and convert more opportunities to grow your top and bottom lines.
Read more about putting the right processes in place to optimize current systems in Increase ROI from Existing Technology.
