People don’t like change. Once they’ve been doing something one way, it can be incredibly difficult to get them to accept a better way of doing the same thing. Even if it’s obvious that the new way is better, they can still cling to “their” way of doing things.
Need proof? It took laws in all fifty states and the threat of fines to get a majority of people to wear seatbelts. Did those people honestly believe that seatbelts were a “bad” thing? Not at all. It wasn’t the seatbelts they were opposed to—it was the change.
Many businesses experience the same phenomenon when trying to implement a CRM system. Despite all of the obvious benefits of CRM, salespeople can still be reluctant to adopt the new system. It’s not that they’re opposed to CRM itself, they’re just not happy about changing the way they’ve always done their job. Salespeople give a variety of reasons why they don’t want to switch to CRM, and some of them are valid concerns. Fortunately, all of their concerns can be addressed and resolved through proper CRM training.
This is Taking Forever!
A properly administered CRM training program will teach salespeople how to use the system efficiently. It can also show them all of the new tools and features that are being added to make the process even faster.
It’s true. Entering information into a CRM system can take more time than scribbling notes on a sticky pad. If they’ve been using a spreadsheet or document to record customer information for years, they probably know all the shortcuts and hotkeys needed to do it quickly and easily. The thing is, any new system is going to be slower in the beginning. The most intuitive software in the world still has a learning curve. In this case, the benefits of CRM make the learning curve well worth the effort.
A properly administered CRM training program will teach salespeople how to use the system efficiently. It can also show them all of the new tools and features that are being added to make the process even faster. Once they learn that they can enter data by using their phone to take pictures of business cards, they won’t have much to complain about.
Am I Getting Paid For This?
Salespeople are, obviously, focused on sales. They don’t consider entering customer information into a database to be a part of the sales process. If they can’t see the process moving them closer to a commission, they probably won’t see value in the process. For them, every minute spent working with the CRM system is a minute they’re not spending wheeling and dealing.
Proper training will quickly reveal just how beneficial CRM is to lead generation, nurturing, and sales. Salespeople will learn that time spent using the CRM system is time spent improving all of their sales channels. Leads who have a better experience become customers. Customers who have a better experience become repeat customers. A good training program will help salespeople see the value in adopting the system.
But, Those Are My Leads …
Being protective of leads doesn’t help if it causes those leads to have a poor experience. With CRM training, salespeople learn to see how the system benefits the leads which, in turn, will benefit their sales figures.
Leads are the lifeblood of any sales force. And they can be very protective of those leads. Some salespeople don’t like ceding control of their contact list to a CRM system. They worry that this could dilute their client base or, worse yet, lead to poaching. As far as they’re concerned, putting their customer information into a database is no better than posting it on a billboard.
Being protective of leads doesn’t help if it causes those leads to have a poor experience. With CRM training, salespeople learn to see how the system benefits the leads which, in turn, will benefit their sales figures. CRM isn’t about taking leads from salespeople—it’s about more effectively turning those leads into customers. Once they understand that fact, salespeople should be eager for CRM implementation.
I Just Don’t Get It
Technology frightens a lot of people. Learning a CRM system can seem overwhelming, especially for salespeople who spend most of their time on the phone or in the field. It can be much worse if they’ve already put in the time learning another type of system, like spreadsheets or contact managers.
CRM is no more difficult to learn than a smartphone. Try taking a smartphone away from a salesperson. Learning to use the system correctly will involve an investment of time, from the salesperson and the trainer. Like any system, once they understand the basics, the rest will come at an accelerated rate.
Getting Onboard
Without proper training, these excuses, and a thousand others, will be used to resist the implementation. Without adoption by the sales force, a CRM system is a waste of money and resources. Salespeople will stick to their former systems, leaving the rest of the company out of the customer information loop. This will essentially stick a cork in the sales funnel. Fortunately, a properly planned and executed CRM training program can assuage fears and get everyone onboard with the new implementation.
