There are now hundreds of CRM solutions to choose from around the world and most sales teams still don't have the increase in sales productivity that they expect.

After a decade of evaluating, managing, implementing and consulting on CRM and Sales Productivity, I'm still amazed that all CRM systems do not include the following features and add-on products as part of their solution. 

1. High quality 2-way sync of CRM contacts with Google and Outlook contacts - Including a process to keep your customer database updated and clean from duplicates
2. Built-in email templates - templates are used daily by every sales person.  You have to pay for an add-in product for this basic need.
3. Real Time CRM integration with other systems... for example:
   • Marketing Information indicates your contact is getting your eNewsletters  
   • Orders Status
   • Automatic Phone Dialers
   • Customer Success Tickets Status
4. Email Tracking Reporting on "opens and clicks" displayed in the CRM system Dashboard
5. User Customized Dashboards for all users - not fixed unuseful info
6. CRM Administration Support by trained staff - use part-time contractors if you have a small team
7. Native Mobile Apps that are user-friendly and work 
8. Social Integration with the streams of activity by user and company embedded in CRM
9. Prospect and customer data is automatically added to CRM in real-time.  Do not have $150 per hour Sales Reps performing $15 per hour Data Entry jobs. Why would you do that?
10. Standard Sales Reporting is so bad that Managers still use Excel spreadsheets at night and on the weekend to provide the boss with correct and timely info on their business
    and one more....
11. A simple user interface that only requires a minimum of training to use the system.

So why don't you have these great features in your CRM system?  

• First, most CRM systems were never designed or built to improve sales productivity. They were built to be a gigantic prospect and customer database with lots of fields to fill in.  
• Second, since your CRM system wasn't designed for increasing productivity, you have to pay tons more money each month for add-ons & plug-ins to fix the weaknesses of your CRM System.
• Third, most executives were never told that the CRM system needed double or triple the cost of the basic system to actually get the sales productivity everyone expected. So there is no extra budget left.
• Fourth, most companies cheap out on building continuous CRM training and coaching of sales teams.  

And what is actually happening 

• Half the CRM system implementations are still failing
• Sales Teams stop using them and many have their own secret simple CRM Systems they use to do their jobs
• Sales Professionals only put the minimum info into the systems to keep their jobs
• The CRM Database is dirty with bad and duplicate customer info that reduces sales productivity even more
• No... or a minimum of CRM training is provided to new and long-term employees

Hope for the future

I hope that one of these days we will see a CRM System that was designed for sales productivity, a fantastic user interface and has all the features I described above...

and includes all the new Digital Transformation information that is coming our way like a starship at warp speed.   

If you have a CRM System that does all of the above and sells at a reasonable price, please contact us so we can pass on the info to our readers, clients and prospects.  All the best!