CRM of the Future

This morning, as I got dressed and ready for work, something got me thinking about how cool it would be if I could simply talk into a device and ask for a pipeline report to see what was being forecasted to close this month. Unless you are a sales manager, it's probably not the first thing that you think about in the morning. But as a sales and marketing consultant, I think about similar things... about ways to improve the sales process and sales management process.

The CRM of the Future

If the idea of speaking into a device to get your pipeline information seems far-fetched, you probably didn't receive an Amazon Echo or Dot for Christmas. For those who are not familiar with this tool, the Amazon Echo is a device that's always on and allows you to wake it up and ask questions or give instructions to do certain things. One of my favorite commands is: "Alexa, turn on Tune In and CNN." This enables me to listen to CNN through the speakers on my Echo device on the Tune In app.

Imagine connecting your CRM to a device, such as the Echo, and having it quickly provide you with sales numbers, create reports, or do other things related to keeping a finger on the pulse of sales activity.  

Companies like Wing Stop have already developed apps within Alexa that allow you to order chicken wings using voice command. Soon, this type of voice-controlled technology will come to your CRM. That's the CRM of the future.  

The CRM of Today

Most sales managers don't need the CRM of the future. No, what most sales managers and sales teams need is the CRM of today! That's the CRM that can do everything you need, right now, today. Not tomorrow. If you keep putting off implementation of a CRM because you are waiting for something better or the right time, you are no doubt slowing down your sales cycle and letting important sales opportunities fall through the cracks.

A number of CRMs on the market today are free and can be easily customized to meet the needs of sales teams of any size.

If you want to learn more about CRMs, ask Alexa: "Alexa, find me a CRM." You will soon learn that there are a lot of books about CRMs out there at Amazon. Don't want another book to read? Just comment below or email us at inboundhelp@leadg2.com and we will help you out. Trust me, you will get better answers about CRMs from the team at LeadG2 than from Alexa.