1st lets talk about the different names: SFA vs CRM.
A SFA is designed to be used as a sales tool, similar to a sophisticated outlook, a computerized rolodesk or 3x5 card file where a sales team can keep their lead/clients info, schedule callbacks, save notes and send personalized or formatted emails, among a ton of other bells and whistles.
A CRM on the other hand does all that a SFA does, but also has functions to handle and maintain current customers, such as billing, service issue tracking, and much more, hence the name.
I realize this is a gross oversimplification, but KISS is my moto!
One of the benefits of all these systems is the ability to manage a far greater number of clients/leads/prospects than one could with say simply Outlook, or any other type of address book.
With an effective CRM/SFA you can note what drove the client to your door, record the interactions, schedule call backs and automatically send out specific targeted emails/literature to individuals or groups based on what their specific interests are.
For example:
You're a sailboat manufacturer and your marketing team runs a special price campaign on your smaller sized boats (say 20 foot or less). You may receive, if your message is effective and your data base is good, 100 responses out of 1,000 emails (a stunning 10% return, but I'm trying to keep it simple here). 10 actually take you up on your offer (a closing rate of 10%; again, not too bad!). Now you have an additional 90 leads out there that were or may still be interested in a smaller sailboat. With a CRM/SFA you can put that group into a "bucket" of prospects that like smaller boats and can target emails and calls to take advantage of that fact. One example would be to send them updates of small boat races in their area or nationally, info/articles on how to handle a small boat in inclement weather, etc, etc. In addition the next time you run a special you can select those particular prospects for additional incentives.
Note: it is of VITAL importance that you always give these prospects the opportunity to "opt out" from receiving any more communications, which puts the onus on your marketing team to make the communications so interesting and topical that they don't .
Take a look a http://www.huspot.com/ to see how it's done.
If you keep those customers in the loop, have a good product (price and quality comparable to your competitors) then providing your prospects with relevant, interesting materials and offers will set you apart from a competior who doesn't.
The caveat is that despite all the automation, you still need some sharp individuals to manage these warm leads. The sales team, as mentioned in my previous blog, will not be able to provide the attention that is required to set you apart from the herd. The ratio of BusDev to prospects is something that depends on your sales cycle, volume and projected sales quotas. It does cost money to effectively and properly manage these leads/prospects, (TANSTAAFL* to quote Ray Bradbury) but the pay back will come, if done properly and given time.
Some examples of these systems:
SalesForce, (http://www.salesforce.com/)
Sugar CRM (http://www.sugarcrm.com/), an open source system
GoldMine (http://www.goldmine.com/
Industry specific:
REA 8 (http://www.gorea.com/) for the commercial real estate professionals, which is an outstanding tool.
BTW: I am not a salesman for any of these vendors, nor do I receive any renumeration for mentioning them... yet! LOL
There are a ton of good systems out there and selecting the right one for your specific needs is important, and I will be discussing the things one should look at before making the investment in my next blog.
Thanks for visiting!
*(drop me a line if you just have to know what TANSTAAFL means.)
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