Making Relationships the Focus of CRM Systems

Until recently, most CRM systems revolved around transactions. Pipelines lead to sales, sales lead to follow-up calls, and calls lead to more pipeline quotes. Under normal operating conditions, this cycle continues while it grows to accommodate even more new customers.

This works well for products and services with regular re-order cycles involving raving fans. However, for sales professionals who market to irregular purchasers on unusual timelines, CRM systems provide an essential boost by helping to cultivate new business.

Expert sales professionals carry intimate knowledge about their best customers in their heads. Interview some of the best salespeople in the world, and they can often rattle of personal details of their top ten accounts. Anniversaries, birthdays, favorite restaurants -- knowing tiny details about your customers' lives helps build rapport that can convert into sales.

In today's distributed society, CRM systems act as a collective brain for sales teams or for solo professionals with hundreds of clients. Instead of simply logging the events that lead to a sale, innovative new CRM systems actually recommend actions that can jump start business. For example, a CRM system can remind you to call a client for follow-up on a recent proposal. Even better, CRM systems can remind you about crucial dates in your prospects' lives, so you can send cards or other well wishes.

As more of us place personal information about ourselves online, CRM systems can become even more valuable. "Social" CRM systems scour public web pages, including some Facebook and MySpace profiles, for accessible information about your prospects. Understanding that your prospect is a Red Sox fan can help you decide how to dole out box seats and other corporate perks. Smart CRM systems can even use this information to predict the likelihood of a client completing a sale.

While customers can still see right through you if you're only pretending to care about their interests, social CRM systems can highlight prospects with whom you have the highest rapport. In a team setting CRM systems can match all of your customers with the best sales professionals to handle their accounts. While that might put an interesting spin on your compensation structure, it can also boost overall revenues.