Key factors that affect sales productivity:

1. Sales Process and Methodology: A well-oiled and optimised sales mechanism helps sales representatives concentrate on important leads, prioritise day-to-day work and close more deals in less time.

2. Training & Development: Proper training and skill development enables the sales team to work more efficiently.

3. Tools & Technology: Technologies such as lead generation tools, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software, and sales automation tools empower the sales team to increase their productivity.

4. Management & Leadership: Sales representatives expect a positive work environment, regular feedback and coaching to improve their work performance, And these expectations can only be fulfilled when strong and understanding management exists with proven leadership qualities.

5. Incentives: Proper compensation and incentives play an important role to motivate the sales team. If the incentives are connected with business goals they can boost productivity in sales efforts.

If the mentioned key factors are absent, it becomes difficult for a business to achieve the required sales productivity.

Strategies for boosting sales productivity:

The below-mentioned mechanism needs to be followed in order to design an effective sales master plan:

1. Target high-potential customers: By analysing customer data such as demographics, purchasing behaviour, and habits a business can create a customised sales strategy to fulfil the specific needs of the customer.

2. Sales process optimization: The need is to analyse every cycle of the sales process and remove barriers so that a well-planned sales process can be followed by the sales team.

3. Tools and resources to support sales: A sales team can be made productive by providing them with relevant training programs and access to data analytics tools.

How can CRM boost sales productivity?

A sales CRM is a mechanism that enables a sales team to work more efficiently and focus attention on creating quality relationships with potential customers. The CRM tool keeps a comprehensive record of previously held communication with the prospect, suggestions and requirements mentioned and automatically organises the whole data to send reminders to the team for initiating right action.

Key features of CRM for sales:

1. Managing leads: Leads can be managed by sales funnel analysis, The report provides a clear picture as to where the customer is positioned in the pipeline, And where the business is losing or gaining a quality customer.

2. Customer contact management: The tool makes it easy for the sales team to keep a record of customer information such as name, phone number, email address and purchasing history.

3. Forecasting sales: A business can make informed decisions on marketing campaigns and product development on the basis of a perfect sales forecast.

4. Data analytics: Sales and marketing data help the team understand the current trends and make data-supported decisions.

5. Automation: Repetitive tasks such as keeping customer details, data entry and sending follow-up emails are managed by CRM. As a result, the sales team gets proper time to design strategies for building relationships with customers.

Best practices for implementing CRM for sales:

Choosing the right CRM platform is half the battle won. Hence, it is very important to analyse the crucial factors of CRM implementation before going forward:

1. Clarity: It is important to have clarity over organisational goals. Goals that are realistic in nature can make the process smoother.

2. Choose the right option: The decision over which CRM to use should be taken after considering the factors such as integration, pricing, business model and ease of use.

3. Know your team: An organisation has all types of sales representatives. It is important to understand how the majority likes to work. Doing so can help the business find the right CRM for the team.

4. Customisable CRM: It is important to implement a CRM that can be customised or personalised based on the team’s changing needs.