Can you picture a sales representative in today’s mobile world, driving from appointment to appointment with a rolodex parked on the passenger seat, next to a paper map? If you asked a sales professional to pick the one thing he requires to function, chances are the answer would be his smartphone.
As mobile devices evolve at such a rapid pace to provide previously unimagined productivity and flexibility to business users, sales driven organizations are moving to mobile/ Cloud based CRM tools to eliminate barriers to success.
An Aberdeen study showed considerable performance gaps between sales organizations in various stages of mobile device and CRM adoption. Best-in-class sales organizations, using mobile sales intelligence tools experienced:
- 65% of sales representatives achieved quota, vs. a 54% average
- 5.2% year over year increase in customer retention rates, vs. a .7% average
- 3.3% year over year increase in lead conversion rates, vs. a .2% average
- 83% sales forecast accuracy, vs. a 44% average
Mobile CRM tools provide reps with instant access to lead and opportunity data, key data on existing customers, and up-to-date calendaring of events and tasks. This functionality greatly increases the sales team’s ability to:
- Follow up on new leads.
- Manage active opportunities to a close.
- View and contribute to essential reporting data at anytime, from any location.
- Access existing customer data in real time.
At a time when organizations are increasingly asked to do more with less, mobile CRM reduces a field sales professional’s reliance on a leaner support staff back at the home office. Moreover, as customers demand more for their dollars, mobile applications enable sales representatives to handle more issues and do more for their customers, more quickly than ever before.
In the study, the sales organizations enjoying “best-in-class” performance were most likely to have enabled two key characteristics of mobile CRM:
- 87% had enabled synchronization of calendars, contacts, events and tasks
- 78% allowed remote viewing and modification of key CRM data
Companies ready to provide the value of mobile CRM to their sales reps and other virtual employees should consider these factors when evaluating a mobile CRM purchase:
Maturity — Although there is a lot of buzz surrounding newer CRM suppliers, choosing an established vendor with history of several successful product releases increases the likelihood of a smooth implementation, deep functionality, and higher user adoption.
Flexibility — Select a system that can be configured to meet your specific business needs and one that can grow to meet your needs as you move toward long term objectives.
Accessibility — A cloud-based system can be available anytime, anywhere, with robust applications for mobile devices and the ability to integrate with other vital systems.
Security — On-demand CRM should guarantee the safety of sensitive client data with the highest levels of data center protection.
Contact us today to find out how your company can take advantage of this new CRM technology.