Think of your CRM as a winning defensive midfielder

Think of the CRM in your sales team as the perfect DMF in a football side. Always there for the pass, picking up the loose ball, breaking up attacks and distributing the ball to the players up front. The Defensive Midfielder (DMF) is the beating heart of a football team and the best make their position look easy. And they’re rewarded too – think Kante of Leicester and now Chelsea, Xabi Alonso of Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. Great players that keep the game flowing and alive for their team and reward their teams with trophies and league championships.

And your CRM system is exactly the same:

Always there for you:

– available when you’re on the road, as a mobile app enabling you to check details on customers before you visit them.

Picking up the loose ball:

– Encouraging followup on leads and enquiries. Not letting appointments, calls and meetings get forgotten about with calendar and reminder functions.

Making Tackles:

– Putting the boot in when required to get the deal back on track. An opportunity pipeline that shows when and how likely and what is required to close a deal.

Distributing the ball:

– Getting data in and out to the team. Providing the team with new leads and data from various lead generation inputs.

Motivating:

– Automatically prompting new actions such as setting appointments, following up sales visits, and revisiting dormant leads.

Feeding the Strikers:

– Getting key information on your customer contacts from all sources including accounting, inventory, email and delivery .

Communication between the Front and Back:

– Ensuring that all members of staff have the same information on accounts regardless of whether they are sales team members or back office staff.

Man Marking:

– Define key individuals or groups of contacts with powerful search filters and then emailing that specific group with specific information targeted to them.

Closing Down Attacks:

– Alerting the sales team and sales manager to possible issues with an account – whether that’s a drop-off in sales or a lack of communication with key contacts.

As you can see, the CRM in your sales team is very much like the DMF position in football. Get it and your team performing together and you’ll have the makings of a winning sales performance.