As a salesperson, are you as productive as you would like to be? If we’re all honest with ourselves we could all make slight improvements to better our productivity. You are well aware that the majority of your time is taken up by menial admin, where you would rather be doing what you’re passionate about, sales. Close deals faster and drive more revenue with these tips and tricks.

Implement a CRM System (Customer Relationship Management)

If you’re not making use of a CRM, you are already falling behind your competition. CRM provides solutions to issues that are potentially holding you back as a salesperson. Maximize the time you spend selling with productivity and collaboration tools.

We are all familiar with the ancient proverb “Time Is Money;” therefore it’s about time you optimize your schedule. Most CRMs will allow you to add tasks with a deadline or due date attached to it.

A key benefit of CRM is it allows you to store important documentation. This includes a resource library and templates for sales representatives, making it easier for you to find what you need when you need it. The proper leverage of a CRM will allow you to automate where possible, avoiding time spent on tedious manual data entry.

Some CRMs allow you to send emails from the software itself, preventing you from having to copy and paste what was said from your inbox into the CRM. This allows everyone to see what was said, and how the lead is progressing. Customer data and lead progression is no longer siloed in the inbox of the individual but is visible for the whole sales team where everything is tracked.

Making use of a CRM allows your company’s sales and marketing teams to collaborate. A high-performing sales team requires high-quality leads. Putting your customers at the center of everything with a comprehensive, customizable view of your clients across sales, service, and marketing creates a strong sense of customer service. We don’t need to tell you how customer service can make or break a company.

Find more sales opportunities with a complete CRM solution. Combine strong marketing automation with sales pipeline intelligence to win more sales. Allow sales reps to sell faster than ever, from anywhere with the use of a CRM. Data at your fingertips whether you’re at the office, on the road, or with a customer.

Popular CRMs include Salesforce, Zoho CRM, SugarCRM, Microsoft Dynamics 365, HubSpot CRM, and others. These systems can fit any budget, and can scale up as your business grows.

Your operations are managed by your ERP system (enterprise resource planning), and data between it and your CRM remain siloed. Increase your productivity with an ERP and CRM integration with Commercient SYNC, the #1 data integration platform for sales.

You’ll be able to access important ERP data within CRM, such as customer information, sales history, invoicing, A/R, serial numbers invoiced, inventory, etc. New sales, accounts, opportunities, etc., created in CRM are integrated to ERP, giving you a full view of sales. Take a look at our supported ERPs and CRMs here.

More Productivity Tips

It’s common sense to make an appointment for your important tasks such as meetings or demos, but it is also important to pencil in your “less important” activities. One example is checking and cleaning up your inbox.

For example, it’s easy to get lost and overwhelmed when you see hundreds of new messages awaiting your attention. Even if the majority of them are less important messages or junk that you haven’t gotten around to deleting. Make time to delete pesky spam and follow-up on quality messages. Unroll.me can assist by organizing your subscription emails, so you don’t have to spend time sifting through the clutter.

Finish the most dreaded task first, whatever that may be for you. Once you have that out of the way, you’ll be able to focus on what you like doing. Saving the worst for last may lead to procrastination in that regard. Organize your call list: Who do you have to call that’s most important? Who do you not want to call? And who would you be calling that may have you come off as annoying instead of you being attentive? Streamtime is a productivity software that may help you in this regard, helping you to easily assemble your daily to-do list.

Take time for yourself and schedule it. In our modern society, we value hard work. While it may make you viewed in a favorable light with your superiors to burn the midnight oil and work through lunch. Being highly productive may result in burnout. This will end up costing you in the long run. In some cultures, taking a nap at your desk is smiled upon, as it shows how hard you have worked.

Schedule that time for yourself. Take your lunch break, stand up from your desk and do some stretches. Make your workspace a place you want to be, where you feel energized and productive. Plan is a time management tool that places more of an emphasis on work-life balance than the other apps. You can keep track of whether you’re maintaining a healthy lifestyle or not.

Invest in some time tracking software. While we encourage you to prioritize personal health by taking time for yourself, it’s easy to get sucked into reading just one more post on social media. Or perhaps finishing just one more level on a mobile game. Schedule personal time, and stick to it.

Time tracking software will allow you to see what you spend most of your time doing. Scale back low-value activities, and focus on quality leads. Create time for all your ongoing projects so that one isn’t left behind. RescueTime, StayFocused and Toggl are all examples of time-tracking mechanisms.

If you’d like to learn how Commercient SYNC ERP and CRM data integration can improve your sales team’s productivity, please contact us today.