Purchasing and installing technology or software is expensive, not only in terms of the initial purchase price but also in the context of installation, training and adoption, all of which implies financial and time costs that your business and your sales force may struggle to find. However, CRM software can make an enormous difference in the productivity and reach of your sales force, a difference that can - and should - result in a revenue increase exponentially higher than the time and money invested in the solution.

Making more money

Sales revenue depends upon the sales efforts of your sales force. Even if your product range, company reputation and marketing campaigns are top notch, a mediocre sales team performance will impede the ability of your business to maximise revenues.

CRM software has the ability to centralise customer data and to assist your sales force in their day to day tasks. Centralised client data offers the benefit of easy access to a customer's complete profile, so for a sales rep it becomes far easier to provide a customer with informed advice. Knowing what a customer has purchased before and reading previous comments on the customer's profile is of enormous benefit.

There is also the significant advantage of calendaring, appointment management and reminder functions, all of which ensures that your sales representatives make the best possible use of their working hours. Administration and back office activities may be vital to the sales process but it is face to face selling time that drives the numbers. CRM minimises administration, freeing your sales force to do what they do best - sell.

The centralised database that a CRM solution maintains also makes it far easier to accurately and effectively market to existing and prospective clients, again maximising your return on marketing investment.

Saving time and money

Efficiency is the word when it comes to CRM systems. A decent CRM implementation makes the process of taking orders, fulfilling orders and providing support a seamless process, doing away with the vast majority of manual, repetitive and time consuming tasks.

For example, if a customer calls your sales office a sales rep can immediately pull up the customer's details and order history. The sales rep will then be able to add a new order without re-entering all the customer data. The order will be sent to the fulfilment team which, in turn, will have all the delivery details at hand. Should the customer call for support at a later stage, the support team will already have access to the order details.

Quantify the benefits

Calculating an exact figure as to how much your business should gain on the installation of a CRM system is far from simple but study after study has shown that it is not uncommon for companies to experience a return on investment (ROI) of ten times as much as the cost of the system implementation.

It is important, however, to work with a CRM solution provider. that has a good reputation for selecting the right solution and for implementing it in the optimal way. No two businesses are identical and there are many factors that must be accommodated in ensuring the best possible fit to the business.

Finally, CRM systems are by no means as expensive as they are perceived to be. Online software as a service (SaaS) solutions start at tens of pounds per user per month so there really is no reason for any business that relies on a sales force to not seriously investigate the use of CRM software.