Why does your sales team refuse to use the CRM

by Smith Wakeupsales Wakeupsales

After hours of research, discussions & negotiations… you finally have a CRM in place. What may shock you after a few days is when you still find your employees hesitant to take the plunge. They are still on the age-old methods of using spreadsheets & sticky notes. Can be really frustrating!

Well, change is difficult. Not everyone embraces change quickly. Matter of fact, research says that nearly 40% of employees prefer to stick with traditional methods when a CRM is implemented at their workplace. That’s a lot to slow down your productivity & efficiency, don’t you think.

The hesitation might be due to various reasons such as difficulty in use, technology phobia, lack of willingness or motivation, lack of knowing the benefits it has in store etc. As a manager, it’s your responsibility to figure out the possible reasons & their solutions. Here are a few, that might be of help:

People Don’t Like ‘Change’

Everybody likes to be in their comfort zone. And sales folks are no different. Key is to make the change easier for them, by making them involved from the very beginning.

Ask them what they need or what they expect from a CRM, what are their current pain-points, or you can also take their vote on which CRM would likely be best for them. By feeling involved, many from the hesitant group may well feel confident or even like the idea of moving to a CRM. And chances are that they may even convince their colleagues to come on board too.

Don’t Realize the Benefits of Using a CRM

One of the most common reasons behind employees not using a CRM is that they aren’t well aware of the benefits it’s likely to give. Best thing to do is to sit down with them & helping them realize the numerous benefits that a CRM has to offer, from saving loads of time to increasing efficiency & customer satisfaction.

Sharing some real-life case studies may go a long way in helping your cause.

Lack of Technical Expertise in Using the CRM

There can be two major reasons behind this; either your employees are not tech-savvy enough or they are just familiar with some other app. Best way to deal with this is by extensive training, simple on boarding & regular feedback sessions.

It will be even more effective if you enlighten your employees about the industry best practices & how the use of CRM is on top of everyone’s list. Any added motivation always helps!

Main Article Source: Why Your Sales Team Refuses to Use the CRM | Wakeupsales Blog