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O: you mentioned the phrase "proactive towards revicated suites to manage marketing and customet t11]9. .nu.-i' What did you mean by that? with integration to phone systems and more' Some CRMs also offerweb portals andtommunities so."t;;;;;";

A: tn most organizations' the only data they have suppliers can log in and collaborate. relied on to manage sales teams is transactional sales data from an ERP system and anecdotal feedback from man-

Q: Sin"" interest in CRM has recently spiked, do you agers' This information is intrinsically backwardsJooking believe that these systems can be a fit for.o-puni"r in',tr" utrd,"unr"r reactionary behaviors' By using CRM' you can building industry? track revenue opportunities while in motion, pre-transac-

A: cnu can be a fit for reauy anv companv industry, it just depends on what you want to accomplish' right salei opportunities, ai the right time, with the approAlthough CilM seems mostly known as a sales automation pfrut" .etouicis, to get a positive outcome. Additionally, tool (and is mostly presented that way)' it can really you "un trackwhy siles opportunities are won or lost and improve anything from internal processes to customer ser- 6egin to analyze your areas of success and failure so you can adjust your strategy or adjust your sales teams.

Q: ff a company is successful in managing a sales pipeline through CRM, what should they be trackingi

A: Once the sales opportunity modules are designed to match your sales channel and products. you can really track anything you want. However, don't get carried away. Only collect information that you cin realistically consume and use io make decisions. The goal is not to make salespeople data entry clerks. Fxamples of what to track in pipeline include sales opportunities by brand, by market, by sales territory, by pro_ ject type, by customer type, by promotion type. You can also track sales activities related to top opportunities.

Q: rr CRM is process-driven, while people are reaction-driven, what can this mean for a company?

A: Ou". time, companies build a patchwork of loosely organized processes to manage their business. These processes have surfaced over time in reaction to customer needs, supplier needs, and internal complexi_