Yesterday’s webinar focused on selling, and there were
questions and concerns from all points of the selling map. As
always, we asked the attendees a few questions
– this time, a couple of CRM sales
adoption questions.
First off, we discovered that the recession might be the big
stick that finally drives sales reps to CRM sales adoption. We
asked how the recession has affected sales reps’ attitudes
toward CRM. The vast majority of responses said the sales
adoption change has been positive: 23.5 percent said their sales
reps were more eager to use CRM, and a whopping 43.5 percent
said there’s some increased interest in sales adoption of CRM.
More than one in four (25.9 percent) of the respondents said
their sales reps were still ambivalent about it, while 4.7
percent said their reps were simply not using it and 2.4 percent
said their reps saw it as a threat. The dichotomy here is clear:
exactly two-thirds of the reps in question are using CRM sales
adoption to become more efficient; the other third is jostling
to be first in line for layoffs.
That goes to our other question: What is your company’s
biggest sales challenge? The responses were rather evenly
spread, indicating how complicated a world we’re operating in,
but the most common response (27.9 percent) was that companies
were being forced to make do with fewer sales reps and
resources. Issues with lead management and the desire to avoid
competing on price tied with 23 percent each, and keeping track
of contacts was still cited by 19.7 percent. A number that
should gladden CRM and SFA vendors’ hearts: only 6.6 percent
said their biggest sales challenge was a lack of budget for
sales technology.
There is still a desire to invest in concepts and
technologies that will make sales more efficient and hold on to
customers, and sales reps are coming around to the ideas behind
CRM sales adoption, too. As bad as the economy is, this is good
news. Now, if you’re a sales rep, which side of the CRM sales
adoption argument are you on?
Chris Bucholtz
http://www.insidecrm.com/blog/is-the-recession-driving-crm-adoption.php
