CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management and it is one of the most essential elements of any business; which in turn makes it an integral component of sales recruitment. However, for companies whose main business is sales, the importance of CRM is compounded. This is because for these companies, the customer relationship (or lack thereof) can either propel business to great heights, or plunge it into the depths of oblivion. During the process of recruiting salespeople therefore, it is necessary to clearly highlight the role that CRM plays within the business.
Understanding CRM
The Customer Relationship Management Strategy is designed to effectively manage any interactions that the company has with every individual client. Using this system, the salesperson is able to develop a more comprehensive understanding of their client, which in turn equips him/ her to effectively provide products and services that the customer actually wants. This way, the business positions itself as a problem solver, as opposed to an entity which seemingly pushes products onto their clients.
Importance of CRM in Sales
1. Converting Leads to Sales
The recruitment process for sales people aims at ultimately retaining candidates who will close transactions. To this end, Customer Relationship Management helps to boost the rate at which leads are converted into sales and then to repeat business. One of the ways in which CRM accomplishes this, is by enabling the sales team to focus on different aspects of selling; including initiating first-contact, follow-up, and closing deals.
CRM software in particular, identifies transactions that are still pending unclosed. Consequently, this prompts the salesperson to action, particularly on deals that may have otherwise fallen through the cracks. Additionally, the software helps the professional to develop clear strategies whose specific purpose is to reduce the time and other resources that are invested into the sales cycles.
2. Personalized Service
CRM makes it possible for the business to provide every client with custom-made services. For this reason, potential candidates for a during the recruitment process would need to demonstrate an understanding of Customer Relationship Management and how its use helps to differentiate one client’s needs from those of another.
For instance, a popular CRM strategy is to track the purchases of clients in order to monitor their needs and interests. Once the salesperson has this information, they are able to contact the client with discount and coupon offers based solely on the type of products or services that they have already demonstrated interest in; versus bombarding them with all the different offers that the company rolls out. The client feels that their needs are recognized, and that the company is truly putting his/ her interests first. Thus, in addition to closing the sale, the sales professional also helps the company to retain the clients for future business, because the customer-experience demonstrates that the company values them.
Thus, emphasizing the role that CRM plays in the business helps to streamline the recruitment process by narrowing down the field of potential candidates to a skilled few.