Eating Our Own Dogfood: How the Coronavirus Hiatus Has Helped Us Build a Data-Driven Sales CRM That Is Already Paying Dividends

At Red Flag Alert, we had already started working on improving our CRM system when the lockdown hit. It proved to be a valuable hiatus, as we were able to review our overall sales process in depth and build something better.

What’s Changed?

We chose to partner with Zoho to create a marketplace extension that integrates with our data in real time.

When we were redesigning our system, we wanted to ensure it was easy to use so that our sales team would be motivated to engage with it.

With Zoho powered by Red Flag Alert, the team has detailed company information at their fingertips, including:

● Incorporation date

● Company number

● Turnover information

● SIC code

● Current assets

● Cash in the bank

● Company health rating

● Net worth

● Credit limits

● Contact information

This has delivered several benefits that have helped us to streamline our sales and business processes. Let’s look at a few of them in a little more detail below.

Transparency Across the Business

From the helpdesk to marketing and finance to sales, everyone has access to the same information. This leads to consistency of message to clients.

Shared information takes away the need for constant communication and means departments can spend time liaising on value-adding activities, rather than just sharing information.

Better Customer Experience

We can quickly autofill onboarding or lead generation forms using our data. This makes onboarding clients easy, saves them time, and ensures their experience is positive.

The system updates regularly, making sure all information remains relevant and accurate. It can also be used to set up notifications so that our team know of any changes to a customer and offer them new services or products.

Sales

Our CRM is updated in real time, meaning that the sales team has access to up-to-date information they can use to prospect clients.

This means you can instantly find the right person to speak to at the company and helps you to contact them when they are most receptive to your business. You can even set email alerts to notify you of any significant updates about companies, such as a new director or a new office being opened.

Credit Control

With real-time information, we can analyse the credit risk of a company. This allows us to make decisions on which companies to onboard.

It also helps us monitor long-term clients and take mitigating steps before it’s too late, which can help maintain a healthy and positive relationship.

Training

The integrations and changes we made to our CRM allow our managers to track and identify our sales representatives’ pipeline and conversion rates.

The CRM allows managers to identify areas of improvement for salespeople, such as the quality of the leads they’ve been working on and understanding why deals haven’t closed.

Campaign Building

A one-size-fits-all approach to marketing campaigns doesn’t work anymore. Our research has shown that consumers know what they want, and they’re tired of blanket marketing. A targeted, personalised approach that addresses a client’s specific pain points is much more effective.

By using a CRM system that integrates with real-time data, our marketing team can diversify and personalise how they engage with potential and existing customers to provide relevant solutions.

Marketing campaigns can be segmented by industry, company size and location as well as focus on recent activity and products or services they have already purchased, for example. This helps the marketing team to be more efficient and create successful campaigns that appeal to different market segments.

Monitoring Success

High-quality data and an efficient CRM are essential for monitoring success. At Red Flag Alert, we are constantly evaluating our data to see where we’re doing well and what we could improve upon.

Here are a few examples of sales data we monitor using our system:

● Lead generation and conversion rates

● Upsell and cross-sell rates

● Spend from new customers

● Sales pipeline, as well as how long each stage takes in the pipeline

● Length of sales cycle

● Sales forecast reports

● Sales performance report

The CRM can also track and monitor marketing campaigns and clients to analyse average purchase value, customer lifespan, revenue generated per campaign, and more.

Although it may seem like a small change to make, using an efficient CRM with high-quality data can help you drive your sales strategy and increase your profits exponentially. Red Flag Alert’s intelligent data can revolutionise your sales process, helping you to find the perfect clients for your business.

To Learn how we can help you integrate Red Flag Alert Data using best in class CRM systems such as Hubspot and Zoho, get a free trial today