The bottom line
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Is CRM hurting sales ? The answer might surprise you Paul Shearstone
For the most accurate response , ask your front-line sellers
In today ’ s increasingly competitive global marketplace , CRM — Customer Relations Management — is essential for sales and corporate success . The intent of CRM architects was and is altruistic : CRM is designed to fulfill specific needs within the organization . But the elephant in the room is , whose needs ?
Back in the 1990s when business was bad , and corporations were downsizing , or as they put it , rightsizing , no one was safe from executive scrutiny and the corporate axe . With dwindling sales , sales management was an easy target . To survive in what was coined crisis management , managers had to be able to demonstrate that they had a plan and / or were doing everything they could to drive sales .
So , what did sales management do ? Suddenly , sales reps had to fill out detailed micro-managed reports that monitored their every movement : the number of calls they made every day , the names of companies and customers they spoke to , the topics discussed , and so on . It was endless . The data , and the time necessary to complete the detailed minutiae , was ridiculous and often fictitious .
Who was served by this burdensome activity ? The sales manager , who , when the corporate axe-holder showed up at his door , could survive because he could show reams and reams of data he hoped might do three things for him : demonstrate they had a plan and were working it ; help him stand apart from other managers without a similar plan ; and send the axe-man down the hall to other managers who didn ’ t have ‘ insurance ’ data . In hindsight , the irony is that burdening frontline sales reps with this reporting strategy actually drove sales down demonstrably . Why ?
Think about the behavioural attributes of the best sellers you have ever known . Outside of their innate people skills and high energy , what was it they did that achieved sales success ? Their modus operandi was to simplify everything . They were minimalists . But the question is , did they learn to be minimalists , or were they naturally wired to be minimalists ?
In the late 70s , I was a national sales trainer and recruiter for a Fortune 500 company . All applicants had to take an aptitude test to determine whether they fit the traditional psychological sales-success mold . I was trained to mark and measure the results of these tests that were surprisingly accurate . The fact is , there are ideal psychological profiles for almost every profession . I need only look at an individual ' s profile graph and could say , “ That ’ s an accountant , that ’ s a politician , that ’ s a scientist and ‘ that ’ is the perfect personality profile for a successful sales person .” For the most part results were surprisingly accurate .
Within each profile there are detailed personality traits that exist on a spectrum that predict the adequate and sufficient fit of that individual within that discipline . For sales , high energy , above-average people skills , high need to control and dominate and high motivation to get things done are the essential components for the right stuff . But they possess another strong personality trait . One in which they are not so strong at .
In psychology we know every personality has its strengths and weaknesses . For accountants , doctors and lawyers , detail presents strongly within their unique personality traits . But rarely in the best sales people .
You may find it interesting that psychological studies posit there is a disproportionate number of top sellers and business leaders / entrepreneurs ( who often got their start in sales ) who suffer from ADHD and can ’ t concentrate on detail . In my case , I have ADHD and mild dyslexia . Is it a coincidence that creative over-achievers like Albert Einstein , Richard Branson , John F . Kennedy , Will Smith , and Jim Carrey , all suffer from ADHD ?
Despite their disorder , what are they all good at ? They are minimalists . Einstein once said : " If you can ' t explain something simply then you don ' t really know it ." The fact is , they possess the ability to take what for others in their profession is seen to be exceedingly complex , and make it look simple – minimize the detail . The same system-of-influence exists within the art and science of professional successful selling . The question remains , however , do they do it because they want to or because they must ?
Going back the question of whose needs your CRM programme is serving , you may find it ’ s not your frontline sellers but rather the detail-oriented architects that crave data or the sellers of larger more complex , detailed CRM solutions .
The bottom line
CRM is essential and is here to stay . It is integral to sales and corporate success . There is no argument that too much of anything is bad . The danger with CRM is that it ’ s often designed to meet the needs of those who are detail oriented at the expense of those who are not : sellers – the lifeblood of any organization . So , how do you know if your CRM programme is right for you , and is not hurting sales ? Look at your sales , and then … ask your sellers .
Paul Shearstone is a recognized expert on sales and persuasion . He is an international speaker , certified coaching practitioner , psychotherapeutic counsellor , NLP therapist and author of several books including , Up Your Income ! Solution Selling for Profitability . Reach him at paul @ success150 . com
22 | September 2018 | GRAPHIC ARTS MAGAZINE graphicartsmag . com