Given the prevalence of CRM systems and marketing automation platforms, today’s marketer has more tools in their bag to touch their customer base than ever before. But what good are tools, such as the ever-popular Salesforce CRM platform, if marketers are not properly harnessing the functionality in order to inspire sales team action and define measurable ROI from their campaigns?

 
Did you know that, according to a study by Corporate Visions, 87 percent of marketers are required by their companies to utilize a CRM platform? However, 79 percent of those marketers report that they are merely “checking the boxes” when it comes to using their system.

 
According to John Sisson of Rainmaker Associates, the biggest mistake that marketers make when it comes to using their Salesforce CRM platform is focusing on the bells and whistles of the technology rather than the process.

 
“We’ve never seen more people using Salesforce. The funny part is they’re not really using it,” stated Sisson when asked how Salesforce users are currently engaging with the platform.

 
Process should drive the tool, not than the other way around. To harness the power of Salesforce, it is essential that marketers insert themselves into the process by defining such concepts as what makes a lead, what makes a qualified lead, when those leads transition into the pipeline, etc., and effectively communicate that information to the sales team.

 
To learn more about harnessing the power of your Salesforce CRM platform, check out the webinar replay below, featuring John Sisson of Rainmaker Associates and hosted by Marc Hausman of Strategic Communications Group.

Web2Sales How Marketers Can Inspire Sales Team Action and Accountability from Kristin Janeiro on Vimeo.

If you’d like to learn more about Web2Sales, click here.