Question

You just completed your first week as a sales rep at Acme Vacation Rentals, a firm specializing in finding vacation rental homes for high-income clients. You enjoy the work very much but are surprised at the lack of client-related information available to support the sales reps who are left on their own in terms of collecting and storing useful data about their clients. The company is also lacking a marketing program focused on contacting current and potential clients.

Again, each sales rep is left to do his or her own thing. As you are leaving Friday afternoon, your manager calls you into her office and asks how your first week went. After spending a few minutes recapping your week, you wonder if you should suggest that the firm investigate implementing a CRM system and, if so, how to proceed.

Answer 1

As a Sales representative I assume that the company would listen to my ideas and suggestion because I am the face of the firm in the market and I have the first have experience of what is happening in the market, what are the competitors doing and in which direction the customers are moving.

The feedback coming through the sales representatives are given due importance in any organization and I believe I can safely assume that the same will happen in this organization as well.

My only concern is that since I am new in the organization my manager would think that I am giving excuses to avoid work but then also I would try to provide my suggestion to my manager.

First of all I will gently ask my manager that as a new resource in the organization I have a come with fresh eyes and I would like to provide some suggestions once the manager accepts my request I will explain it to him that how sales representative do not have any client related information with them and how this information can help the sales representatives on the field.

I will keep the conversation subtle and will tell my manager that what changes the information can bring in our sales process, I am sure being my manager the boss knows about the importance of this data.

I will gently tell my manager that a CRM system will help Acme Vacation Rentals in creating and storing client related critical data which can be further used by different sales representatives of this organization. This will also help us to communicate with the clients effective and efficiently and we can reach them prepared for taking any questions. The implementation of CRM system will have a positive impact on the sales and I will gently ask my manager to see if there is any chance that such system can be implemented in our organization.

I will leave by thanking the manager for listening to me.