You put so much time, thought, and effort into building your business. Choosing a CRM can seem as insurmountable as starting that business, but it does not have to be. With so many applications available, how do you know which CRM is the right one to choose? Rather than focusing on a CRM brand and product, focus on the features you need to be successful. Once you understand your core criteria, you can narrow down the offerings to those that most closely suit your business. Forbes lists five must-have features for your CRM, which we highlight below so you can kick off your search.
1. Interaction Tracking
Typically, a prospect does not run a quick search on your product and decide to purchase it all in one go. (That would be great though, wouldn’t it?) There is a process of interactions from the first time you communicate with a prospect, to the time they purchase your offering, and an ongoing customer relationship thereafter.
You must track that entire process to learn more about your customer base and to determine if your processes and strategies are working. A CRM should be able to track every email, phone call, text, meeting, product demonstration, etc. a sales rep has with a customer. Additionally, if more than one sales rep has contacted the lead, you need to see who handled each interaction. A good CRM gives you that information.
2. An In-App Caller
The phone is still the primary way to get in touch with decision makers. All types of sales teams rely on phone calls. However, reps no longer need to pick up a phone and manually dial every number they must call on a given day. With call features like click-to-dial and automatic call logging, in-app phone integration is a must-have with your CRM.
These time-saving benefits help you quickly call your prospect lists and increase the number of people you can contact in a day.
3. Mobile CRM
Sales is a job you can never turn off. Even if you mostly sell from an office, when a prospect reaches out to you after office hours wanting to purchase, you close that deal. All sales reps need to be able to access their data from a mobile app, especially those outside reps primarily on the road.
A strong CRM mobile app allows reps to update leads, view upcoming activities, view their pipeline, automatically track calls placed on their mobile phone, and check up on records without the need for a laptop or computer.
4. Integrations, Integrations, and More Integrations
A CRM will not be the only sales-enhancing tool your team uses, but it should be the mothership that all other tools flow into.
By integrating with other applications, you can pull data from other resources into the CRM or send information from the CRM to the other applications. This helps your reps have everything they need in one application and saves them time because they don’t have to flip through multiple applications trying to find the data they need.
Find out if the CRM you are considering can be integrated with the tools you are currently using to enhance your sales.
5. Document Management
To keep sales, marketing, and support all on the same page, document sharing and uploading is pivotal. You should be able to upload important documents like proposals, contracts, or technical specifications directly to the prospect so that members of each department can easily access the information they need, when they need it.
Document sharing and collaboration with all users of your CRM streamlines communications among teams.
As you understand more about your business and what you should expect from a CRM, you will see the list of required features grow. Do not forget though, these five are core features that will help you maximize your sales.
AMPED is a sales automation and CRM application designed with core features that allow you to improve your sales processes and grow your sales. Along with powerful fundamental features, AMPED can be customized to fit the needs of any business.
Try out AMPED for free today!