Driving results through leadership and, of course, your CRM

If you’re a frequent reader of this blog then you know we take CRM systems pretty seriously. To us your CRM is more than just a tool; it’s your business in a nutshell, the record of all your successes and your … let’s call them learning opportunities. Your CRM is your company’s lifeblood, and because of that, it’s also the perfect venue for your leadership to shift the company vision.

But now here’s the question: Does your leadership use your CRM in such a way? Does your leadership use your CRM system at all? A no to this latter idea is too terrifying to consider, so let’s skip ahead and assume they do, but not to its total potential. No worries. Here’s how to make the most of your CRM from the C-suite.

Total buy-in

Successful organizations hold their members accountable, but doing so when employees or segments are working in different platforms and through different mediums can be difficult. Fortunately, your CRM system has the capability to be the one, final location for all documents if you will only make it so. Setting a mandate that all projects and work must be done through the CRM system brings everyone within the organization under one umbrella and makes the materials necessary for any process easy to find and review.

This adjustment also increases accountability throughout the organization, as goals for the company can be set within the CRM. Company meetings can then carry on with these objectives and prove each week what they are doing to accomplish them.

Shift the mindset

Thinking of the company’s CRM system as a tool carries natural considerations with it, not the least of which is, “How much is this costing us?” However, embracing the CRM system as a company lifestyle shifts the focus away from cost and toward utility. Instead of worrying about how much the CRM system costs, focus on: “What more can we do with it?”

From workloads and customer data to goals and financials, your CRM has the potential to be your core business platform; making it so is up to you.

Feeding operations

As we said earlier, the data in your CRM system is your company’s lifeblood. So how do you keep it pumping to everyone efficiently?

Abandoning the traditional, formal meeting is a great — and popular — place to start. Instead of 1.5-hour marathon sessions, engage in short scrum meetings for targeted check-ins, to discuss priorities for the current week and the week ahead. Leadership may want to discuss monthly goals during these meetings. Because everyone has access to the data in the CRM ahead of time, there’s no need to waste time rehashing information everyone can find on their own.

You can also use the system to focus on data from the previous year and to set benchmarks and comparisons to measure how your company is growing year over year.

Maintain that personal touch

While your CRM system may be a company-wide platform, there are still plenty of ways to utilize it on a personal level.

Establishing individual performance goals within your CRM provides documentation and visibility for all responsible parties and makes it easy for everyone involved to monitor individual performance metrics. Use this information for weekly one-on-ones, monthly check-ins or quarterly/annual formal reviews and your team will never miss a step.

To learn more about how your CRM system can help your organization utilize data to drive results, watch this helpful video.