CRM That Drives Growth

MURKY WATERS

Taking care of customers is always a top priority. That’s why, when faced with flat growth, the largest pharmaceutical distributor in the U.S. knew they needed a customer relationship management (CRM) system. What they didn’t know was how to put it in place.

Years of managing an $800 million sales pipeline in the murky depths of spreadsheets and undocumented sales processes had left things a little cloudy. Here’s how we cleared the waters and got them on the right track to a CRM solution.

ACME started by taking stock of the current situation. We talked with the people who talked to customers, got a firm understanding of their operations and found room for improvement. We made a recommendation that was accepted along with a timeline for implementation.

But there are always a few bumps in the road; it’s not whether or not they happen, it’s how you handle them.

First, the company lost a key stakeholder in the process. So we delved a little deeper into the organization, identified a new champion for our cause and made sure we had buy-in all the way up and down the ladder, every step of the way.

Next, a looming national sales meeting set our timeline on its ear. We restructured our schedule and moved our implementation plan up to fit the new deadline.

We worked with the customer service team, familiarizing them with the new process. We worked with partners, getting them up to speed with the organization. We documented the customer service process and updated it to fit the new system. In short, we got everyone on the same page (and it wasn’t a spreadsheet).

Before we knew it, the dark clouds parted, the process became more transparent and the new system was successfully put in place by the customer service team. The entire organization was more efficient, expectations were clear and they had much better visibility into their pipeline. The sales team ready next, we set the company on a crystal-clear path to smooth CRM sailing.