by Bill Poole | Aug 21, 2023 | Sales
Two Types of CRMs
There are two types of CRMs: vertical and horizontal.
Vertical CRMs are designed to meet specific industries’ unique needs and challenges. They provide more targeted solutions to businesses operating in those sectors, with features and functionalities tailored to their particular requirements. Examples of vertical CRMs include healthcare CRMs, real estate CRMs, and legal CRMs. These CRMs may also provide industry-specific integrations that streamline workflows and improve productivity. However, if all businesses are different, integrating and optimizing for your business may require more effort for a vertical CRM.
On the other hand, horizontal CRMs are designed to work across different industries, providing more functional and flexible solutions. They offer a more comprehensive range of features and functionalities that are more customizable to suit your business needs. Examples of horizontal CRMs include Salesforce, HubSpot, Monday.com, and Zoho. While they may not be ready to roll out of the box, horizontal CRMs provide more flexibility to customize and wrap around your unique business like a glove. Additionally, they may provide more visibility across your entire business.
Trade-offs
A lot of the decision process for a CRM comes down to trade-offs. When choosing between vertical and horizontal CRMs, consider your business goals, the size and complexity of your business, and the level of customization you require. You should also evaluate the CRMs compatibility with your existing tech stack, including marketing automation software, social media management tools, customer service software, and even back-office applications. Your new CRM may enable you to retire some of your outdated tech.
It is extremely important that all departments are involved in developing requirements for a new CRM as all stand to gain from a functionality perspective. After your requirements are defined, it is time to weigh the trade-offs. Consider cost, ease of use, and scalability when comparing your CRM options. Some CRM systems are a lot more expensive than others, so understanding the trade-offs can be very challenging.
Conclusion
In conclusion, there is a lot at stake, so ensure you look at the decision holistically before you decide on a horizontal or vertical CRM.
Read more on how CRMs can increase revenue here. Make sure to download your “5 Steps for Scaling Sales and Growing Revenue” ebook.
#CRMInsights #BusinessTech
by Bill Poole | Aug 9, 2023 | Resources, Sales
Creating a business plan (V/TO™) is a great first step in moving your business to your goals.
Putting in place the processes and metrics to enable you to meet those business goals is a journey, but it is a journey worth taking. We call this the “Connected Scorecard.” The connected scorecard tracks the right activity metrics to drive your desired lagging metrics (your desired results from your Business Plan/ V/TO). Tracking the right leading metrics between the two helps you know if you are getting there.
Once you have the right processes in place and track the right metrics, you know how to take the appropriate actions to move your business forward.
Check out the video on how to Connect Your Sales Scorecard to Your Business Plan.
Connect Your Sales Scorecard
by Bill Poole | Jul 14, 2023 | Sales
On the surface, investing in contact data looks expensive. Before you reject the idea, here are three reasons to consider investing in a product like ZoomInfo, and then we will look at a few considerations to help you evaluate whether or not it might be worth it for your business.
Add Value To Your CRM
Investing in contact data can help keep your CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system up to date by providing accurate and current information about businesses and professionals. Here are a couple of ways contact data can assist in keeping your CRM up to date:
- Data Enrichment: Enrich your existing CRM data by appending and updating company and contact details. Any effective sales and marketing strategy can benefit from accurate information such as company names, addresses, phone numbers, industry classification, employee count, revenue estimates, and executive contacts.
- Contact and Account Scoring: Scoring capabilities to assess the quality and relevance of leads, prospects, and clients within your CRM also adds value. Analyzing various data points, such as job titles, industry, company size, and technology usage, can help prioritize and segment your CRM data, ensuring you focus on the most valuable prospects and customers.
Know When Your Prospects Are Seeking Your Help
Intent data refers to information about a prospect’s online activities and behaviors, indicating their interest or intent to purchase. You can configure your application to tell you when contacts that meet your Ideal Client Profile are Googling for things you can help them with.
Target The Right Contacts
Nothing is more frustrating than investing your energy in pursuing a prospect that has moved on from their position. Even worse, having incorrect contact data for customers and clients affects retention, client satisfaction, and the productivity of sales, marketing, and operations.
Time To Reconsider?
Your people, technology, and processes are significant assets to your organization. Here are a few things to consider before you put the kibosh on investment in contact data:
- How much have you invested in your CRM and other technologies with contact data?
- How much more effective would your team be if you took away all of the time they spend on activities aimed at the wrong contacts?
- What is the lifetime value of an Ideal Client to your business?
If you weigh these considerations, investing in a product liKe ZoomInfo seems like a slam dunk!
by Bill Poole | Jun 5, 2023 | Sales
B2B services organizations typically have goals to grow their business. The interesting thing is that they often miss the biggest opportunity to grow that is right under their nose. It is pretty hard to argue that it is a lot easier ot sell to current clients than to new ones. Most quoted statistics reference that it is 10x more expensive to sell to a new client than en existing one.
Five benefits to focusing on cross-selling to your clients.
- Increased revenue: Cross-selling allows B2B organizations to generate additional revenue streams by selling complementary or related services to existing customers. By offering a broader range of services, organizations can tap into new revenue opportunities without incurring significant customer acquisition costs.
- Deepening customer relationships: Cross-selling services is an effective strategy for strengthening relationships with existing customers. By expanding the range of services provided to a customer, B2B organizations deepen their engagement and become more embedded in the customer’s operations. This increases customer loyalty and reduces the likelihood of them seeking alternatives from competitors.
- Competitive advantage: Cross-selling can provide a competitive advantage by differentiating the B2B organization from its competitors. Offering a comprehensive suite of services that addresses a customer’s diverse needs can make the organization more appealing and valuable to customers. It positions the organization as a one-stop solution provider, giving them an edge over competitors who may offer a more limited range of services.
- Cost savings: Cross-selling to existing customers is generally more cost-effective than acquiring new customers. The B2B organization already has an established relationship with the customer, reducing the need for extensive marketing efforts and associated costs. Additionally, existing customers are more likely to be receptive to cross-selling efforts as they already trust the organization and value the existing services provided.
- Market expansion: Cross-selling services can open doors to new markets or customer segments. By identifying additional services that cater to different industries or sectors, B2B organizations can enter new markets with existing customers. This diversification reduces dependence on a single market segment and helps mitigate risks associated with market fluctuations.
Maximize Your Efforts
To maximize the effectiveness of cross-selling services, B2B organizations should focus on understanding their customer’s needs, developing a comprehensive service portfolio, training sales teams to identify cross-selling opportunities, and maintaining strong customer relationships through ongoing communication and support.
Download Your Cross-Selling Potential Questionnaire
by Bill Poole | Apr 28, 2023 | Sales
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software is now crucial for businesses looking to increase their revenue. It allows companies to manage customer interactions by capturing data, tracking interactions, and automating business processes.
To scale your sales and grow revenue aligning your technology with your Proven Process/Ideal Client Journey and associated sales and marketing processes is crucial. The first and most important decision regarding your sales and marketing technology stack is selecting the right CRM.
When choosing a CRM, defining the ideal state for your sales and marketing tech stack is critical. This includes visibility, contact data, automation, and reporting. You should also consider the need-to-have and nice-to-have options, your long-term business vision and goals, the rest of your tech stack, execution, and the vendor.
Let’s Talk About Why You Need a CRM
We know you know you need a CRM, but understanding the specific advantages can help you in your decision-making process to select the right one.
One of the most significant advantages of using a CRM is centralizing customer data in one place. By doing so, businesses can access all the information they need to manage customer relationships more effectively. This can include contact information, purchase history, and communication preferences. This information allows businesses to create targeted marketing campaigns that speak directly to customers’ needs and interests.
CRM software also enables businesses to automate their sales and marketing processes. This includes lead scoring, lead nurturing, and email marketing. By automating these tasks, companies can free up their sales and marketing teams to focus on higher-value activities, such as building relationships with prospects and customers.
Another advantage of using a CRM is the ability to track interactions with customers across multiple channels. This can include phone calls, emails, social media interactions, and website visits. By following these interactions, businesses can better understand how their customers engage with their brand. This information can be used to tailor marketing campaigns and sales strategies to meet customer needs better.
How Do You Choose a CRM for Your Business?
There are two types of CRMs: vertical and horizontal.
Vertical CRMs are designed to meet specific industries’ unique needs and challenges. They provide more targeted solutions to businesses operating in those sectors, with features and functionalities tailored to their particular requirements. Examples of vertical CRMs include healthcare CRMs, real estate CRMs, and legal CRMs. These CRMs may also provide industry-specific integrations that streamline workflows and improve productivity. However, integrating and optimizing for your business may require more effort.
On the other hand, horizontal CRMs are designed to work across different industries, providing more functional and flexible solutions. They offer a more comprehensive range of features and functionalities that can be customized to suit your business needs. Examples of horizontal CRMs include Salesforce, HubSpot, and Zoho. While horizontal CRMs may take more effort to customize out-of-the-box, they are typically easier to set up. Additionally, they may provide more visibility across your sales and marketing processes.
When choosing between vertical and horizontal CRMs, consider your industry’s specific needs, the size and complexity of your business, and the level of customization you require. You should also evaluate the CRM’s compatibility with your existing tech stack and long-term business goals.
Consider cost, ease of use, and scalability when comparing your CRM options. Some CRM systems can be expensive, so choosing a system that fits your budget is essential. It should also be a system that is easy to use, so your team can start using it immediately without much training. Next, choose a system that can scale with your business as it grows.
Finally, you want to select a CRM that integrates well with your other sales and marketing tools. This can include marketing automation software, social media management tools, and customer service software. Combining these tools with your CRM creates a seamless sales and marketing tech stack that streamlines your workflows and maximizes productivity.
Wrapping it Up
Having a single source of truth for all client-facing team members, accurate contact data, automated sales and marketing processes, and tracking data across your Ideal Client Journey and sales and marketing processes are essential for your sales and marketing tech stack’s ideal state.
You can identify trends and patterns by analyzing data to make better business decisions. Choosing the right sales and marketing technology can increase your team’s productivity and your business’s value, leading to greater efficiencies and revenue growth.
As an entrepreneur, we want to help you learn more about scaling sales and growing revenue. Download our helpful e-book today!
by Bill Poole | Apr 17, 2023 | Marketing, Sales
As an entrepreneur, growing revenue and scaling sales is crucial to the success of your business. However, it can be challenging to achieve these goals if you don’t have a documented Ideal Client Profile. This detailed description of your target customer will enable you to identify who your Ideal Prospects are and also serve as a filter to determine if a potential client will be a good fit. Knowing who your ideal clients are helps you pinpoint exactly where to focus your marketing efforts. When your marketing is pointed at those most likely to purchase what you’re offering, you have the most potential for sales growth.
Identifying Your Ideal Client Profile
Your ideal client profile (ICP) is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Ideal Clients are an intersection of the clients that:
- You are operationally optimized to serve
- Are the most valuable to your business
- Align with your team and values.
The high-level components of an ICP are:
- Description: One or two sentences that describe the characteristics of the companies who are a perfect fit for your solution.
- Data Points: This includes demographic data such as size of the company, including number of employees and revenue, location, and other specific company traits.
- Primary Personas: A primary persona is a fictional representation of your ideal clients based on market research and real data about your existing clients. At the very least, it should include: motivations, role goals, pain points, and preferred communication channels. The more specific and detailed your buyer persona is, the better you’ll be able to understand your target audience and tailor your marketing and sales approach to meet their needs.
Documenting your Ideal Client Profile (ICP) should enable you to pull “The List,” which is the actual businesses that meet the criteria in the ICP. This should be an addressable market for your sales and marketing efforts. If The List is too broad, reel in the data points on the ICP. Then, you can operationalize your ICP to realize the following benefits:
The Role of an Ideal Client Profile in Scaling Sales and Growing Revenue
Once you’ve put the proper plan into action to develop your ICP, what results should you expect? What benefits come from identifying your ideal client?
Focuses your Sales and Marketing Energy and Spend
Spending time and money without focusing on an ideal Client is wasteful. Once you have an addressable market, 100% of your sales and marketing spend and energy can be focused on ideal prospects and clients instead of diluting the spend on the wrong prospects for your business.
Improves Your Message
Your ICP includes your target personas and their desired outcomes. Having a more narrow ICP enables you to craft a message more likely to resonate with your ideal clients and prospects. So, when your prospects see your message, they are more likely to engage.
Enhances Your Client Satisfaction
Depending on your business, when your sales and marketing efforts bring on the wrong clients, operational challenges can be created. Your team should be operationally optimized to serve ideal clients in an efficient and effective manner. So naturally, bringing on ideal clients improves client satisfaction.
Increases Your Revenue
Focusing your sales and marketing energy, improving your message, and enhancing client satisfaction will of course lead to revenue growth. Moreover, satisfied customers are more likely to refer others to your business, leading to a steady stream of new customers and revenue.
By identifying your ideal clients, you can better target your sales and marketing efforts and generate more revenue for your business.
Developing an ideal client profile is essential for any business looking to scale its sales and grow its revenue. It helps you focus on serving businesses that align with your values and expertise, ultimately providing the best possible outcomes for your clients. Following these tips, you can describe your ideal client and develop targeted marketing and sales strategies to reach them effectively. The next step to scaling your sales and growing your revenue is focusing on your messaging, which we will explore in the next blog.
To learn more, download our ebook, “5 Steps for Scaling Sales and Growing Revenue”, today!
