CRM Provides Sales and Managers Better Teamwork

Provided a modern CRM; Sales Process and Desking are better for the customer, the salesperson, and management. Larry and Danny discuss how.

Danny James: Provided a modern CRM, I now genuinely believe that my sales manager is there to help me and be a co-salesperson, not a watchdog. 

Larry Bruce: Right. The CRM is there to help you. You begin to realize it's not creating a great deal of additional effort. In turn, the sales manager will get less push back when build your system this way. 

Danny James: That makes sense.  

EFFICIENCY IN DESKING

Larry Bruce: That's the benefit of CRM automation in the sales process. The next step Desking the deal. I should be able to send a customer to the desk in the press of a button. The desk should then receive the information they need in real-time. I can do this multiple times at one time because, in some cases, I'm selling two machines; one for the buyer and one for their kids or spouse or two machines and a trailer. This almost never happens in automotive, but often in Powersports.

In this example, all three properties need to be sent to the desk with updates of your customer interaction. When the desk receives the information and is confirmed that you are ready, they can now quickly and easily click notification and submit documents to print. When the salesperson is ready to close the deal they are prepared with documents in hand for the sales manager.

Danny James: When we started automotive sales in the late 1980's-early 1990's, there was no sales automation. A salesperson could circumvent the process. A salesperson could pull a blank worksheet or a buyer's order out of their desk.

HANDLING PUSHBACK

We've obviously evolved our desking process with sales automation. Are there still ways for salespeople to circumvent the system if they're resistant? Or do you find that everyone is bought-in?

Larry Bruce: You could allow salespeople to desk on blank four squares or worksheets and your desk could accept it. If I'm a sales manager, I'm no longer printing books of worksheets. I'm not only saving money on printing, but I'm not accepting a paper desked deal. As a dealer, I'm telling the desk not to accept a paper deal. The desking process is easy to put in place and no salesperson should argue with it.

Danny James: Fewer salespeople are resisting an automated process as an invertible change in the business. It has come of age and is now the new way. There is less resistance than in previous years, but there is always very productive, a very good salesperson who prefers the old way. As a sales manager, that can be frustrating.

Larry Bruce: I would ask them, "Do you really want to sit down and take five minutes to write all this down on a piece of paper?" Explain that it takes less than 30 seconds to push a button to print automatically. I'm helping the salesperson. I'm making their life easier and give them the tools they need to be more efficient.

Danny James: A salesperson is comfortable doing it the old way and when you incorporate change there can be immediate resistance. But from what you're describing the bottom line is that the salesperson is now able to conduct more business, more profitably. Whether in Powersports or any other industry, the question is always, "How much money am I making doing this?"

Larry Bruce: The salespeople are working for money so as a dealer, I'm giving you tools to make it easier. This sales process and desking is better for the customer, the salesperson, and management.

That's the point of an integrated and automated system - to make the sales process flow with a low barrier to close the sale.