Sales AI Vs. Traditional CRM
Destination CRM, Friday, November 17,2023
After my last column, which focused on the cost companies incurred by not adequately investing in the tools reps needed to sell in uncertain times, I received a lot of feedback pointing out I had tackled only half the challenge. Some readers noted that I did not address precisely why new technology is or could be something that really optimizes sales performance.
So here let's address the issue of technology ROI. I followed up with a couple of people who had commented on the column, and they made a point I had under-considered. They said they had been using CRM for several years, and that while it had proved useful, it had never really lived up to their expectations in terms of turbo-charging their sales teams.
In examining their experiences further, they shared that they viewed traditional CRM as useful for increasing sales efficiency-it helped decrease administrative work, improve communications across sales teams, and streamline (not necessarily improve) the forecast process. Those functions were seen as helpful in giving sales professionals more time to sell, but they did little to improve how effectively they sell.