CRM – Nature or Nurture?

Always looking for the opportunity to grow.

Implementing a CRM across multiple sales teams can be challenging when it comes to gaining adoption. Sales reps often find reasons to criticize the CRM, claiming it's too complicated, time-consuming, or that a notepad works just fine. However, there are also reps who naturally embrace the CRM and eagerly learn new features to stay on top of their prospects and deals. This raises the question: is using a CRM a natural inclination or does it require nurturing?

In our case, we use HubSpot. Our marketing team utilizes the marketing tools to drive prospects to our website, educate them, and close deals in our online store. However, we face difficulties in getting adoption from our outside sales team. How can we convince sales reps that investing a little time upfront can actually free up more time for prospecting?

To address this challenge, HubSpot recently added a matrix called "Last Active," which allows us to see when a sales rep was last active in HubSpot. We have seven outside reps who have the same tenure, territory size, and opportunity. Among them, the top three reps were active in HubSpot within the past hour to a day, while the bottom three reps haven't been active for months. Interestingly, the top three reps generated twice the sales compared to the bottom three reps.

Additionally, I examined our enterprise sales team, which supports the top customers of our outside sales reps through phone interactions. These reps also have their own customers. It was found that enterprise reps who use HubSpot to log calls and follow up on proposals earn three times the commissions compared to those who don't.

So, the question remains: is it natural for reps to use a CRM, or does it require nurturing? I believe it's a combination of both. There are numerous resources available, such as books and blogs, that provide guidance on increasing CRM adoption. However, the best approach is to hire reps who are process-driven or can demonstrate past success in utilizing a CRM during a directed interview.

It's important to note that I'm not suggesting that a CRM alone can be credited for doubling sales. The top three outside sales reps excel in various areas. However, it's worth considering how much of their success can be attributed to the CRM.