Monday morning, 8:30. Roscoe Higgins swings the door open and enters his corner office. Placing his coffee cup on the mahogany desk, he wiggles his computer mouse and logs in. "Last week was a good one," he murmurs, "Now we'll get going on an even better one."
Roscoe opens his email app and scans it for any weekend developments. He has decisions to make, meetings to set up, leads to follow up on, and sales to close; but without knowing the vital signs of Roscoe, Inc., Mr. Higgins is helpless.
"Evelyn in the warehouse should have some new inventory numbers for me.” He shoots off an email asking for the latest report. Meanwhile, Roscoe retrieves the spreadsheet she sent last Wednesday after he caught wind of the new kid nearly pulling the trigger on a sale that would have wrought havoc on inventory for an entire month.
On down his inbox, he finds the Friday afternoon sales report from sales manager Maxine. Roscoe's eyes move rapidly down the page and he finds his quarry at the bottom. To his entire consternation the record shows the account is marked closed, but there's no authorization code for the discount on the order.
He picks up the phone and punches in the sales manager' s extension.
"Hi, this is Maxine! I'm away from my desk or on the phone, so please leave a message!"
Now an edge of frustration begins to cut into Roscoe's normally sunny disposition.
"Hey - Maxine, I need a couple of things from you. Can you call me back when you get in? Thanks."
Roscoe clicks back to his email window and scans for the revenue report. Finding it, he double clicks it open and gazes at the orderly rows and columns. The brightly colored cell containing the total shows a much different number than Tom mentioned in the meeting on Friday… what's up?
Another email, to Tom this time. Another Monday morning meeting feeling like a blind man in a blackout. The phone rings.
"Good morning Mr. Higgins," chirps Maxine, "I just sent you an updated spreadsheet showing the latest data, but I'm waiting for a call from Chip in Poughkeepsie. He told me yesterday that he may be onto a big order from Conglomerated Products. He's supposed to get back in touch with me this afternoon."
Roscoe: "[sigh] OK Maxine. Say, what did Evelyn say about our inventory? Wasn't there a shipment coming in?"
Maxine: "I don't know - I'll call her a bit later."
Roscoe Higgins gently hangs up the phone. The familiar inchoate Monday morning headache softly calls for attention as he presses his palms into his eye sockets. "Here we go again," he groans, and doesn't prepare for his weekly meeting.
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Monday morning, 8:30. Roseanne Hankins swings open the door and enters her corner office. Placing her coffee cup on the mahogany desk, she wiggles her computer mouse and logs in. "Last week was a good one," she murmurs, "Now let's get going on an even better one."
Roseanne's computer emerges from its weekend hibernation to display a customized full screen bursting with everything she needs for the half-hour Monday morning meeting with her leadership team.
Inventory looks good. With one more order, we'll have enough to cover this month plus a little we can offer at a discount next month.
Max, the sales manager, has become a fanatic about keeping our sales data as fresh as possible. At a glance, she notices that he entered new data on Sunday. Gotta talk to him about not working on weekends, she muses. Pipeline looks good, deals in relationship to goals looks on track for this time of year.
She notices that the new kid is doing pretty well after the fiasco with the missed approval last month.
“Good thing our admin caught that.
“Revenue was updated at 7 AM, so we can budget for the next quarter. Good, I see exactly how much we can allocate to each department right here.”
Roseanne jots down a few thoughts about the meeting and takes a leisurely sip of good coffee. With all the benefits of using a CRM has brought to her company, it's definitely going to be a good week.
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What's Roseanne got that Roscoe doesn't? In a word, a truly great CRM (customer relationship manager). The phrase has actually become a misnomer since it's invention in the mid-1980's. ACT!, Released in 1986, was merely a digital version of the rolodex. As the insatiable appetite for information exploded with the possibilities of the networked computer, so did the capabilities of the CRM.
Currently one of the leading CRM's is Salesforce.com, the San Francisco-based global giant that has set the bar for most other packages out there. Administrated well, the benefits of using a CRM like a Salesforce setup can deliver up-to-the-minute sales pipelines inventory figures, a look at all current leads, details of contact relationships, and vastly more. All of this adds high-octane V-8 speed to data accessibility with the efficiency of a high-tech hybrid.
The real magic appears in the Workflow functionality that sets Salesforce.com apart from their competition. From Shellblack, a Salesforce administration company:
“So what exactly is Workflow? Workflow is business logic that evaluates records as they are created and updated and determines if an automated action needs to occur. In a way it allows records to speak up or do something – update data, notify people or external systems. Workflow replaces the constant monitoring Users have to otherwise do via reports, dashboard or views to know whether or not it is time to act. At the end of the day workflow accelerates your business processes, by removing the time lag needed for people to review information and decide if action is need. As your business grows, and the amount of data that has to be monitored swells, workflow becomes indispensable to organizations to maximize efficiency with their business processes.”
Sound good? Now let's talk about real and apparent costs.
The first cost to an established business is buy-in from every nook and cranny of the company. It just won't work if data is not trustworthy, and if only some of your business processes are based on the CRM model. Think of Salesforce as a culture, or way of being with a technology attached to help it, rather than just an app that helps your salespeople sell stuff better.
Also, most Salesforce users in Savannah, GA and elsewhere will tell you that failing to designate at least one Administrator, who owns the concept and the tool, will doom your expenditures to waste.
Second, we know you're wondering about the actual dollar figures behind Roseanne's delightfully relaxed Monday. Here's a rough idea, although prices are negotiable based on company size, scope of use and other factors.
- SalesforceIQ Starter - the basics for up to 5 users: $25 per user per month
- Salesforce Professional - the complete version for any number of users $60 per user per month
- Salesforce Enterprise - $125 per user per month
- Salesforce Unlimited - $250 per user per month
Visit Salesforce.com's pricing page for WAY more details.
Finally, TRAINING. What does it cost to send people to Salesforce.com training, maintain their skill level over time and make sure there's enough support for problems or ideas? Answer: almost nothing.
Trailhead" is a highly accessible, modular, self-paced package, all done online. Anyone from raw newbies to seasoned code-writing developers can tackle the training units they need whenever or wherever suits them best. Professional Salesforce Admins and Developers in Savannah, GA and across the country take regular Certification exams to keep their skills current, but your users might simply need a few units on the basics to make it hum. For businesses we serve in Savannah GA and throught the southeast, it just might be the breakthrough they need.
It's our firm belief that businesses of every size in every market, whether it's here in Savannah, New York or Los Angeles (yes, we have clients in those places, too!), can succeed in the new realities of online commerce. Salesforce is another way to structure your Savannah workplace to take advantage of the exciting possibilities of marketing in the information age. If you like the sound of all the benefits of using a CRM, and are considering using Salesforce in Savannah, GA, let us know! Talk to us about your intentions to grow your company in 2016 and beyond. United WebWorks Savannah GA is here to help -
Are You Ready?