Bad advice No. 1: don’t involve your sales teams in the project
You have a CRM CRM project and want metrics to manage your business, but you didn’t take the time to discuss it with your team? Anyway, they’re not interested and they shouldn’t waste time on this kind of thing. They need to be effective in the field; that’s what matters most.
Or, you can take the time to explain the importance of CRM metrics to all your teams, and build them together. That way, the data collected will be higher quality and will actually be used by your entire sales force.
Bad advice No. 2: pile on the mandatory data your sales reps have to enter
Your CRM software lets you aggregate all the data your sales reps have to enter: date of first contact, calls made to get a meeting, customer meetings, contract signing date…
It’s essential to enter as much data as possible, even if it means wasting a lot of time. That way, your sales reps will spend less time in the field, but will have qualified, comprehensive customer files.
Or, you can take the time up front to define the essential data each role needs in order to choose the right metrics. This way, your sales reps won’t be overloaded and will enter the data properly. You’ll end up with reliable, high-quality metrics to monitor your business.
Bad advice No. 3: only trust revenue and margin
Why not go to the other extreme? The only data you need is revenue and margin. Maybe the number of customers. But don’t waste time looking for new ones, you can manage your business with this data alone. And above all, don’t distinguish between new and existing customers, between each sales rep’s turnover, or the effort each one puts in. All that matters is the final result!
Alternatively, you can define truly useful CRM performance indicators that let you manage your activity more precisely, monitor your team’s work, and measure results against the effort invested.
Bad advice No. 4: don’t prioritize your indicators
You’ve finally made up your mind and chosen 15 indicators that you pull together in a single, global dashboard. The result is impossible to digest, but at least it exists.
Alternatively, you can distinguish between the data you need every day and the data that will be useful when defining your annual strategy. This lets you build custom dashboards that are clearer and easier to read.
Bad advice No. 5: don’t set up CRM alerts
Don’t use CRM alerts. They’ll just stress your salespeople, who’ll feel like they’re being watched. Besides, you’ve trained them: all the data will of course be filled in correctly. And you always keep an eye on open files — nothing gets past you.
Alternatively, you can set up an alert workflow that escalates information through the hierarchy: from sales rep to sales manager, then up to senior management. That way, everyone is accountable, leadership isn’t flooded with emails, and no issues fall through the cracks. Management can also create alerts to focus on the most important customers (key accounts).
Bad advice No. 6: don’t challenge your sales reps on the quality of the data they provide
In your view, there’s no point in challenging your sales reps with a bonus tied to data quality. After all, it’s part of their day-to-day job: they just have to do it. End of story.
Or you can offer a quality-related bonus in your CRM to motivate your teams to enter data properly. That way, your sales reps will be more careful. On your end, you’ll get higher-quality data and, as a result, reliable indicators.
Bad advice No. 7: don’t trust an experienced partner
You don’t have time to waste with your CRM integrator: you know your business better than they do, so you don’t see what value they can add. And if you ever have a question, that’s what Google is for, right?
Instead, you can rely on your CRM partner. Drawing on their experience, they’ll advise you on technical and organizational aspects… It would be a shame not to take advantage of that. And with their outside perspective and the many projects they’ve completed for companies like yours, they’ll be able to challenge your thinking and bring you fresh ideas.
To wrap up, take the time to define the right CRM indicators, involve your teams and, above all, don’t rush. That way, you’ll be able to manage your sales activities effectively!
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