If you're out networking on a pretty regular basis or having discussions with pre-qualified prospects, then you know that you have to have a system to track, follow up and cultivate the relationship so that the prospect moves from cold -> warm -> hot -> client!
That means you want to use a powerful, "customizable" sales conversion tracking system in your business.
Many entrepreneurs use rudimentary tools like spreadsheets, word documents, calendars, card scanners to capture and move their leads and prospects through the sales funnel. And while they can work well for you, when you're ready to grow your business and see results in your sales conversion process, you want to consider CRM. CRM or customer relationship management systems help you to systematically track, communicate to and leverage a solid sales process, moving your pre-qualified/qualified prospects through the cold -> hot stages.
When you decide to grow your business by embracing a sales process, in addition to marketing your programs, products and services, you must have a system to filter your leads and prospects and "turbo charge" your conversion process. CRM helps you to do this. You may think that you're too small a business, or you may be a solo entrepreneur, to use what may sound like a "corporate-only" tool. I thought so as well. However, if you're serious about using a high converting sales strategy for your business, today's CRM systems are designed for the one-person business through the multinational corporation.
Most of the well-known CRM applications - Free CRM, Zoho, Really Simple Systems offer free versions for you to try and test for your business without having to commit to a monthly fee. You can find more CRM "free" versions by using a Google search. For my business, we used the following strategy to get started. I signed up for the "free" versions and using one recently acquired business card at a networking event. I did a "road test" of the applications to determine how user friendly they were, whether they would help me to follow up with tasks, activities and forecasts, etc. As a result, I was able to "dig in" and test the features, functions and ability to customize to my business.
It's of utmost importance that you test the CRM system with one or two real prospects to see if it supports your sales process. And this will pay off when you're ready to import your leads/prospects information (and do some quick mapping, because it's not always clean). Then you know the time you'll invest in setting it up is worth it. Since bringing a CRM system into my business, I have used it to move prospects into clear stages of qualification in my sales funnel, which helps me to maximize my marketing efforts.
And that's what it's all about! Using a CRM system to identify your "low hanging fruit" will save you time and increase your profitability. It's time to jump into that pool of prospects and use the best CRM system for your business to get them swimming into your sales funnel!
----------------------------------------------------
Chris Makell, creator the "6-Figure Small Business Incubator guides entrepreneurs to be in the truth of their business so that they experience "real" freedom, with ease. Get your complimentary list of time saving tools at http://www.chrismakell.com/resources-2/top-10-resources/
EasyPublish this article: http://submityourarticle.com/articles/easypublish.php?art_id=280746
No comments:
Post a Comment