6 CRM Best Practices

Today we have a guest post from Russ Hill, Founder and CEO of Ultimate Lead Systems. BestPracticesImage-300x171

With a couple of decades of experience helping companies with their B2B sales lead management and CRM programs, 6 Best Practices have revealed themselves that I would like to share. I’ve witnessed companies succeed and increase sales by diligently applying these practices. I’ve also seen organizations waste thousands of marketing dollars and lose thousands of dollars in sales opportunities by ignoring these practices. If you are serious about improving your sales and marketing ROI, these practices will lead you to some big wins.

1. Get your sales and marketing teams on the same page

First of all, Sales and Marketing need to re-think how they fundamentally interact. They frequently operate in their own “silos.” They need to learn how to support each other to release their inherent synergy to increase sales. Customers are rarely ready to sign a purchase order when reps first call. And reps are usually not present when the purchasing decision is made. Thus, today’s marketing programs need to nurture buyers throughout their buying process and notify the rep when a buyer is ready to engage. Marketers must send the right messages out at the right time that appeal to all of the buying influences. And the sales person must make multiple calls on the right people to further cultivate the relationship. It is a team selling approach. Everyone has a role and responsibility.

Industry research shows that buyers are 60% into their buying process before they engage your company or sales person, so it’s crucial to have sales and marketing working together.

(more…)

Share this:

LinkedIn Webinar: Best Practices to Get the Most out of this Networking Tool

I believe LinkedIn is one of the most under-utilized social media tools, and I’d like to share with you my thoughts on how you can make the most of it.

  • It’s a way to stay in front of your connections on a regular basis.
  • It’s a way to build thought leadership and credibility.
  • It’s a way to talk to people who share the same interests that are not in your network.

The LinkedIn webinar shows the ins and outs of LinkedIn for businesses. The webinar shows manufacturers and marketers how to harness the power of this social media tool by teaching how to grow contacts, join groups and use it to promote your thought leadership and ultimately generate leads. If you are in sales, customer service or general management, LinkedIn knowledge is a must in the toolbox of business tools

The webinar will be Tuesday, July 13 at 2 PM EST. Registration is closed.

Please pass this on to business associates.

Share

Share this:

Stay Up On New Trends But Don’t Forget Old Friends

I’m reminded that we should stay on top of new trends but not to throw out or ignore all those traditional things you’ve been doing like e-mails. In other words, “don’t throw out the baby with the bath water.”

E-mails are still the most accepted way of receiving info so why not use it to push some of your new social media toys.

We all want to be part of the newest and sexiest stuff. Social media is a hot topic. It is extremely popular, in part because it is inexpensive and can easily be measured. But it can and should be integrated with more traditional strategies such as broadcast e-mail programs.

I read a post this morning on B2B online marketing, Traditional marketing:not hot but still important, that I thought would be appropriate to share with all the B-to-B marketers out there.

Here are some simple reminders:

  • Adopt an integrated approach. Mix the new with the old. Want to promote your blog or e-newsletter? What better way than using your e-mail list.
  • Re-evaluate best practices you’d applied in the past. Find out what works best for your audiences. If you’re not sure ask them via a survey, focus groups or really do it the old fashioned way and pick up the phone and call them.
  • Stay on top of new trends for old strategies. New tools won’t serve you well if the foundation is weak. Here are some recent tips they found for email marketing,landing page optimization and lead nurturing during a recession.

What are you doing to stay ahead of the game?

Share

Share this: