Facts and Figures Regarding Sales Management
of customers would switch to a competitor if the competitor provided the product or service faster.
more accurate sales forecasts are possible through the use of a customer relationship management (CRM) system.
larger-than-average deal size can be expected when using a configure, price, quote (CPQ) solution.
Sales Management: Creating Effective Sales Processes with Digital Solutions
Sales management, sales strategy and sales processes are inextricably linked to the success of your company. They are the key to customer acquisition and retention, helping you stay ahead of the competition.
Sales management is all about organising and controlling your sales processes. Sales strategy refers to how you achieve your business goals (e.g. increasing sales).
For holistic customer relationship management, it is important that your sales processes, which include your marketing strategy as well as service activities, are well coordinated.
With a digital sales management tool, you can identify, prioritise, organise and monitor sales opportunities and activities in a timely manner. In addition, you can generate new leads and use your resources more efficiently.
Learn from practical examples how we can support you in generating more sales, opening up new markets, acquiring valuable customers and strengthening customer loyalty.
Knowledge Booster: CRM Providers and Systems Compared
By downloading our »Selecting Customer Relationship Management Software« white paper, you will receive a step-by-step guide on how to identify your CRM software requirements, evaluate suitable systems and find the right solution for your company.
Sales Strategy: CRM System as a Tool for Managing Your Sales Activities
Poor sales management as well as inconsistent or missing processes and strategies lead to a multitude of challenges. These include, for example, uncoordinated sales activities, inefficient lead generation, poor customer communication and untapped sales opportunities.
A suitable CRM platform supports you in organising and optimising your sales activities and aligning them with your sales strategy – wherever you are, thanks to mobile and cloud applications.
This Is How Your Sales Management Benefits from Using a CRM System
- Central Database: All customer and sales data is stored in one central location. As a result, your team has access to a consistent database. This enables quick access to information on leads, contacts, opportunities, deals and much more.
- Automation of Sales Processes: In a CRM system, you can automate routine tasks, for example. Consequently, your sales team can use the extra time efficiently and focus on relevant activities such as personal customer contact.
- Pipeline Management: Track your sales processes from generating leads to closing sales. This allows you to keep an eye on the progress of sales opportunities and sales forecasts so that you can take appropriate action if required.
- Team Collaboration: A CRM tool makes it possible to share information, thereby promoting knowledge democratisation and enabling collaboration on sales opportunities. This reduces the need for communication. Keep track of your team's activities and assign data and tasks on a role-specific basis as required.
This Is How a CRM System Helps You with Your Sales Strategy
- Customer Analysis: With a CRM system, you can collect information on your customers' behaviour and preferences as well as their purchase history and interactions – all in compliance with legal regulations. This allows you to identify customer segments as well as potential cross-selling and upselling measures to develop or optimise your sales strategy.
- Customer Retention: The central management of data makes it possible to pinpoint individual customer needs and address them with personalised campaigns. This strengthens long-term customer loyalty.
- Sales Data Analysis: A CRM tool provides you with comprehensive data on activities, sales figures, success rates and customer feedback, for example. Create a solid data basis and put it in context with business successes and the characteristics of your target audience. This way, you can identify trends and optimise your processes.
Practical Examples: The Path to Optimised Digital Sales Management
Data-Driven Sales: Breaking Down Data Silos, Strengthening Trust in Data
Potential Challenge
You are in the process of implementing a digital sales system or are already using one. However, the data on your customers, their purchases and the relevant terms and conditions is stored in different systems and sometimes even has to be managed twice. There is no central data storage, resulting in poor customer data quality.
Consequently, the members of your sales team have little trust in this data and the associated processes and prefer to go with their gut instinct.
Our Solution
Together with you, we evaluate how a CRM system can help you get the most out of your (customer) data. We also come up with company-specific use cases.
After a comprehensive analysis of your data sets, we highlight potential shortcomings, define quality standards for future data management and give you recommendations on how to comply with them. The goal is to ensure maximum success for your company in the long term and to help you position yourself in the market.
Furthermore, we support you in establishing a data-driven mindset among your team members.
Forecasting and Pipeline Management: How to Make Use of Innovative Sales Controlling
Potential Challenge
You want to optimise your sales controlling with digital solutions. To manage your sales activities in line with your sales strategy, you want automated processes and a clear monitoring framework that makes the most important key performance indicators (KPIs) relating to your sales processes transparent.
Are you wondering how you can better align the work of your sales team with your business goals and how you can assess the workload of your employees? What options are there to identify potential pitfalls and undesirable developments at an early stage?
Our Solution
With a CRM system, you can manage your sales activities efficiently. In addition, you can establish efficient processes by intelligently consolidating the available data. When used in a targeted manner, this allows your company to
- get a holistic view of sales processes as well as business goals and respond to negative developments in a timely manner
- take a look into the future through targeted forecasting and pipeline management and proactively work on new sales strategies and goals
- improve the assessment of sales opportunities and the allocation of responsible employees
- effectively assign potential deals according to your team's capacity and workload
Smart Technologies for Your Sales Team: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Voice Control and the Internet of Things (IoT)
Potential Challenge
The digitalisation of your sales processes is already well advanced and is accepted and embraced by all employees.
In the future, you want to make your sales team's work even easier by using intelligent systems such as AI and smart voice control, but you do not know where to start.
Our Solution
Together with you, we analyse your existing sales structures and find out where it might make sense to use intelligent systems. Here are a number of examples:
- AI-based forecasting and automated lead scoring
- Intelligent voice systems for retrieving customer data and checking scheduled meetings while on the road
- Analysis of usage data collected via IoT interfaces to draw conclusions about customer and usage profiles
Change Management: Involving Your Team
Potential Challenge
You already use digital sales software or want to implement a new CRM solution, but the acceptance in your team is still low. To ensure that change processes do not lead to resistance among your team members, it is important to raise their awareness and actively involve them.
The topic of change management often has a low priority, but its importance should not be underestimated. After all, a new solution can only unfold its full potential if your team is willing to use it.
Our Solution
As a digital agency, we have many years of experience gained from a wide variety of projects and the associated changes.
With modern project management, agile methods and communication tools, we support you in dispelling your team members' reservations about CRM systems, taking away their fears and thus establishing change processes in your company in the long term.
How to Find the CRM System That Best Suits Your Company
At the beginning of the evaluation process, it is all about analysing your company. The focus is on internal and external research as well as the development of key business processes.
Internal Research: The first step is to take a close look at current KPIs, your existing CRM strategy as well as your company's short- and long-term goals. An internal survey of your team, for example, can also provide important information, as the implementation of a CRM system or a system migration affects all departments of your company.
External Research: Gather freely available information on software solutions in advance. This will give you a first impression. However, you should always keep your individual situation, goals and strategy in mind.
Business Processes: Compile all the information on your existing processes. With input from different departments, you can develop valuable use cases and determine how your team can achieve certain goals.
Sales Management Software: Examining the Selection Criteria in Detail
Here are some other crucial factors you should take into account:
- Industry focus and references of the CRM provider
- Range of features
- Technology costs
Decision-Making: An In-Depth Look at the System Providers
The longlist of eligible system providers should now be narrowed down. Here is the key question: Which system suits your business model, use cases and desired criteria? Am entire chapter on this topic can be found in our »Selecting Customer Relationship Management Software« white paper.
Which KPIs Can Be Used to Measure Sales Performance?
The indicators to measure success should correspond to your company's goals and priorities. The following KPIs (without claiming to be exhaustive) may be helpful:
- Sales
- Conversion rate
- Duration of the sales cycle
- Average deal size or average order value
- Customer satisfaction
- Number of new and lost customers
- Pipeline volume, i.e. number of customers currently engaged in the sales process
- Number of sales calls
- Number of sales or orders received
- Ratio of new customers to existing customers (in per cent)
A CRM system offers a wide range of options for analysing your sales processes:
- With custom dashboards and real-time reports, you can see what stage your leads and opportunities are in.
- By assessing sales opportunities and allocating responsible employees, you increase the efficiency of your sales processes.
- Built-in forecasting and pipeline management features for further planning provide you, for example, with insights into the expected sales development or the progress of sales activities.
- Automation Features: Starting from a defined number of sales per customer, discounts can be granted automatically, including an approval process if required.
Our Sales Management Services at a Glance
Before the Implementation
- Formulation of questions and goals for your data-driven business in the field of sales
- Analysis of your sales processes and identification of needs according to your requirements
- Support in the development of a tailored sales strategy
- Selection of a suitable system that fits your sales strategy – based on our expertise as a CRM agency
- Involving your team in change processes from the very beginning
- Conducting employee surveys to identify pain points as well as strengths and weaknesses and find solutions
During the Implementation
- Breaking down data silos and creating a central solution so that all departments obtain a 360-degree view of your (potential) customers
- Consolidating the required data on customers, leads and workflows
- Automation of your operational processes
- Integration of enterprise resource planning (ERP) and third-party systems, including interfaces to the CRM tool (iPaaS and API management)
- Development and incorporation of use cases for the optimal deployment of smart technologies in your company
- Implementation of the desired tools
After the Implementation
- Establishing a data-driven mindset in your company thanks to our business intelligence consulting
- Setting up dashboards with all KPIs relevant to your company
- Training of your team to quickly establish new workflows
- Support in communicating change processes and agile coaching in your company
Sales Management: Work Together with Renowned System Providers
A Selection of Our Sales Management References
Additional CRM Services
FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions About Sales Management
What is sales management?
Sales management is the coordination of sales activities to achieve a company's sales goals. It encompasses all activities relating to the implementation of sales strategies, team management and the measurement of sales performance, earnings and success in the market.
What is a sales strategy?
Sales strategies refer to the long-term and carefully planned organisation of sales activities. They include targeted campaigns to acquire new customers for products and services. Sales strategies help achieve sales goals and draw on specific sales methods.
How can you measure your sales success?
You can measure your sales success with your personal KPIs. Your personal KPIs can include, for example, the number of sales, the average deal size or the satisfaction of your target audience. Using these indicators, you can monitor your success and – in case of doubt – make adjustments to your sales management and your sales strategy.
How can you improve your sales processes?
There are many ways to optimise your sales processes, for example by defining clear goals, your target audience and sales strategies. Using intelligent sales management software can also improve your sales processes through various types of automation, AI and more.
Do you want to learn more? I'm looking forward to hearing from you!
Nadine Kannengießer
Account Executive
Digital Business
