About 10 years ago, a friend of mine and his wife were having initial meetings with financial planners. You know the meeting: “Tell me your dreams and we’ll make a plan to make it a reality.” One of the things that they shared with all the planners was their commitment to spend time at a resort in Northern Michigan on their anniversary every year. Regardless of how frivolous that might seem, they were going to spend the money. That was it. They didn’t drag on about stories or ever bring up the topic again. They continued to do their interviews and soon chose their financial planner.
About eight months later, they realized that they chose the right one. When they arrived at the resort for their anniversary trip, there was a gift card for a bottle of wine and a bouquet of flowers – from their financial planner. They barely mentioned this idea months ago – how did he remember this place? How did he remember to take care of the logistics in sending the gifts? Well, my guess is that he didn’t remember anything … he had the discipline and cared enough to add the notes and set a task in a CRM system.
My friend knows this. His wife, a skeptical CPA, even stated: “He’s got a system and assistants that do this type of thing for him.” Guess what? He does have a system, but so what? My friend made this comment recently, while chuckling: “I’ll never fire that guy.”
“I’ll never fire that guy.” How many of your customers are saying that about you?
In the security industry, CRM systems have been minimized to tracking tools for management. Pipelines, forecasts, and cold calls are measured to make sure the team is working – and that’s not why these systems were created. The CRM system is yours – it’s built for you, the sales professional. Use it to your advantage by adding very quick notes about personal items: big games of favorite teams, kids’ graduation dates, vacations, etc. Create tasks that remind you to make that special personal touch. Every sales person I’ve ever talked with (that sum is north of 10,000) has talked about relationships being a key factor in their success. Ok, then build the relationship. Make those special moments for your customers. Take the first step in becoming a friend … and let your CRM help you.
If you’re interested in learning how to utilize your CRM system in a more effective way, click here.
