A CRM system is system used for managing a company’s interactions with current and future customers. It often involves using technology to organise, automate, and synchronise sales, marketing, customer service, and technical support. There are many software based systems available depending on what you require, and many systems are free or at least have a free version. I use Insightly, which has a free version. It keeps a record of all my prospects, contact details and any associated tasks. There is also an excellent feature, which allows you to produce reports, and in which will record exactly the records we discussed before.

Funnel

Another feature of a good CRM such as Insightly is that it will allow you to visualise and track your Sales Funnel. If you can imagine a funnel shape, you place your suspects in the top of the funnel and as they proceed through the sales process, from Telephone Call through to Sale Closed. At each stage, you will have fewer prospects you are actively working on. For example, you may have 1,000 suspects, 100 you are actually on contact with, 10 you have under discussion and 3 you are pushing for a close. The more you put in the top, the more you get out the bottom. In addition, the more adept at selling you become, the more sales you will make.

Data

Aside from the sales stage, your system should allow you to keep all the necessary details of you prospect:
name
address
phone
email
contact details
Your system should also allow you to keep detailed notes about each contact you have with the prospect. This is your market intelligence and is not only good practice but could also make the difference in you winning business or not.

Reminders

Another great feature of Insightly and other good CRMs is the feature, which allows you to assign tasks to a customer, with reminders. In this way, you can put your prospects on, for instance, a three monthly call. This means that you will call them every three months until they buy from you. You will then start to build up a relationship with that prospect, so that when they are ready for your product or service, you will be front of mind.

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Today, there are a lot of sales tools to make yourself known and reach as many customers as you can. These tools are essential in your business because they can help propel you to success.

The Telephone

The telephone is a very important business tool. In fact, it is widely used right now by both small-scale businesses to large corporate empires. Call centers are set up everywhere, even carried offshore to maximise cost and efficiency. Why? It’s because the telephone is very powerful. You can inquire a product through phone, place and confirm orders, and collect payment through this device. As a salesperson, you can reach your possible customers without leaving your home or office. You can talk to them at their most convenient time. You don’t need to worry about traveling, what to wear or where to meet. All you have to do is to press a few numbers on the keypad, wait for the person to answer on the other end of the line, and you have a deal brewing right under your nose. I will go into more detail on telephone prospecting later.

Local Community Groups

To realise your goal much faster than expected, you have to first reach the local groups with which they belong. It is advisable that you become known in the local community you would like to penetrate first. You have to build your reputation well, so to speak. You will benefit most if you use the power of the word of mouth. If everything goes well, you might not have to go to your customer at all. They would be coming to you instead.

Advertising and Publicity

Publicity will take you miles closer to your targets. Publicity includes the tri-media, as it is more known today. The newspapers and other printed materials, the television stations, and the radio airwaves are the things that corresponds to publicity. Spots for these may not come free, but it is worth the investment, especially if you get to make your product or service known to the masses. If you are lucky, you might just come across some of them at no cost at all. Whichever the case, you have to make sure that you choose the one that reaches your most probable customers. Don’t be too overeager and buy a television commercial spot right away only to find out that you’ve place your ads for car paints on a fashion TV show, which does not jive at all.

Direct Mail

There had been a time when direct mail is a breakthrough in mass marketing. Direct mail straightforwardly informs your customers of your sales activities and promotional offers that come with it. Direct mail connects you to the very people you want to contact. It fixes in a very personal level what your customer cannot easily resist.

Sales Promotional Materials

These are your massively produced paraphernalia, usually paperwork. Your brochures, leaflets, and inserts are what compose this category. If you want to reach as many audiences as possible without caring so much for pre-qualifying, this is the way to go. Print out thousands of leaflets and scatter them all over town. Call the local newspaper dealer and strike a deal with them, putting your inserts to all periodicals for a certain fee.
Of the three, brochures are quite different. Some brochures are printed on glossy paper and usually come colored. You don’t want to put these to waste by just giving it to somebody who is not at all interested. In essence, you have to give this only to the people who are opting to buy or are most likely to buy.

The Internet

Currently, there is no marketing tool that is as powerful as the Internet. The Internet is an avenue for everything. It is so popular even kids know how to use it. The Internet is where everybody virtually meets. If you want to market your products to the rest of the world, you can use the Internet. It is the most inexpensive way to do it. Today, everything can be done online. You can advertise, sell your product, and receive payment, all without leaving the comforts of your home or office. All you need is some knowledge of how e-commerce and internet marketing works, and get ready to be swept away by voluminous orders.

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