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Most companies implement cloud solutions with an enterprise software mindset, and once the solutions are in place, they continue to manage them with the same approach. However, becoming a Leader in CRM sales apps ROI isn’t a sprint—it’s a marathon. After working with thousands of salesforce.com customers, we have identified three levels of CRM sales apps ROI sophistication: Players, Contenders, and Leaders.
Within the first year Leaders have achieved between 200-300%+ ROI, Contenders have Achieved 100% ROI, and Players have yet to achieve ROI. We have found that the difference between those that achieve ROI in the first year of implementation (the Contenders and Leaders), and those that take longer to achieve it, is based on critical steps and decisions made pre-implementation, during the implementation phase, and post go-live.
ZOLL Medical is a world leader in resuscitation technologies with more than 2,000 employees. In 2010, ZOLL saw significant revenue growth since deployment of their CRM sales apps platform. ZOLL transformed their sales organization by following a few key tenets. Here seven tips for maximizing your CRM sales apps ROI.
True renewal and change comes with a clear vision. Implementing technology without a vision often results in a mire of change that is not clearly understood by your organization. ZOLL’s vision was two-pronged: Arm leaders with instant access to accurate information to aid in decision making and empower sales teams with cutting edge technology that would increase productivity and selling time.
Once you have your clear vision, validate that plan with your top executive team using visuals, data, and dedication. Early on, ZOLL offered a solid proof of concept that executives and salespeople could buy into. This helped their teams see that the success of the implementation would benefit them individually as well.
Implementing a CRM sales apps platform is an opportunity to streamline and simplify your sales processes. ZOLL was able to better understand gaps and inefficiencies in their sales processes and unify them across the organization. This ultimately attributed to ease and accuracy of reporting to the company’s top executives and sales leaders.
ZOLL created a team of formal and informal innovation owners who served as guides and sounding boards for rules and guidelines around each implementation. With regular small focused business process reviews, they were able to prioritize innovations and stay in lockstep with their growing business.
Before 2010, ZOLL’s salespeople thought of CRM as providing little to no value for doing their jobs. ZOLL listened to their employees’ pain points with the old CRM, and involved them in making ZOLL’s Salesforce instance their own. Additionally, by setting up a “Salesforce-only” help desk, managers are able to give feedback and make feature requests that keep their teams engaged and embracing the technology.
Implementation is iterative and aimed at the most critical processes first. ZOLL chose not to turn all the bells and whistles on at once. They wanted users to feel comfortable with the new processes and technology so they communicated early success and built on it while regularly soliciting feedback to make adjustments that could be incorporated immediately.
Have the right team made up of a variety of skill sets to help scale to meet demand and enable ongoing innovation. ZOLL’s unique resourcing model has allowed them to be responsive to user requests and deliver strategic value-added functionality almost as fast as their business is growing.
To hear more from ZOLL about their sales transformation and ROI story and learn how you can replicate it, join the webinar “Supercharging Sales, Achieving ROI: The ZOLL Medical Story” on 6/13 at 10am PT. The last 15 minutes will be devoted to Q&A so you will be able to get your questions answered by ZOLL, Bluewolf, and salesforce.com.
