Author Archives: Brian Gardner

Have a bad taste in your mouth from your last CRM implementation attempt?  

Know that your business could benefit from a single source of truth across the organization but hesitant to give it another shot?  

Brian Gardner, Founder and CEO of SalesProcess360, was recently invited onto Driven by DCKAP, a podcast that discusses the technology challenges faced by modern distributors. DCKAP specializes in ERP integration platforms designed for distributors. 

A company’s CRM journey should be viewed as a marathon, not a sprint. It’s not a one-and-done project with a start and end date. You don’t just set out to buy or implement a CRM. To do it right, there’s a lot of pre- and post-work and many challenges along the way.  

One of the most common reasons customer relationship management (CRM) initiatives fall short of expectations is not having a point person who takes ownership. More specifically, it’s the lack of a dedicated leader who can drive the process from a sales management perspective rather than just a technical one. 

It’s always difficult to get everyone on-board with new technology. CRM is no exception. In fact, distributors, reps and manufacturers often face a challenge in getting “sales cowboys” to embrace CRM. Some worry that Big Brother wants to look over their shoulders. Some just resist a change to their regular routines.

When speaking at conferences and I ask what is the definition of “Team Selling” I always get sharing in the responses. The word I rarely get is Leveraging. I believe companies can achieve a competitive edge by sharing and leveraging information. CRM is built for being the repository for information to be shared and leveraged. It is in CRM’s wheelhouse. The question is, who on your team is involved with sharing and leveraging information?

How can focused account profiling promote business growth?

Last week during a CRM roundtable webinar I hosted with MCAA, we discussed ways to use CRM data to make better business decisions. One of the hot topics was Account Profiling and how using a 4-dimensional approach can help grow your business volume with focus on where your sales team should spend their time. You may say, “We have a profiling system and we grade our accounts.” In my experience, the information is usually only 1-dimensional; basing it off current or the past years business volume and not growing volume. This is where the 4-dimensional approach becomes invaluable.

I’ve found through my talks at different meetings typically 70-80% of those in attendance are using some type of CRM within their company. And that only 10% feel they are getting ROI out of their CRM. One of the factors that lead to success is setting the stage for WHY from the beginning…including getting management buy in.

Many companies, including industrial manufacturers, distributors and representatives tend to view any kind of technology investment as a cost. Part of that stems from the need to budget the investment, which is typically done under the eye of the CFO.

Last week, I hosted an online CRM best practices roundtable in partnership with the Measurement, Control and Automation Association (MCAA). We covered a variety of topics, but tracking opportunities on the front end of the sales cycle was a dominant theme. Below, I’ve compiled a few opportunity management tips from the session for those who weren’t able to attend this members-only roundtable.