Have you ever signed up for a CRM system only to find out it doesn’t deliver on its promises? I have many times and I thought I was a failure. Turns out I wasn’t a failure and I wasn’t alone. Like many entrepreneurs and corporate project leaders I was just not aware of the simple fact that you had to integrate the CRM system with other systems to scale because CRM systems build a foundation, not a business and they 100% do not deliver on every touch point you need to nurture and grow your customer base.
I spent 8 hours a day for 3 days this week learning from one of the world’s best CRM systems – yep! That’s 24 hours in a windowless conference room with air conditioning blasted on high to keep everyone awake as there is a lot to learn if you want to make a system work to your advantage. What did I learn? The tech experts agreed with me. The system could not build my business without integrating with other apps and CRM systems. In fact no CRM system can create and deliver everything you need so it’s time to accept that fact and stop the disputable advertising narratives these companies promote. This company confirmed this fact in front of a room who wanted to learn how to scale and I appreciated their honesty because it meant they were on our side. They had passion for their brand yet they knew it had tech potholes. Those tech potholes were what we challenged them on as the #1 reason WHY people were in the room was to get out of the tech weeds and back into what they love doing. For me that is creating amazing brands for powerful women via online learning platform Powerful Steps.
Like any entrepreneur looking for a successful path forward I pushed, prodded and got uncomfortable to get comfortable to work out a roadmap forward by asking lots of questions and then placing the recommendations into actionable points so I could see what forward momentum would look like. A simple action you can implement with an immediate result is reviewing or setting up a welcome sequence to new customers or which introduces who you are, your business and how they can become involved with hyperlinks which create a path to purchase. Within minutes we made the recommended and very simple copy changes to this sequence and saw four people buy Self Belief is Your Superpower and two people purchase our Network Like A Pro Online Masterclass of the one sign-up email. The power of this one email created an impact with four new customers who took immediate action by buying our book and two who wanted to learn more in the way of an online masterclass. And the next surprise – they all followed us on @powerfulsteps Instagram which meant we had created authentic fans of the brand because we included our social hyperlinks in the introduction email too.
Before you decide on what CRM system is right for your business I wanted to share 5 insights to empower you so that you are prepared for what lies ahead. Tech can be hard to navigate – but super hard if you don’t know what you need to grow your business effectively to gain valuable hours back into your day that can be spent becoming more visible to your customers in new and exciting ways.
TOP 5 CRM TIPS
1. Before you sign up to a CRM Strategy understand your customer journey and how you wish to support them – can the CRM system then support YOU?
2. Define your target, attract, support strategy – map it out and be clear on financial milestones and marketing reinvestment strategies to grow your business from zero to hero
3. Engage an exceptionally smart conversion copywriter who is invested in understanding your brand language, ideal customer and their pain points so you can create copy sequences in the CRM system that nurture and convert into sales.
4. Transform those clients into raving fans by acknowledging who they are and rewarding them for their advocacy to your business – consider affiliate partners to aid this growth. Check that the CRM system offers this service.
5. Do your research on how the CRM will support your business. What timezone is it based on, what currency are they charging you and what kind of help will they offer (the type that does not include a bot)
Undoubtedly tech will replace human connection in building business models that automate as they are more cost effective and easy for customers to navigate when you get the wireframe right. A recent Pipeline survey predicted the revenue of CRM software to reach over $80 billion by 2025. So what are you doing to prepare your business for the future? If you’re like me you will want to learn and see how you can build a strong foundation and set yourself up for future success. Know that you will make a lot of mistakes and that’s OK because eventually the right system, with the right integration will appear and that is when your business is ready to create and deliver large scale impact.
Just do your research and be willing to learn. And yes, I am committed to the CRM system we have. I have found my power and purpose by stepping away from my business for a few days to up skill and made some valuable relationships from my time with the tech team so I feel very grateful that my journey is supported.