This might seem like a strong statement to make, but it is a great way to drive adoption. This mentality of only recognizing the data that is in salesforce.com as accurate information forces the users to use the system. This is a good method to use as a stick approach.
If you have tried adoptions contests, training and retraining or enthusiastic encouragement and none of it seems to be working, then it is time to move on to the stick. Talk to your sales managers and directors and help them realize how powerful salesforce.com can be to them with accurate data. Then help them to start using the phrase “If it’s not in salesforce, it didn’t happen.”
This will only work from the top down and only if the managers stick to their guns. The reason salesforce.com is so successful is two fold: First, it standardizes processes so reporting is accurate, and second; it is so easy to use. With the accurate reporting, you can strategically look into your business and answer the five W’s and the H of your success or failure. The answers are only available with accurate information in the system.
This does not mean that every single task, phone call or email has to be logged into salesforce.com (unless that is important for your company to track). This means that every single piece of important information that you want to track needs to be in salesforce.com or the assumption is that it didn’t happen.
In my instance, sales are most important. So, if a sales rep talks to their manager about a potential or closed sale, the manager should already know about it because it is in salesforce.com. We have taken this to the next level in that we have integrated our financial AR system with salesforce.com opportunities. A sale will not be invoiced unless it is in salesforce.com as an opportunity and a manager has approved it. Commissions are then paid off of opportunities that are closed won. It is definitely in the best interest of the sales reps to enter all of their opportunities in salesforce.com
Talk to the managers and directors and decide what is important. Then make it a company wide rule that if it is not in salesforce, it didn’t happen!
3 comments
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February 7, 2008 at 4:54 am
Ken Knickerbocker
Good short term approach, but it won’t work over the long run. Nobody, especially sales people, like to be compelled to do ANYTHING.
The only viable means of driving long term, 100% adoption is to first, give the sales person the tool HE/SHE needs to do the job. Take care of the salesperson in the CRM equation, everything else falls into place.
March 13, 2008 at 3:23 am
George
Short term approach? In a way yes. I do agree first give them the tools. If then not used as SFDC is supposed to be used, use the frase: if it is not in salesforce, it didn’t happen!
Use SFDC as a tool to help your salespersons, but be clear about what you expect them to do.
March 25, 2008 at 4:47 am
Carl
What about ensuring that whatever effort is invested in entering info into the system is returned with interest in terms of improved or enhanced territory insights and management, simplified processes, reduced administrative overhead or a combination of all of the above? Wouldnt you be more inclined to use it then, vs. threats?