The Biggest Problem With CRM

67% of businesses rely on customer relationship management (CRM) data to segment and target customers. Yet, there are several major problems that prevent CRM users from reaching their full potential.

The biggest of these problems? Adoption.

The general consensus among sales reps is simple: No one likes CRM. These overly-complex, clunky systems don’t help them sell and even hinder the sales process - in turn, they use it as little as possible.

More than ⅓ of enterprises face low adoption rates. Why? SiriusDecisions reports that only 13% of sales teams are highly satisfied with their CRM. So, in order to build adoption, you need to ensure you have a solution teams actually love to use.

Making the right choice

Most employees do not come to work to fight the system. If your team is rejecting the CRM system then your business needs to understand what the problem is and reasons are.

Before purchasing anything, make sure you spend enough time evaluating CRM providers, with a well-organized and focused approach. Focus on your team’s needs by writing down two or three primary pain points. And don’t get blinded by bright shiny objects - they’re worthless if your team won’t even use the basics.

You can also organize your evaluation of CRMs with a spreadsheet listing each solution you come across and noting your impression of how well it meets your needs. Use live chat and take advantage of demos and free trials - most providers offer some combination of these.

Moving beyond implementation

Even if you think you’ve found the CRM of your dreams, it’s not uncommon for the software to sit on the shelf longer than necessary. Implementation should take minutes, not months, so hit the ground running with a solution that fits in where you’re already working.

We built Copper to seamlessly integrate with the tools many sales teams are using. Using Google’s material design principles, Copper looks and feels exactly like G Suite. This simple, clean, and beautiful interface makes navigating Copper easy and familiar. If you know how to use Gmail, you’ll know how to use Copper — no training required.

Our integrations also put CRM right in your inbox. We know sales teams spend most of the day sending messages, scheduling meetings and creating follow-ups via email. Copper lives right into your email so once you download the Gmail or Inbox Chrome Extension, every communication is in one, centralized place.

Increasing productivity

Once you find a solution your team loves to use, you should notice a rise in activity. What can help maintain your reps’ productivity?

No data entry

On average, a rep spends 5.5 hours a week just entering activities and contacts into CRM. In turn, they only spend 18% of their time actually selling — that equates to just 7.2 hours a week.

At the end of the day, your reps weren’t hired to do data entry. Every minute sales reps aren’t selling equals lost revenue. So how do you eliminate that wasted time?

The magic of Copper is that it consolidates several steps into one. Unlike legacy CRM systems, you don’t have to manually enter and update contact information in Copper. We scrape contact information in your inbox to pre-populate it in your CRM so that you can add email addresses, phone numbers, and other contact data with the click of a button. You can also automatically link to all related emails, files and Google Calendar events across the entire company

Automating data entry not only saves your team time but also reduces the risk of data inaccuracies. Reps that use CRM as little as possible put very little effort into making sure what they enter is accurate and complete. In fact, Experian reports that 91% of all companies data is incomplete, outdated, or inaccurate - primarily because of human error. Let technology automate CRM data capturing so your team can get back to what they do best: selling.

CRM on the go

If your reps are out on the field, they’re probably communicating with buyers on the fly. As a result, it’s not uncommon for them to forget to log information into the CRM later in the day.

Not only will a mobile version of your CRM help your reps stay on top of their opportunities, but it will boost sales and employee engagement by providing real-time information in an easy-access hub.

Copper's Android and iPhone apps enable you to stay connected across all platforms so you can sell anywhere. Automatically log calls with the in-app tap and dial feature, set tasks, and follow-up reminders right from your phone, receive push notifications when new records are assigned to you, and view details of your contacts and opportunities with one click.

All in all, a CRM solution is called a solution for a reason. If you’re worried about your team neglecting it, don’t overcomplicate things with customizations and integrations that could go haywire. Find a CRM that does what you need right out the box (with very little effort), and your team will be loving it in no time.