In the beginning, you probably had so few sales leads that figuring out how to track sales was no problem. When you start to grow, however, it gets harder and harder to keep track by memory alone. You likely have more people involved, too.
Things start to fall through the cracks. Some people on the team may not be aware of what others are doing.
Your business starts communicating inconsistently with clients and prospective customers. Sometimes two team members will be saying different things!
Having a clearly defined sales process and the ability to track sales activity takes on greater importance over time. But where do you start?
How Do You Track Sales Currently?
So perhaps you start keeping track using a spreadsheet. Or maybe a list on a Word document. But guess what? You soon outgrow that.
“The burden of inputting information initially and updating it every time something changes will wear you and your team down. Your document or spreadsheet will get bigger until you have a monster on your hands — the creature from the black lagoon,” says Ivana Taylor of DIY Marketers.
What’s the answer? A CRM tool.
The example we like is Zoho CRM complete with its AI-powered conversational sales assistant, Zia. But any intelligent CRM has the power to help you.
3 Ways a CRM Cuts Down Data Entry
Let me show you three ways a CRM can cut your data entry time down:
1. Use a CRM System to Automate Your Sales Process
“The beauty of a CRM system is that you can set up a sales process once and then use it over and over again for every deal,” says Brent Leary, co-founder of CRM Essentials LLC.
A good CRM system offers pull down menus to check off what part of the sales process you’re in, who’s involved in each stage and what’s next.
Instead of having to enter this information on a spreadsheet for each new deal, your team can choose from what’s already entered in the system. You only have to add new information when something changes.
But what if you want to avoid having your team do ANY data entry at all?
2. Choose a CRM System to Pull Data Directly from the Web
Every sales expert tells you that you must use a CRM so that you can keep track of your sales. But the biggest problem most small business owners face is choosing and using a CRM system without all the tedious work of importing and entering lead and prospect information.
And, if you happen to have a sales team — good luck. Sales people (really good sales people) would rather spend their valuable time looking for and closing new business — not entering data so that management can see reports.
The best way to track sales without doing a lot of data entry is to use a CRM tool that has the ability to reach out to the web and pull contact data from your sales leads’ online profiles, website and activity. Or that captures data from emails you receive.
Typically, all the sales person needs to do is highlight the lead’s information from any browser online — on LinkedIn for example. An intelligent CRM system will search for the lead’s information and fill out the basic fields such as email, social media channels, address and any other relevant details for that contact.
With that drudgery out of the way, all you or your salespeople have to do is add notes and set follow up dates.
3. Use the CRM to Generate Reports with No Additional Data Entry
Once the contact information is filled in, the system will consolidate all of your conversation and social media engagement with that lead. Now, you’re ready to move that lead through your sales process.
You can create deals and start moving these prospects through your sales funnel. A good CRM will also allow additional team members to add information to that sales record which makes for a seamless experience for the customer.
You want to track the resources that are spent on the deal, how much time is being spent, the individuals involved, money involved and time until the deal closes.
Most importantly, you can generate pipeline reports, forecasts, contracts and even sales quotas automatically. Use the BizSugar Sales Quota Calculator to assign quotas to each member of your sales team.
One last point: Today’s CRM tools have an overwhelming set of features that may seem nice to have. But too many features can actually slow your ability to use the tool effectively. Don’t choose a complicated CRM if you’re not ready for it. Choose a CRM tool that you can grow into. Or one where you can turn certain features on only as you need them.
Next Steps for How to Track Sales:
1. Create a short list. Record all your current sales prospects and projects.
2. Test a few CRM choices. See how well each CRM will grab contact information and how much information is left for you to enter.
3. Look for the right CRM tool with automation. Choose the CRM tool that can enter most of the data automatically without your sales team having to lift a finger.
Photo via Shutterstock
Hi,
Thanks for the great tips, one question though. Can you please suggest some CRM tools that works well? Looking forward to your answer.
Thanks
Hello Rosee,
There are many CRMs. A good place to start when choosing between software solutions is a review site like G2Crowd or Capterra:
I like to check reviews to find pros and cons and get a better idea of which solution will work best for a particular small business.
Almost every aspect of a salesperson’s job can be tracked, analyzed, quantified, and measured. Data rules the decision-making of almost every sales manager around the world.
Insights pulled from this data rules the decision-making of the best sales managers.
Technology helps, but you need skilled, experienced humans to take advantage of the most helpful sales CRM technology to generate the best possible results.
Regards,
James
Hello,
Thanks a lot gail you really sharing great points related to sales tracking with us. I have a site where people can buy new products and sell their used products and generate money. This article is really useful for me. Kindly suggest some tips on how to increase and calculate sales.
Hi Louis,
I had to rescue your comment from spam, so you will want to go to Akismet and unflag your site. How to increase sales is a specialty in itself. Are you asking how to increase sales from the traffic you already have or generate more traffic?
I’m not sure what you mean by “calculate sales” so I would need more context to answer that. A good place to ask more questions and get answers is to join our BizSugar Mastermind Community.
It’s really been so helpful, data entry is so exhausting.
Thanks for the awesome post.
It’s really hard to find out the strategies that actually work.
Hey,
It’s nice to read about you
If you have time I would like you to go through my post also on WordPress.
It’s about how to create histogram in google sheets
As you know well histogram also help to represent data in good way.
It also helps your reader to read more.
Thank You for your time
Shahid Siddique
Thanks for the awesome post.
It’s really hard to find out the strategies that actually work.
Thanks for sharing this very good strategy it helps me a lot.
Very Effective Strategies I Applied That Really Exceptional Results. Thanks for Sharing that!
Thank you so very much for this!! Such a simple and elegant solution for a problem that I’ve been struggling with. Really appreciate you making this publicly available.
Tracking sales is one, but more important is lead nurturing. And to do it right, one should create a reasonable action plan. Imo one of the most useful methods for planning actions is data visualization. Dashboards, graphs, and interactive diagrams accelerate planning workflows and help in controlling which steps and milestones are achieved.
One effective way to track sales without excessive data entry is by utilizing automated systems and software solutions.
Implementing a customer relationship management (CRM) system that integrates with your sales process can streamline the tracking process.
By automating data capture, such as leads, deals, and customer information, you can minimize manual data entry, save time, and ensure accuracy in sales tracking.
Additionally, leveraging barcode or QR code scanners and point-of-sale (POS) systems can simplify the process further, automatically capturing sales data at the point of purchase.
Tracking sales without extensive data entry can be achieved through automated systems and tools. Implementing a robust customer relationship management (CRM) software can help capture and organize sales data automatically. Additionally, integrating e-commerce platforms with accounting software, using point-of-sale (POS) systems, and employing digital payment solutions can streamline the process, reducing manual data entry tasks and improving accuracy in tracking sales and revenue.
To streamline sales tracking without extensive data entry, leverage automation tools and customer relationship management (CRM) systems. Implementing a CRM can automate data collection, track customer interactions, and generate reports seamlessly. Integration with e-commerce platforms and payment processors further reduces manual input. Utilize barcode scanners, POS systems, and online analytics to capture sales data effortlessly, enhancing accuracy and efficiency in monitoring and analyzing sales performance.
To streamline sales tracking without extensive data entry, leverage automated tools and technologies. Implement a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system to capture and organize customer interactions automatically. Integrate your CRM with your sales and marketing platforms to synchronize data seamlessly. Utilize e-commerce platforms that offer built-in analytics to monitor sales performance effortlessly. By automating these processes, you reduce manual data entry, enhance accuracy, and gain real-time insights into your sales metrics.