1. What Does CRM Mean to Sales? · CRM (Customer Relationship Management). When you type “CRM” into a Google Search, 221 million results are generated in less than a second. So,

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1. What Does CRM Mean to Sales?

2. A Modern Salesperson’s Journey to CRM

3. What Today’s Salespeople Can Learn from

Untraditional Uses of CRM

4. What Today’s Salespeople Can Learn from

Clunky Introductions to CRM

5. Why a Company’s Initial Approach to CRM

Matters Most to Sales

6. 3 Ways Sales Can Approach CRM Better

from the Start

7. Lessons Learned – How Salespeople Can

Grow Themselves and Their Organizations

Over Time

TABLE OF CONTENTS

What Does CRM Mean to Sales?

There is a lot of information out there when it comes to

CRM (Customer Relationship Management). When you

type “CRM” into a Google Search, 221 million resultsare generated in less than a second. So, you could say

that using the phrase “a lot” to describe the global

collective knowledge on CRM is a bit of an

understatement…

You can search countless websites for blogs, eBooks,

and videos on the topic. There is a wealth of information

for CRM platforms such as Salesforce and Microsoft

Dynamics 365, among many other technologies. You can

gain a great understanding of what CRM means in

today’s business setting, and what it means for your

sales and marketing teams and their approaches, simply

by spending some time researching.

But, with all this information, you may wonder: Where do

I start?

This is a question many salespeople find themselves

asking when thrown into the world of CRM. The

abundance of information can easily become

overwhelming, especially when you are first introduced.

That’s why we recommend digesting pieces of

information at a time to truly grasp the concepts and

understand how CRM (and the right partner) can help

your unique business, team, objectives, and individual

functionality within your organization.

CRM

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When you implement CRM, it should operate at the

core of your business when it is effectively adopted.

From a salesperson’s perspective, it offers countless

benefits.

Two benefits of CRM that stand out for salespeople

are:

• Automate tedious tasks

• And… Gain clear visibility into your sales

pipeline

Most of us want our workdays to be as easy as

possible. As a salesperson, you are likely spending

most of your days calling a variety of clients and

prospects in different industries, while simultaneously

exploring different geographies and avenues to gain

new business from.

CRM helps eliminate smaller day-to-day worries

through automation so that you can focus on your

most critical tasks. Automation in CRM helps to

ensure that the right information goes into the right

place without you having to worry about missteps.

Salespeople are measured by their quotas. You must

hit your numbers and be able to provide good

insights into active opportunities. You must close

business and contribute to the overall pipeline.

This makes gaining clear visibility into the sales

pipeline an undeniable benefit of CRM. This part of

CRM helps salespeople have better conversations

with their sales managers and executive team as

they’re building their territories. The more

information you can have into your pipeline,

opportunities, and accounts, the better.

The Benefits

of CRM for a

Salesperson:

• Automate tedious

tasks

• Mobilize your

sales team

• Gain clear

visibility into your

sales pipeline

• Create important

alerts and

reminders

• Leverage reports

and dashboards

• Integrate

beneficial

applications

• And so much

more4


At the end of the day, the more that a

company can accurately forecast, the better

sales decisions they can make to drive real

results. Whether your sales goal is to introduce

a new product line or break into a new market,

CRM plays a critical role.

When you look at CRM from a salesperson’s

perspective, it’s about what your team needs,

whether you’re looking at the personalities of

a few individual users, the dynamic of your

team as a collective, or what kind of services

or products that you sell. You should have

conversations around these key points during

the CRM evaluation process as you’re trying to

find the best solution.

Despite the many advantages of CRM, there

are common challenges many sales teams

and organizations face today.

When you’re thinking about a CRM platform,

you should consider what customizations and

configurations are available to reflect your

sales process(es). This is a common challenge

that organizations run into. Without the help

of a CRM partner to guide them, organizations

may not consider the current versus the future

state of their business or what enhancements

or upgrades they should anticipate along the

way.

To select the best solution for your business,

we highly recommend conducting a thorough

business analysis to ensure that the CRM

solution you select accommodates everything

you’re looking for.

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Effective sales

organizations are 81%

more likely to be

practicing consistent

usage of a CRM or

other system of record.”

ABERDEEN GROUP

RESOURCE:• Howard, Margot; Nutshell; “17 CRM stats that sales professionals need to

know”; https://www.nutshell.com/blog/crm-stats/.

https://www.nutshell.com/blog/crm-stats/

A Modern Salesperson’s Journey to CRM

In a recent Ledgeview Partners webinar, Jason Layne, Account Executive, shared about his

experience finding success in the field of sales while utilizing CRM, but it wasn’t all smooth

sailing. He experienced many common hurdles from the beginning. Throughout his journey

in sales, he broke through common misconceptions and pain points that were holding him

back. Throughout this eBook, Layne shares his story and hopes that you will relate to and

learn from his sales journey with CRM.

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I started in sales directly out of college, first

working in banking in a grocery store setting to

oversee bank kiosks. I was responsible for handling

teller-like tasks and selling new accounts like money

market accounts, non-licensed investments, and

home equity lines.

This was my first real understanding of what sales is.

Today, I have accumulated over 20 years of

experience selling different products in different

verticals. Looking back, even then, I was collecting

information. The general concepts of my now

nostalgic entry-level role reflect in my approach

today.

I’m sure many of you can relate. In my initial role, I

didn’t know if the people I was selling to were active

customers or what kinds of products or services

they were interested in. (Sound familiar?) I would

have to uncover information and develop

relationships with these people to understand and

meet their needs, collecting notes on these

prospects and entering them into whatever system I

had at the time or simply by keeping these notes on

my desk.

I would use that information to grow the

relationship with them and help with customer

service issues. Though now I am working higher up

in a professional work setting with more advanced

technology, there are many synchronicities my

strategies today compared to years ago.

A Modern Salesperson’s Journey to CRM

Today, CRM has helped me eliminate spreadsheet needs and enter all my account, contact,

prospect, lead, and opportunity information directly into a central hub.

Technology has enabled me to store important information in the most optimized fashion. As

Eugene Feldman, Senior Manager, SMB Product Marketing, Salesforce, once said, “Customer

relationships are too important to be managed with spreadsheets!”

But I’m getting a little ahead of myself…

CRM reflects all the processes that I have recollected from my first-ever sales experience and

then some!

I’ll dive into this more in the coming chapters.

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What Today’s Salespeople Can Learn

From Untraditional Uses of CRM

In my early career days, I moved from banking to

pharmaceutical sales where I still used carbon

copy paper to keep track of every sample that I

handed out. Back then, I carried thousands of

dollars worth of medication in the trunk of my

car and visited doctor offices, medical groups,

and hospitals to deliver samples. Every visit,

every day, every week was tracked manually with

paper and drop-shipped to my company.

The company would then keep track of these

documents from inventory and regulatory

standpoints. They had to put a lot of trust into

each individual salesperson to handle business

this way. Today, the world of pharmaceuticals

looks very different. In less than 20 years, the

world has digitally transformed, and we now

operate in the age of “the Fourth Industrial

Revolution,” as it’s so coined among

professionals.

Before I moved to CRM, I came from these

manual and disjointed processes, relying on

scattered notes and Microsoft Excel spreadsheets

to see me through each interaction and log each

contact, lead, account, prospect, and opportunity

detail, hoping things didn’t get lost.

While this was years ago for me, despite notable

advancements in technology today, some

organizations are still in the dark when it comes

to CRM and rely on those same manual and

disjointed processes to see them through each

step of their sales process.

This begs the question – why?

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From Untraditional Uses of CRM

Let’s not be too quick to

judge.

Many organizations are

reluctant to move to CRM

because their sales processes

work for them. “If it isn’t

broken, why fix it?” is a

common mentality

organizations have when they

don’t want to make the

transition today.

They may feel they lack the

tools, resources, or even an

understanding of the digital

age itself.

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Common misconceptions linger that CRM will act as “big brother” or will be another huge

task that a salesperson must take on and manage everyday, decreasing the amount of time

they can spend on what matters most to them. But this is the furthest from the truth. On

page 5 of this eBook, you may have noticed, “10 CRM Misconceptions on Gaining User

Adoption,” and “How to Make Your Sales Team CRM-Savvy,” which both address these

points in full.

The fact of the matter is that until you know and experience it, you don’t know it. And it’s

really that simple. You don’t know what you’re missing out on, but we can all relate. There

have been times when we all didn’t know about CRM and were first introduced – take it from

me. I understand where you’re at and how you feel.

My experience led me to the realization that I needed to centralize my sales processes and

be more efficient with the information I was collecting. I hope that you can learn from my

story as well. With everything that’s at your disposal today, you don’t have to rely on email,

notes, and spreadsheets alone as a salesperson, but can truly soar with advanced technology

like CRM.

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The average CRM user

adoption among sales

professionals is 73%

and the average ROI

period is 13 months.”

G2’s CRM SOFTWARE

RESEARCH, SUMMER 2019

GRID® REPORT FOR CRM

RESOURCE:• Howard, Margot; Nutshell; “17 CRM stats that sales professionals need to

know”; https://www.nutshell.com/blog/crm-stats/.

https://www.nutshell.com/blog/crm-stats/


From Clunky Introductions to CRM

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As companies grow and desire to increase their footprint in the marketplace, CRM is a

common step to take, but if not properly implemented with the right technology and partner,

can be more of a growing pain than a catalyst for growth.

The company I worked for at the time was growing through acquisition and organically, so

they needed to step it up and have consistent processes that all their sales teams across the

U.S. could follow.

When Salesforce was introduced to me, I got a tiny introduction, but it was more about

coming together as a group than about the purposes, function, basics, and benefits of CRM.

Following, I dove in headfirst and was trained on some of the Salesforce basics right out of

the gate. Then, it was explained to my team as to why it was implementing, and what it

meant for our jobs.

This quick approach was manageable for us at the time but would not apply to all

organizations’ approaches to implementing CRM today.

CRM isn’t just for salespeople, but often,

they are the first team within an

organization that is introduced to the

technology. Then comes marketing,

customer service, I.T. – you name it!

When I was first introduced to CRM, the

company I worked for was growing and

needed to standardize processes and

centralize information, as mentioned in the

last chapter. They were expanding from the

Midwest to locations across the U.S.

This was the first company that I worked

for after experiencing pharmaceutical sales,

and it was the first time I was ever

introduced to a contemporary sales

platform. In this case, Salesforce.



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A smaller team may have a few “super users”

or “power users,” as their known in the CRM

world, who know the system in-and-out and

can train new employees as the company

grows, be a resource for answers, and guide

new enhancements and upgrades internally.

However, for larger teams, this may only be

step one, and then CRM is slowly introduced

to the organization in its entirety over a certain

period as determined by the company’s

internal project manager and external CRM

partner project manager.

Companies may also opt to roll it out

regionally if they’re larger.

From a sales perspective, whatever type of

implementation you experience, your focus

should be on what type of sales information

you can pull from CRM and how you can use it

to optimize your approach and strategy.

When I was first introduced to CRM, things

weren’t seamless, and as a result, I was unable

to see the benefits and utilize them in full

capacity. I experienced all the common

misconceptions that my company failed to

address and let perpetuate among users,

causing a lack of user adoption.

The uncertainty around CRM was fueled by

speculation and chatter among teammates,

which led the team to believe that CRM would

“only slow them down.”



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No one on my team had experience with CRM, let alone Salesforce. The saying “misery loves

company” came to life during the implementation process. The gut feelings my team had of

“What we’re doing is working, so why change it?” dictated the culture. They believed CRM

was an extra layer of work. The lack of understanding push seasoned and new employees

away from adopting Salesforce.

My team was already successful. Our process was working. We didn’t want to shake things

up.

On the contrary, as you can imagine, if you’re doing well from a sales and revenue

perspective, that may afford you the opportunity to add new software or technology so that

you can evolve your team. It’s a natural step to implement CRM. However, if people on the

ground level are questioning CRM without answers, what has the potential to be a Rockstar

investment becomes a missed opportunity.

Sales knows better than most departments how disappointing missed opportunities are. True

success lies in the initial approach. First impressions are imperative.

Why a Company’s Initial Approach

to CRM Matters Most for Sales

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So, how do companies turn this mentality

around to enable the sales team’s success with

CRM? The effort is a two-way street between

the organization, individuals, and teams.

Everyone needs to get on board.

During my first couple days with CRM, there

was a lot of worry and misunderstanding.

These concerns don’t just happen with CRM,

but many types of software. That’s why change

management is so important.

Every individual must know how CRM will help

make the more informed and make their job

easier. During the implementation process, it’s

crucial for sales to know how CRM will benefit

them and how they can use this functionality in

CRM to hit the ground running. Once you

implement CRM, everyone must be

accountable from day 1, from being

accountable with learning CRM to using it to

growing with it to using it to enhance their

function and the organization.

It may sound like a lot of work, but CRM helps

make work more efficient and dare I say,

easier! Don’t fear flying with it. Embrace the

path ahead.

One of the most important things an

organization can do for their individuals and

teams is to design the system so that it

reflects the processes they already have, and

not the other way around. The customization

and configuration capabilities of today’s

leading CRM technologies are of undeniable

value.



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Years of coding and development may go into some CRM systems, but many out-of-the-box

features and functionality suit organizations too. It all depends on the unique business

processes and goals of the organization itself.

Personalizing the system will ease user adoption because it shows users there is a clear plan

in mind and the system isn’t being implemented “just to implement it,” so to speak.

Investing in custom development may be a good choice for some organizations.

Enhancements are also valuable in terms of increasing efficiencies and easing control.

Because executives or ground-level employees may fear flying, the most important thing to

address is that “Once you implement CRM, CRM is forever. It will operate at the core of

your function, and we are not turning back from it. It is now a fundamental part of the

company.”

Setting this foundation from the start is critical for short and long-term success with CRM.



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Looking back, there were many things

that the company I worked for at the

time could’ve done differently to make

CRM a great experience for sales, and for

all.

Pre-launch education and awareness

could’ve been improved upon.

You can control the launch and

information you share without

overwhelming sales reps or other

teammates with too much at once. There

is always something new to learn with

CRM, and it’s important that you absorb

it in small steps and celebrate those

small wins along your journey.

Another thing that the company could’ve

improved upon during the

implementation process was to help

improve our team’s 360-degree vision

and prevent tunnel vision. Gaining

executive sponsorship and hearing from

executive sponsorship about how CRM

will help employees make better

decisions is crucial to the process.

You can shape decisions and take

strategic growth initiatives. You can be

prepared for dips in revenues, or lulls in

sales quarters. Analyzing and evaluating

trends with all the data you have in

CRM will make your salespeople

smarter at their jobs.

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50% of sales teams

leverage data to

produce timely,

accurate

forecasts.”

SALESFORCE

RESOURCE:• Bova, Tiffani; Salesforce; “26 Sales Statistics that Prove Sales is Changing”; Jan.

25, 2019; https://www.salesforce.com/blog/2017/11/15-sales-statistics.html.

https://www.salesforce.com/blog/2017/11/15-sales-statistics.html

3 Ways Sales Can Approach CRM

Better from the Start

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I admit that one thing I could’ve done a lot better

is be open-minded to CRM. I encourage you to

learn from me and take this approach. When you

walk into a project with the mentality that you

don’t want to learn or use CRM, you prevent

yourself from evolving. Whether personally or

professionally, one thing I think that we all want to

do is evolve and that often comes at the price of

putting down what you know and absorbing what

you don’t. There are things that we all can learn in

life! Reframe your pessimism into optimism.

Remove preconceived stigmas.

#1 BE OPEN-MINDED

Instead of fixating on the idea that “CRM is

going to make your job harder,” explore the

possibilities of how CRM can help you. I speak

from ample experience when I say that you’ll be

happy about what you find in the long-run.

Though it may take you a while to learn the

system, walking in with the right attitude will

help you pick things up faster. It’s all about

having an open headspace, willingness to learn,

and desire to make great change happen. When

you resist change, you prevent your

professional (or personal) development.

Often, I have found that change makes us better

as people.

#2 EXPLORE HOW

CRM CAN HELP

3 Ways Sales Can Approach CRM

Better from the Start

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Companies should facilitate conversations between those who are experienced with

CRM and those who aren’t. More experienced users may be or become “power users” or

“super users” as you go and grow with CRM. They can help others learn, speak to the same

worries and concerns they may have initially had with CRM and explain how it’s

transformed the way they sell. Eventually, this dynamic will become a critical part of the

ongoing CRM training and coaching processes within your organization and sales team.

#3 LEAN ON EXPER IENCED COLLEAGUES

Lessons Learned – How Salespeople Can

Grow Themselves and Their Organizations

Over Time

Today, CRM helps our sales team do their jobs best. From making calls to setting up

appointments to closing deals, CRM helps sales teams across the globe move from manual

processes to more efficient, strategic, and quick ones. CRM is a fundamental part of a

salesperson’s role today.

If you are thinking about CRM for sales, once your reps and team knows that CRM has a lot

of potential that could make their lives easier, that’s really where the journey begins. While

the start of your journey with CRM might not have gone tremendously, there’s never a bad

time to re-approach it. I know from experience. Different company cultures and work

environments will perpetuate different outcomes with CRM.

As life gets more hectic, CRM helps you to simplify things and soar.

Engaging with clients, knowing information is always readily available, and giving you

insights into your business and pipeline, lets you mobilize and optimize your sales processes.

In today’s marketplace, CRM just makes sense for sales.

In CRM, you can centralize your sales and marketing alignment efforts, manage accounts and

opportunities, grow your pipeline, enhance your system through dynamic integrations with

marketing automation, help more departments ease their daily processes, and so much

more.

Looking to the future, the lessons I’ve learned are clear – CRM will only grow more popular and in higher demand as the marketplace evolves. In our digital age, CRM

doesn’t just keep up, but helps salespeople and organizations everywhere lead the charge.21

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When you are first introduced to the

world of CRM, you are likely to hear the

names Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics 365 come up fast. They are

leading the way in today’s CRM world, and for many good reasons.

That’s why we at Ledgeview Partners offer both technologies to our

customers in order to provide the best solutions and services that

address your unique business goals and needs.

Our team of experts has created several on-demand demos, whether you would like to

review the products independently or back-to-back. See Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales and

Salesforce Sales Cloud come to life. Within these on-demand demos, our team covers a day

in the life of a salesperson using these technologies. Unpack how to:

- Manage your week

- Manage Accounts, Contacts, Opportunities, and Leads

- Use mobile apps to close deals faster

- Integrate and use Microsoft Outlook

- And more!

Watch the on-demand demos at LedgeviewPartners.com/Dynamics365 and

LedgeviewPartners.com/Salesforce.

The best way to find out if a solution like Microsoft Dynamics 365 or Salesforce is right for

your team is by conducting a thorough business analysis. Our team is ready to help! Contact

us to request a personal demo and find your unique fit.

Contact Us:

P: 920.560.5571

E: [email protected]

W: LedgeviewPartners.com

T: @LedgeviewCRM

R E Q U E S T A P E R S O N A L D E M O

Experts in

Salesforce and

Microsoft

Dynamics 365

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Salesforce

Microsoft Dynamics 365

How Can We Ensure Your Success with CRM?Our team of experts can help with Salesforce or Microsoft Dynamics 365:

• E V A L U A T I O N & A S S E S S M E N T• S T R A T E G Y & P L A N N I N G• D E S I G N & I M P L E M E N T A T I O N• T R A I N I N G & S U P P O R T• U S E R A D O P T I O N• R E S O U R C E S F O R S U C C E S S• D E M O S

At Ledgeview Partners, we know that every unique business needs a unique solution. That’s why we offer CRM services for those who are interested in or already have Salesforce or Microsoft Dynamics 365. Unlike other business and technology consulting firms, we remain agnostic. We believe this gives our customers the best chance for success and growth with technology.

After conducting a thorough business analysis, our team can help you decide if a solution like Microsoft Dynamics 365 or Salesforce is right for you. Our team is here to help you every step of the way. When it comes to CRM, we are here for you throughout your business’ lifetime with the technology.

Browse LedgeviewPartners.com for daily CRM, Sales, Marketing, and Customer Service tips. Our vast resource library is packed with blogs, infographics, webinars, and demos to help you figure out if these solutions and Ledgeview are your next great business partnership.

Contact Us:

P: 920.560.5571


W: LedgeviewPartners.comT: @LedgeviewCRM

Sales Cloud Service CloudMarketing Cloud PardotCommunity Cloud Collaboration CloudCommerce Cloud And More

Marketing Customer InsightsCustomer Service SalesSocial Insights Power BIIntegrations Business IntelligenceAnd More

Are you ready to partner with a CRM partner that matches

your business process values and technology goals?

Ledgeview Partners is a business and technology consulting firm who partners with

organizations to transform sales, marketing, and customer service operations and

processes supported by core technologies like Customer Relationship Management

(CRM) and Marketing Automation.

Ledgeview Partners’ Experts combine savvy business intellect with strong technological

aptitude to provide business and technology solutions that extend well beyond software

implementations. To us, it’s about building relationships, transforming business, and

delivering phenomenal customer experiences.

Ledgeview Partners is a Microsoft Dynamics 365 Gold Partner and Salesforce Silver

Consulting Partner.

S A L E S

M A R K E T I N G

C U S T O M E R S E R V I C E

A N D C R M C O N S U LT I N G

Contact Us:

P: 920.560.5571


W: LedgeviewPartners.com

T: @LedgeviewCRM

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Business Process First

Technology Second

We look forward to

transforming your

business with you.

25

ADDIT IONAL RESOURCES FOR SUCCESS

26

Available for Complimentary Download at

LedgeviewPartners.com/Resources

Documents

1. What Does CRM Mean to Sales? · CRM (Customer Relationship Management). When you type “CRM” into a Google Search, 221 million results are generated in less than a second. So,