Blogs

Saleswah on your windows desktop and Office 365

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The latest update of the our app on the Microsoft store- the Saleswah Lite CRM- was our 32nd!

We did it as a bit of a lark years back. And followed it up with an app for the Windows Phone as well. Which of course is another story. Suffice it to say, the app is still alive but where are the Windows Phones?

We may be die-hard Windows fanboys, but even we have given up on them.

But, we have a lot of good feelings for the desktop app. It is probably due for a re-design. But it still delivers great value for the user who is desk-bound and uses the app to perform updates for the most part.

And we keep adding features to it. The latest we did was to allow sync of Office 365 contacts and calendar with Saleswah through the app. It requires you to have a Enterprise class Office 365 account. Hope we are able to allow you to sync with your Office 365 Home and personal accounts as well, soon.

Have you checked out Saleswah recently? On the web or on the desktop? How was your experience?

Stay on top of customer interactions with browser alerts

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You are not always working on the CRM.

So, we introduced browser alerts to remind you of important upcoming activities. Like appointments. Tasks due today. Like Leads scheduled for follow up. Also, notify managers on missed deadlines.

Clicking on the notification pop-up will take you straight to the Task or appointment or lead in question. If you are logged in already. Or else, login.

Stay on top of customer interactions with browser alerts 1

As you know, you can be assigned a Task in Saleswah by other users. And, you can have an appointment set up for you by others.

Earlier, without being notified, you could lose track and miss deadlines or important meetings.

Now, with notifications enabled in your browser and opted in in Saleswah CRM, you will no longer miss meetings or deadlines.

Opt-in to notifications today!

If you have suggestions on all the situations or events you want to be notified of, please add your comments below.

Deals be opened post closure

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A Deal record is about the progress of a sales opportunity through the funnel. A deal record culminates in a closure. Status changes to Won or Lost or Dropped. After that, we do not permit an changes to the status.

We just made it possible for you to re-open the deal.

So, if you mistakenly closed the deal, you have a chance to re-open it and work on it some more.

For example:

  • You closed a deal as won, but actually it was lost!
  • You closed a deal as Lost- but the customer just called and said you are still in consideration as a vendor.
  • You closed the deal correctly as Won; but the value was wrong.
  • Etc

So, go to the closed deals list, click on the deal value of the closed deal and click on the “Re-open” button of the Deal record that popped up. The deal will then move from the closed deals list to the Open Deals list.

To ensure that this is only done with proper approvals, the ability to re-open a deal is available to admins alone.

Sales lead management

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Lead management in Saleswah

Lead management is crucial. Sales Leads – whether from marketing efforts or from Sales efforts, are the life-blood of a sales operation.

Leads have a very limited life-span. Customer may not be looking at you alone but at other vendors as well. So, getting back promptly is important.

A typical lead follows the following stages through the sales process (before it is “closed”-hopefully as a win, of course):

Sales lead management 2

We are today going to discuss the first two stages of leads management – the marketing lead and the sales lead.

Marketing lead management

Marketing leads are most often nothing more than a name and a contact number- phone or email.

More information is welcome, of course. But typically, we get nothing more than the bare minimum.

The main idea is to get a number and start calling them to qualify their interest. So, after the leads are “captured” in the CRM, it is imperative to get it to the right sales/ telesales person as quickly as possible.

Leads can be added to Saleswah one by one.They can be also uploaded from a spreadsheet.

Lead management: assignment, conversion, rejection

While adding/ uploading we check for a match with an existing contact, based on email address and if found, we attach the lead to the Contact record. Now, this contact may already exist in the CRM but under a different Sales Exec. So, tough luck! The assignment will happen to the person who already has the Contact ownership (and thus Account ownership).

This could be tough for the guy entering the lead but good for the company for whom the executive works.

After the lead is entered and assigned, the responsible user can then reject it (after recording a reason), re-assign it to someone else or work on it. If she finds it valuable and worthy of further follow up, she “Converts” the lead to a Deal. By default all Deals start off as a Sales Lead– the earliest stage in the funnel.

Sales lead management

At this very early stage of the funnel, the accent is very much on trying to “qualify” the lead – find the genuineness of the interest, see if there is budget, start identifying the decision makers and the purchase process.

Saleswah CRM powerful user management features

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There is a lot the Saleswah user account admin can do

Change user password

We now made it possible for the Saleswah user account admin to change the password for any user.

To do this, goto your admin area, and click on Users and Licenses.

Goto the user list.

Yes, it is that simple! Your users will be sent the new password by email.

Deactivate user

The admin can select any user in the above user list and click- deactivate user.

The user will lose access to the CRM immediately. And, the Saleswah user license he had would not become available to be assigned to any other user without a license.

Remember, deactivating the user does not affect the data. All accounts, contacts, deals which were looked after by the user, would continue to be shown under him. Other active users, who had earlier access to his data, would continue to do so. In fact, he would continue to show up in the user hierarchy in all the lists- Contact, Account, Deals, Tasks etc.

As a matter of fact, this helps when a sales executive leaves and a new one is going to join in his place. So, you can transfer “the territory” from old to new with minimal disruption.

Re-assign territory- from old executive to new

  1. Go to the Accounts List.
  2. Use the user hierarchy filter to drill down to the old user who is still showing up. So, now you have only the accounts which are assigned to the old user on screen.
  3. Select the accounts- in bulk and click on Assign accounts- follow instructions to assign to the new user.

Remove user from hierarchy

Once you have re-assigned all accounts from this user to another, then you can remove the user from the hierarchy totally. To do that, go to the Users and License section again. Select the user to remove from the hierarchy and click on Remove from Hierarchy.

 

 

Building Saleswah brick by brick

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What do you need to build a product?

We are on our way- we started years back, we are still building. And we keep adding features, tweaking or revamping UI and we keep adding customers.

It sounds great but it is not so simple, obviously.

We have worked hard for years, made changes to workflows, UI, cut features, added features, changes pricing, run promotions. We have shown the product to thousands. And a few thousands have used and continue to use the product.

And we keep getting better. There are many answers to the web on “how to build a great product”. I personally like many of them. But, the one quality you need – other than the obvious and usual ones like getting to a product market fit, hustle, investing in scale, selecting the right feedback…

And, that quality is patience. Coupled with belief.

Not just yours; but your customers’ too!

You must have faith in your sense of direction. And your customers, especially some of the early adopters must share it too.

You must be patient. There will be problems that will take days to solve. Implementation issues will clog delivery of that new feature that the customers have been shouting for. Perfectly working integrations will suddenly stop working.

No documentation, no roadmap, no stories of “been there and done that”. You need to have patience and you need customers, who have bought into the vision and are willing to wait.

Remember it is a journey. Enjoy the ride.

 

 

 

 

Guide to drive successful CRM adoptions

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Why CRM implementations fail

The reasons why there are so few truly successful CRM implementations vary from industry to industry and even one country to another.

I can give you my reasons based on my observations over the last decade. The reasons are in 3 broad groups:

  1. No clarity on existing process:
  2. Lack of clarity on expectations.
  3. Commitment should start from the top- but it does not.

Much before the search for a CRM- either for the first time or to replace an existing system, there must a serious effort to document existing processes. If they need to  fit a software – understand what is critical and what is not.

A CRM like Saleswah is a fairly large piece of software with multiple features. Rare is the customer who uses all the features and that is okay. What the successful implementer does is understand how his must have processes will work in the CRM.

Process clarity and expectation setting

Process documentation even if not very formal, is must. Have the internal clarity before you speak to the vendor.

A shortcut that often works, is to ask (as a customer)

  • what reports do I need to run and grow my business?
  • what data do I need to capture to get those reports?
  • how can I make the job easier for my people (who will get me the data)?

Reports and required data: these are self explanatory. Ask these questions and you will be surprised how easy the process for looking for a CRM and getting it to work for you will become.

Leading by example

Now for the boss- the one that needs to drive the implementation.

For the user adoption and implementation to work, the boss needs to use the CRM.

Sounds trivial. But it isn’t. Bosses are busy and they simply are unable to fit the CRM usage into their schedule.

So, here’s what we suggest. If you are the boss and you want the CRM implementation to go smoothly, get your reports ONLY from the CRM. Let it be known to your entire team that they do not need to send you reports separately. You will get your reports from the same source- the CRM.

Tell them you won’t read their forecast reports or funnel health or win-loss reports offline or sent on mail. You will only read it in the CRM.

Have you encountered other issues why CRM implementation/ adoption stalled in your company? What did you do to solve them?

 

 

Who is Saleswah for?

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Customers we serve (and benefit)

Years after we started our journey – our focus continues to be those companies who are selling products and services to other businesses.

CRM tends to be a bit of an omnibus term. Here’s how we explain to customers when we talk. In our view, CRM is a software that helps manage- schedule, track and facilitate all customer facing processes. The way I see it, the difference between ERP and CRM is that ERP manages the processes “inside your gates”. CRM manages “outside the gates” processes.

So, within this broad ambit, there are sales and service processes- both.

Let’s discuss them one by one and position Saleswah appropriately.

Sales CRM

If you are scouting for a Sales CRM, first ask two important questions to yourself:

  • Who is my customer?
  • What is my selling process?

Am I selling to individuals or am I selling to companies? Normally most companies do either one or the other. Your product or service will typically determine your choice of customers.

There are exceptions. For instance, you may be a soft-drinks company and have 2 target segments. Individuals who you target through your retail play and corporates like clubs, airlines, hotels who you sign up with for exclusive deals. While the latter is a B2B sales process, the former is B2C. Saleswah does not cater to B2C process at all.

A B2B sales process will need salesmen with feet on street. There will be territories, hierarchies, target setting and periodic reviews of achievements against targets.

A B2B sales process needs profiling of customers- organizations and people who work for them- for they decide on the purchase. The history of interactions, captured over time guides future interactions.

Why Saleswah Sales CRM?

Saleswah Sales CRM helps sell products and services to other businesses. So, all other entities in Saleswah (Contacts, Deals, Tasks, Appointments, Quotations- and even sales targets and achievements) are linked to the Accounts (companies that you sell to). “Account owners”- sales people who are the first line contact for the customer (Account in question) have primary ownership of targets, get rewarded for achievements (deals won) in the accounts, get assigned tasks related to the accounts and so on.

Does the above describe your sales process?

Ask for a demo or Register for a free trial.

Service CRM

If you are looking for a Service CRM, the defining questions are:

  • What is my product or service that I need to provide after sales service for?
  • What is my post-sales service process?
  • Do I provide in customer site or does he bring the product in for service?

There are many products that require no post sales service. Most home furniture, consumables etc require no service. Some products may simply be too inexpensive to require customer service.

But, many products- home appliances and industrial products  (and even services- think the cable TV or broadband service) require services to keep going. Many software products which are customer premise installable, require service as well.

Service can be during the warranty period and after.

Service can even include installation support. And, typically warranty coverage kicks in after installation is complete.

There are products that the customer brings in to be serviced to the service station. Think cars or laser printers or laptops.

But there are many products that are only serviced on-site. Home appliances, large machines – Diesel Gensets, Chillers, CNC machines. Some machines are serviced onsite for minor complaints and brought in to the service centre for major work.

Software support is normally always onsite- this is irrespective whether it is an installable software like Tally or cloud based software. Of course, you may end up providing the support on phone, email or internet.

Why Saleswah Service CRM

Saleswah Service CRM helps manage after sales service processes that require:

  • Onsite services.
  • Tracking warranty and/ or Maintenance contract based service.
  • Require field visits tracking.
  • Asset management- based on serial numbers.
  • Managing out of support cases.

Saleswah can help manage large installed base of equipment- running into tens or even hundreds of thousands. It can easily scale to hundreds of users, many roles and hierarchies and and a complex process of onsite service deliverable.

If you are looking for a easy to use service CRM which can scale to the most complex of requirements,

Ask for a demo or Register for a free trial.

Field service case study of heavy engineering equipment

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service crmSaleswah CRM is being used for field maintenance of about 35000 Diesel Generator Sets by a customer. Many of these DG sets are located in remote parts of India. They are installed in Telecom Towers for providing backup power.

A service team of about 30 managers oversee 90 service dealers who employ about 700 service technicians. The service technicians attend to field visits- for repair and preventive maintenance. They are kept supplied with spares. The service is provided under stringent SLA conditions.

See this for more details of the implementation.

The field technicians use the Saleswah CRM mobile app- for service  to update the status of the ticket from the field. The service dealers and the managers use the mobile app to stay updated on the open tickets status. They also use the web based application for more involved tasks such as approvals, audits, billing, certification and so on.

After couple of years of use, the customer shared their feedback on what their strategic and operational objectives were and how close they have come to meeting them. We put their feedback in the slide deck that follows.

Have a look at the field service case study.

[slideshare id=87521886&doc=servicecrmprsentationcasestudy-180208134101]

How do you like being able to upward delegate?

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Tasks can now be assigned to your boss and his boss too!

The most used feature in Saleswah CRM is the ability to create and assign “Tasks” to your own self or someone who works for you. Every Saleswah CRM client account (through their admin) can define the Task types that make sense for them.

Tasks in Saleswah are more powerful than in other simple calendar type of applications. A Task in Saleswah is linked to a “Contact” – a person who works for an Account (Client). It can also be optionally linked to a product type and can be updated, rescheduled and tracked till closure.

Tasks can also be re-assigned.

So, if a user is overloaded, he could always re-assign the task to someone in his team.

Let’s see a typical sales user hierarchy.

Task upward delegation

Who is a sales co-ordinator?

A sales co-ordinator has a valuable role- she provides back office support for her team of field sales persons. He/ she may free up admin time for the boss. It is also common to see the sales co-ordinators perform inside sales functions; that is follow up with clients of their team members.

Sales Co-ordinators can see all Account and Contact details for the level at which they are “attached” to the user hierarchy. So, the Sales Co-ordinator 2 can see all accounts which her boss – the Sales Manager 1 can see (his own and those of his reportees- Sales Exec 11 and Sales Exec 22).

The new enhanced task assignment/ re-assignment functionality

The biggest enhancement is that now while logging a task or assigning/ re-assigning it, the user can select any person below OR ABOVE him as well.

Why did we do this?

There are multiple situations where you may need your boss to intervene with a client. Or, during a meeting with a client, you might get a request to – “ask your boss to meet my boss”. Instead of noting it down and waiting to get back to office to inform your boss, you could now log it in Saleswah CRM.

So, earlier the Sales Manager 2 could only assign a task to himself or his two reportees: Sales Exec 21 and Sales Exec 22. But, now, he can assign the same task to his boss, the Sales Head as well.

Take another example.

The Sales Co-ordinator 1, who has visibility to the entire database- by virtue of being attached to the same level of user hierarchy as the Sales Head, can assign any Task to anyone including her boss, the sales head.

Hope you like it. Go ahead, enjoy the freedom to upwardly delegate!

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