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ACT! Software

Have you still been relying on the basic database you first started with when you opened your small business? Is this the database you use to gather information about your customers?

Since your business has been growing, have you thought about changing your database and other tools so your business will not be behind? One of the best tools that you can use is a CRM tool, such as ACT! software. This software can help your small business obtain more customers, increase your sales, and gain loyalty in your new customers.

There are various benefits to using a CRM software, and some of them are listed below.

Automation

If you have been having trouble with staying on top of your appointments or follow-ups, your CRM software will automate these tasks and more. This is a great benefit for your small business because you will not have to worry about missing anything.

When all of your information is in one database, everyone who has access to it can access all of the data that has been shared. When you use ACT! software, you will be equipped with everything you need to have effective sales meetings and follow-up meetings.

Additional Benefits Of Using ACT! Software

•Your marketing processes will become easier because you will have all the relevant and helpful information you need

•You will be able to access all key information in a matter of minutes •Your employees will be more productive

•Communication will be improved because everyone will have access to the same information and no one will be surprised during the meetings

There are many CRM tools and software that a small business like yours can use to keep up with the competition. If you are interested in additional information, contact us today. Purchased on: Thursday, April 21st, 2016

Contact Management Software

When any business begins using contact management software for their operations it usually starts with some good intentions. Many of us have good intentions, right? Unfortunately, some businesses that try to use contact management software do not see the success they want. Many times, when something does not work for a company, they simply reject the software or process they were using.

When the contact management software does not work for a company, they reject it and vow to never use anything like it again. Why do some companies want to avoid using the software? Many companies do not like that they will have to make some tweaks to the way they usually do things. Not every company wants to adjust their work routines to fit the software.

If you are a salesperson, you should be worried about the conversations you are having with potential customers and not entering information into a system, right? You will probably feel like you are being held back from selling if you have to worry about contact management software.

There are plenty of reasons why people say they prefer not to use contact management software, and some of those reasons are listed below:

•Contact management software is too difficult to figure out

•I would rather do everything by regular pen and paper because it is easier

•Inputting information into a computer will take time away from making calls and selling the products

•Entering information into a software tool is not why I was hired

Despite these reasons that some people give, many companies have found a significant amount of reasons to use contact management software. Salespeople will be able to make more sales because they will be more efficient and productive at their jobs. The selling process will be quicker because all the required information will be right there at their fingertips.

Are there reasons why you are hesitant about using contact management software? Contact us today so we can help you get on the contact management software bandwagon.

Sales Process Improvement

There's no doubt that marketing plays an integral role in the sales process. Moreover, we encourage businesses to align their sales and marketing processes for optimal results. What we don't condone, however, is when businesses rely on one department for both marketing and sales.

Marketing isn't selling, no matter how promotional your tone is. There's always going to be a difference between marketing your product and converting leads with your sales team.

A recent Chicago Tribune article talks about the division between marketing and sales. According to the article, marketers often try to get involved in the sales process, and businesses should prevent that from happening:

"Unfortunately, somewhere along the small- to medium-size business path, salespeople and executive leadership have been led to believe marketing is selling. Maybe this fallacy is the result of marketing firms who attempt to justify their high prices or possibly a lack of understanding the regarding the sales process along with the word sales."

Neither your sales nor your marketing process will be efficient if the two departments overlap. If marketers try to take on the role of sales representatives, then they won't be paying enough attention to the marketing campaign.

Rather than blending the two departments together, your goal should be to keep them separate and aligned. Your marketing and sales teams should work together to provide an optimal customer experience.

Implementing sales software is one way to keep your marketing and sales teams aligned. By collecting customer data, your marketing team can create an effective campaign for your target audience and your sales representatives will understand the customer experience you're offering.

The first thing we suggest to small business owners is to keep their sales and marketing teams separate. To talk more about implementing sales process improvements in your business, or anything else, contact us today.

ACT! Software

One of the most intelligent and effective software on the market is Act! software. This software has the right features and the right enhancements that are perfect for your marketing efforts. Your marketing efforts and strategies will easily turn into a successful sale rate.

You will be able to easily connect and grow with your customers and you will be able to obtain new customers. It will be easier to attract new customers because of the integrated marketing features, and you will be able to strengthen your relationships with current customers because you will already have the customer's information in your system.

You will be able to know what the customers like and what they do not like. You will also be able to improve your workforce's productivity and efficiency because all of the customer information and interactions can easily be accessed by the sales team. Since every team member will have access to the information, it will be easier for each team member to log into the system and view all the interactions that have taken place.

When using the Act! software, you will be able to do the following, and more:

•easily access all resources that will allow you to get the most out of the software

•access various features and applications from the marketplace

•create effective campaigns that will allow you to reach your target audience

•know what customers need to receive a follow-up call

You do not have to sit back and let the competition pass you by. You can integrate Act! software into your business and change the way your customers see your business. Contact us today if you are interested in more information.

Contact Management Software

The sales competition is very high, and this is resulting in many companies and organizations taking a deeper look into their sales operations. They want to find more information about their current customers, prospects, their needs, and their wants.

Since there is a big focus on finding information on their customers, being able to properly manage the prospects is certainly a key factor in having a successful sales process.

This is why using the right solutions and resources are so important. Contact management software is important to every operation of your sales department. It is part of a newer movement in sales. In order to effectively manage the contact information, you will need to ensure the contact management software will give you the flexibility you need.

You need the contact management software to track every piece of information that you need, and you also need it to track various activities that occur during the sales process.

When any one of your salespeople logs into the database, they should be able to pick up the telephone and quickly gather important information regarding who the customer is and what they like. You want your salespeople to feel comfortable talking to a potential buyer, and they will not be able to do that with little or no customer information.

The contact management software you choose to use should give you up-to-date access to all of your information. You will also need to have the ability to view and share customer data with everyone on your sales team. If you are interested in using contact management software, contact us today. Purchased on: Thursday, May 5th, 2016

Nowadays it's almost impossible -- and certainly not recommended -- to keep your marketing process and sales process separate. In this blog we'll explain why aligning your marketing and sales team is so important and outline what steps you can take. 

Just a few years ago, it was normal for marketing and sales team to be unaligned and rarely communicate with each other. It's always been better to keep them on the same page, but it was never a requirement up til now. 

The reason marketing and sales alignment is now so important is because of the role of data and analytics. Both teams should base their strategies off of sound data, and that data should be the same or at least have similar conclusions. 

This all plays a role in the customer experience. According to a recent Business 2 Community article, the better aligned marketing and sales teams are, the more consistent the customer experience is:

"Your Marketing and Sales groups need to update their internally-focused processes and focus on the needs of the Buyer throughout their online/offline/online purchasing journey. The company needs to have one, and only one, perspective of the buyer that all functions/groups (including Product Management, Customer Service and Finance) can embrace and deliver a consistent customer experience."

So if aligning your marketing and sales teams is so important, what steps can you take to make this a reality? It all starts with the data and analytics we mentioned earlier. 

Your focus should be on gathering and extracting data from dealings with clients. The more data you collect, the more insight you'll get into your target audience's behavior, preferences, and wants. 

Once you have this information, you can plan your marketing and sales strategies around it. As a result, you'll automatically align your two teams.  Using applications like ACT!, Zoho, or Hubspot can point you in the right direction in getting started. 

To talk more about your marketing process, or anything else, please contact us. Thanks.

We've already seen how data and analytics have affected sports. It started in baseball with Billy Bean and Moneyball and trickled over to other leagues. There are now teams in the MLB, NFL, and NBA that base their entire long-term strategies on analytics. 

Nowadays, there just no excuse for not incorporating analytics. According to a recent Financial Brand article, this is true both with sports franchises and businesses:

"There are no excuses for a football coach that doesn’t look at game film or know the stats from their team. If you are a C­-level Manager at your organization, there is no excuse for ignoring or not being aware of how your CRM can be used to provide you with reports that can help your team. Making excuses for your team’s lack of use of the CRM starts and stops with the C-level executive team."

Incorporating data and analytics in your business strategy helps you improve your operations. You can find out which practices are efficient and which ones need to change. 

The only thing you need is a way to collect data. CRM software (ACT!, HubSpot, Salesforce, ZoHo) provides businesses with a heap of information about clients. This way, sales representatives can study up on their clients before meetings. Marketing teams can also use the data to learn more about their target audience before planning their next campaign. 

Data and analytics are ubiquitous now. We've seen what's happened to sports teams that don't take them into account, and the same will happen for businesses that do the same. We recommend implementing a solution like CRM software to get you started on your analytic path. 

To talk more about CRM software, or anything else, please contact us. Thanks. 

CRM Software

CRM software has many applications in regard to your marketing efforts. It makes staying in touch with contacts easy and reminds customers of their relationship with your business.

It's ultimately up to you what kind of messages you send to subscribers. You can create a weekly newsletter that informs them about your industry or notify them of upcoming sales.

One thing we recommend all businesses to do is send surveys out to subscribers. A recent Sports Daily article explains how this can improve your customer relations and brand image:

"If you have not heard this the surveys here are the most integral part of a CRM strategy and a great way for the business. Have you wondered what people think about your products and services and your company. Ask customers what they want and if they would require any sort of a help and how things could be improved. All this in turn would show that your care and their opinion matter a lot."

Surveys are important for a couple of reasons. For one, they can give you insight into how you can improve your business processes. If several customers are offering the same suggestion, then you can be sure that others thought the same thing. Having this knowledge can only help.

In addition, sending out surveys shows that you're interested in your customers' opinions. It's a sign that you care about them and their well-being and you're willing to hear them out and listen to their thoughts.

Sending out surveys can be a pain -- unless you have CRM software. No one wants to send out individual emails one-by-one, but with CRM software, you can automate the process. In addition, you can keep records of who responded to your survey and what they said. All in all, it simplifies the process and brings more results.

To talk more about CRM software, or anything else, contact us today.

An important aspect of CRM software, like ZoHo, ACT!, and HubSpot, is that it's not exclusively used for sales process improvements.  The ability of CRM software to track and manage cannot be understated. What the software is really doing is collecting and organizing data. Businesses can use this aggregated information in several ways. 

It's not just about sales, either. According to a recent Business 2 Community article, CRM can be used for customer segmentation and social media marketing: 

"CRM lets you create, track and manage marketing campaigns effectively. Whether its outbound calls, customer segmentation, email marketing, social media applications or creating customized campaign lists, CRM automates the steps and produces data-driven results to accurately measure your efforts."

So why is CRM software often discussed in the context of sales process improvements? The data organized by the software has a direct impact on sales. Your sales representatives suddenly have a way to quantify their client's behavior, preferences, and wants. They can analyze patterns in their behavior to predict and suggest new product orders. 

There's nothing wrong with that, but we just don't want CRM software to be thought of as one-dimensional. In reality it impacts several processes and aspects of your business operations. But if you go into it thinking that it will only increase your sales, then you won't use it to its full potential. 

If you've already implemented CRM software, then consider how it has affected areas of your business other than sales. See if there's anything you can do to make employees refer to it more to improve their own individual performance. 

To talk more about sales process improvements, or anything else, please contact us. Thanks. 

The problem with most business' sales cycles is that they focus more on lead generation than they do conversion. Because of this, they get tons of leads through their online marketing efforts, but they rarely convert them to sales. 

According to a recent Forbes article, some businesses research their leads so poorly that they don't even know if the people fall into their target market:

"Finally, the B2B sales cycle has not seen big advances in personalization. Of course, the sales deck the buyer sees has their company name and logo on the title slide, but that’s where the personalization typically ends. This assumes that the buyer even made it that far. Since the initial research stage results in reading generic info on a website that could be targeted at any Jane Doe."

You can avoid this situation by personalizing your sales process. To do this, you need to collect information about each person so you can target them individually. 

With CRM software, you can acquire the data and analytics about your customers that you need to personalize your sales process. Moreover, you'll be able to better define your target market based on the common characteristics of your clients. 

This information will set you apart from competitors. Since most businesses are still behind when it comes to personalizing their sales process, you'll get ahead by incorporating data and analytics in your process. With the data collected by CRM software, your sales representatives will be more informed concerning clients and your marketing team will be able to create more effective campaigns. 

To talk more about CRM software, ACT!, HubSpot, ZoHo, or anything else, please contact us. Thanks.