What is a sales CRM?
A Sales CRM is simply a “Customer Relationship Management” system built for sales departments. It’s software, usually cloud-based, that is used by home care agencies to keep track of their interactions with prospects and customers. A CRM system lets agencies know what their sales reps are doing, who they are calling on, and what tasks they need to do going forward. It also tracks the results of those efforts to help guide agencies to spend the precious and small amount of time they can devote to marketing in the most effective way possible.
Most CRMs are designed to and move prospects through a sales cycle (Prospect —> Lead –> Client). Each “phase” of the process is handled differently, but they all integrate into the CRM system to create a unified and cohesive, logical view of the account at all points in time for complete referral tracking.
Why do sales people need a CRM?
Sales people want to identify referral sources, qualify them and follow up with specific tasks until they start referring. A sales CRM simplifies the sales reps tasks, automates the processes and tracks all activities such that a rep can retrieve this vital information at any time and move sales forward.
Here are 9 reasons why marketers and management need a CRM to boost sales.
Store your data securely in one place
Enjoy the safety of having all your contacts, tasks and sales in the cloud. Rest assured that your data won’t be lost if one of your reps leaves your company. Better yet, some CRMs allow the transfer of such data to the new comer to pick up where the predecessor left.
Plan your sales journey
Set up your tasks through a calendar to optimize your sales process. Meet your prospects and record all outcomes so that you can easily follow up the next time you meet. Check your tasks history to note the evolution of your discussions and close your sale faster.
View real time management dashboards and reports
Get a direct insight into all sales activities and track all referrals thanks to multiple dashboards and reports designed to optimize sales. Decide who accesses a given report or dashboard.
Track your sales activities
Most CRMs come with a mobile app for your reps allowing you to track all activities and incurred expenses for more efficient selling.
Grade the performance of sales people
Know how you reps compare to each other by grading them on specific parameters. Then talk to them when needed to improve their performance.
Access Medicare referral data
Specialized CRM systems give you access to Medicare data; some give it for free while others charge you for data analytics that is supposed to predict specific trends by referral sources.
Email system to market your agency
Send emails with attachments to your referral sources at no cost and save on significant fees charged by email marketing software. Such email systems may not be as developed as email marketing software, but deliver what is needed at no cost!
Compute commissions for reps
Calculate your marketers’ commissions based on patient referrals or on generated revenue. Share it with them and watch your referrals skyrocket!
Flexibility
While most agencies get to the same point eventually, no two get there the same way. Your CRM system needs to have the flexibility to adjust to your business model, NOT the other way around. It should allow for changing labels on fields, so the fields are meaningful and clear to busy sales reps. If you are in Louisiana, you need to change the “County” field to “Parrish”. And you might call referrals prospects, or clients, or patients, or something else. Your system needs to be flexible enough to manage it.
With COVID-19, the best reps are finding that a combination of sales calls, materials sent, personal interaction to enhance the personal relationship, anything that helps builds relationships works! When working like this it is critical that the reps can keep up with the information they need to gather, the promises they make, and to track future events. CRM is the solution!
In today’s very competitive world, agencies should invest in a CRM that is simple to use, secure, affordable, and tailored for Hospice and Home Health agencies. This investment will absolutely increase the number of your referrals and help you keep a tight lid on expenses; the two key ingredients for any successful and profitable business.
About the author
Tony Onaissi is the president and CEO of Isoratec, a CRM sales accelerator for the home health care industry. Utilizing more than 25 years of home care experience he created Isoratec to be the ideal solution for agencies serving the home health care market. Tony can be reached at tonaissi@isoratec.com
