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January 2017
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SIMPLIFYING CRM FOR EVERYONE How to Make Handle Work for You
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SHARING. Send someone a direct link.
example, there’s the sales call. Most everyone wants to know that customers and prospects are called, as well as the details of the conversation.
• CUSTOM FORMS. Integrate custom forms for processes that are unique to your business. Remember that a CRM should support the way you and your team actually work. The No. 1 killer of CRM implementation is assumptions . Just because you think something is happening, that’s not the same as confirming it. When you confirm, you get real information to work with, and you can use it to develop strategies for improving. It’s a cyclical process of evolving the CRM to improve processes, then using the processes to improve how your CRMworks for you. It’s a matter of testing, learning, and applying new ideas consistently. By the time you’ve done this for a while, you’ll be amazed at how much progress you see. As long as you approach a CRM as a tool and not as the fix, you’ll be in great shape. As for next steps, start brainstorming things you could improve. What questions would you like answered in order tomake better strategic decisions?What information should you get from your team?What will you do with that information to benefit them? And last but not least, what does your organization need to do consistently that you’re not doing today? – Gordon Hilleque
C RM software was created to streamline the management of interactions between a business and its clients. Rather than scribbling down a new prospect’s contact information on a napkin (or even putting it into an Excel spreadsheet), you can use a CRM to simplify the whole process. After all, the point of a CRM is tomake management of relationships easier , right? Unfortunately, this doesn’t always happen. Lots of businesses approach CRMwith preconceived notions of what the software can and cannot do. Companies can work with CustomerTRAX to learn how to best implement CRM technologies for their business. To simplify your experience, we recommend you build one screen around input, a screen where you can load everything you need withminimal clicks or data entry. For
You can set this up to capture important details during a conversation, such as the next follow-up date, a purchase they want to learnmore about, and so on. This screen will improve both the quality and consistency of calls, as anyone on the team can be up to speed almost immediately. Our software can also link with your current mailing service and mimic its features. Each screen in Handle has the following features you can use to enhance efficiency:
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FIELDS. Either dropdowns or manual entry.
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GROUPS. Used to organize fields.
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LINKING. Link to other information, like stock numbers, quotes, etc., tominimize data entry.
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PRINTING. Send data to a template and print.
Remember that a CRM should support the way you and your team actually work.
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MEDIA. Attach pictures, video, and audio recordings.
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ATTACHMENTS. Link any file that’s relevant.
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RECOGNIZING
late on Friday and made sure her client got taken care of, which saved our company from losing a huge account!” Legitimate recognition tells teammembers that their efforts are rewarded, and it reminds them that they’re not the only ones working hard and doing great things for the company. Besides, there’s nothing wrong with a little friendly competition between teammembers to see who can do the best job! How can you apply this knowledge in your own business?Well, understand that public appreciation for a job well-done Top Performers accomplishments? If not, start with at least one monthly meeting where you designate an employee of the month. Shout out individuals through company emails when they’ve done something special. And keepmixing it up. However you choose to do it, give individual recognition a shot to see what it can do for your team’s productivity andmorale! is truly infectious. Have youmade it a habit to recognize individuals for their
Conventional wisdom suggests that if you reward individual team members for their good work in a business, you’re simply encouraging cutthroat competition, rather than helping the team perform better as a whole. However, recent research has found that individual recognition has an important role to play! According to a study in the Journal of Applied Psychology, recognizing individual employees for doing a great job boosts the performance of co-workers as well. This experiment had more than 250 students make small boxes on their own. Then, they combine into groups to build the boxes into towers. The researchers praised the top performer in half of the teams, and then they repeated the assignment. In the second round, the teams whose top performers had been praised saw significant improvement in both individual and team tasks. The other teams saw no improvement.
Wooing customers is tricky. They play hard to get, and more often than not, YOU have to go to them. That’s what they expect, whether they realize it or not. Is it sounding like a relationship yet? It should, because in a way, it kind of is. Business is all about relationships and customer loyalty. If you don’t proactively reach out to customers outside their buying cycle, it will be extremely difficult to maintain their loyalty. It’s a difficult thing to do consistently and well, but it can be done. The key is proper account management. Think about the last time you were in the market for a car. Chances are, you went to the dealer with a price in mind, and that’s what you expected to talk to the salesman about. You weren’t planning to discuss what you liked best about individual vehicles or why the purchase was important. You expected to haggle, and if your customers come to you with first contact, that’s what they’ll Why did individual praise help the team? It’s because other team members tend to work hard to emulate the top performers — they’re spurred on by public recognition. When each individual team member’s performance improves, the whole group’s performance does as well. It’s especially pronounced if the person you recognize is acknowledged as valuable by the rest of the team. But don’t start praising individual team members willy-nilly! Keep in mind that any reward system you choose should be applied across the entire company. If some teams feel left out, this can actually be a drag on their performance, and it can also hurt team morale, which is obviously the opposite of what you want. The other key is to have recognition based on merit. Any positive benefits of individual recognition will disappear if it seems like the whole system is rigged, which is why it’s so important to back up your decision with an explanation, such as, “Kaylee stayed
Wooing Your Customers Account Management: The Art Is in the Chase
expect, too. And this interaction will make it difficult for you to add value.
To make price a nonissue, you have to find out what has value to the customer. Research suggests that the majority of a decision to buy is made prior to contacting the seller of an item. If you make first contact, of course, you can negotiate more on your terms and sell to their value, rather than their price ceiling. Again, it’s challenging to track contact, follow-up, and the status of potential and current buyers. The most effective software for this undertaking is Handle, which can automatically remind you to follow up at key points outside of the buying cycle —when customers are thinking about price. It allows you to be proactive instead of reactive. Contact us at 763-548-0828 to learn more! Handle will keep your relationships healthy and strong — your customer relationships, that is.
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GET A HANDLE ON ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT CRM Software for Better Relationships and Closed Sales
Do you need a‘Handle’on account management? Our customer relations management (CRM) software is called Handle, and it has a lot of features that will make your life a lot easier.
You gain a lot of appreciation when you proactively contact customers outside of their buying cycle. On the other hand, if your follow-up is inconsistent or nonexistent, you’re hurting those relationships andmissing out on sales. Fortunately, proactive contact can cut in half the number of calls needed to close a sale. Remember, if you wait for customers to come to you, you’re missing out on all the prospects who count themselves out based on price—before you have a chance to talk to them and really paint the picture of why your product or service is a great value. Proactive contact goes hand in hand with a CRM that makes it all operate smoothly. With all of the features mentioned above, Handle provides a platform that helps you organize follow- up, store crucial notes about each contact, and offer analysis that makes your sales efforts more effective and efficient. Please contact us to find out more about howHandle can boost your sales.
account, ensuring accountability and responsibility for taking care of customers. Call Frequency: Set an automated rule around how often to initiate some sort of contact with each customer. Automation: You can set up rules around call frequency for automatic reminders. This extends to any sort of data or transaction, such as warranty expiration, delivery dates, repair orders, and big sales that close to trigger a follow-up response or action. Mapping: When driving a long distance to see a client, mapping allows you to stop at other prospects and customers along the way for maximum efficiency. These are some great features, but it’s always easier to appreciate something when you see it in action. Let’s look at one specific thing this CRMwill do to improve your relationship with customers. • • •
Here are just a few of them:
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Classification: You can classify your accounts as A, B, C, or D to clarify their level of importance to your organization. Assign: Designate the appropriate people within a department to handle a specific
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ON US! HAVE A LAUGH
That Christmas ham was delicious, but what to do with the leftovers? Try this favorite brunch item with a side of toast and fresh orange juice. BREAKFAST CASSEROLE Cheesy Ham and Potato
Recipe inspired by allrecipes.com.
Ingredients
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1 (16-ounce) container sour cream 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese 1 ½ cups grated Parmesan cheese
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1 (32-ounce) package frozen hash brown potatoes
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8 ounces cooked ham, diced 2 (10-ounce) cans condensed cream of potato soup
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Directions
evenly into prepared dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
3. Bake 1 hour in the
2. In a large bowl, mix hash browns, ham, cream of potato soup, sour cream,
preheated oven, or until bubbly and lightly brown. Serve immediately.
and cheddar cheese. Spread
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INSIDE
this issue
1 2 3 4
Simplify Your CRM
How to Recognize Top Performers
Why Wooing Customers Is Important
CRM Software That Helps You Handle Accounts
Cheesy Ham and Potato Breakfast Casserole
The 1 Surefire Way to Sabotage Company Culture
The 1 Surefire Way
TO SABOTAGE COMPANY CULTURE
Succeeding in business is hard. The frustrating part is, no matter how financially savvy you are, company culture is a completely different realm of business to master. And yet, getting company culture right can make a huge difference to your bottom line. According to a Columbia University study, a company with a rich company culture will see a job turnover rate of just 13.9 percent, whereas the turnover rate in companies with poor culture is 48.4 percent! So, realizing that employee satisfaction leads to greater productivity and lower turnover, how do you find that key balance between fun and professional, productive and creative, collaborative and competitive? While company culture will always take some fine-tuning, there’s one company culture killer to avoid like the plague: hiring the wrong employee.
This isn’t to say that every new hire will fit in perfectly in every possible way, but hiring with company culture in mind will help you avoid a toxic work environment and the very expensive cost of replacing employees who weren’t ever going to fit in from the beginning. It will also prevent you from having a team of unhappy employees who are disengaged from their work and spread negativity. The bottom line for boosting your bottom line? Be cognizant about hiring for company culture, and keep tabs on current employees who are starting to run afoul of the culture you’re promoting. With strong attention to this one key aspect of your business, the rewards will be great indeed.
Now, there’s no question that interviewing prospective employees is time-consuming and a distraction from the work you’d really rather be doing. With that said, however, too many business owners hire the first person they interview who seems to have the skills needed to do the job. You’ll see the problem with this approach when the skilled new employee starts complaining, ignoring company policies, and damaging company morale. What happened? You didn’t consider how they’d fit in with company culture as part of the hiring process! A mismatch between employee and culture can lead to all kinds of conflict: a gossiper in a gossip-free zone, a cutthroat go- getter in a group of friendly collaborators, or an introvert who always keeps to themselves in a close group of coworkers who love to spend time together outside of work.
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