Using customer relationship management software is beneficial for any business. It’s a one-stop-shop where you can integrate everything. This kind of technology allows companies to learn from potential customers. Not only that but they get to interact with existing customers. Every company faces the same challenge. This challenge is to get their customers to remain loyal to their products and services. It’s that easy. All you have to do is improve the customer-company relationship. It leads to an increase in sales, enhances services, and increases profit. This software will assist in many ways. It helps centralize, optimize, and streamline such communication.

Right now, you have to choose the right software. This way, you will have a better grasp of your customers’ profile. By knowing this, it will lead to higher customer retention. Once you know your customers are, the better it is for you to expect their needs. As a result, faster and efficient communication will take place. Aside from that, this CRM software has better protection when it comes to data privacy.

What Exactly is a CRM?

CRM, better known as Customer Relationship Management, is a kind of system. In this system, you can keep important information. This includes updating contact details, tracking customer interaction, and managing customer accounts. Designing CRM systems have two things on its mind. It is to improve relationships with the customers and gain customer retention.

Why Use Zoho CRM as a Sales Tool?

As you know, customers are the most important pillar of any company. Without a steady source of these customers, any company will fall. Companies have great products or services. Sticking to one plan won’t work. A company will need to rethink its strategies to bring in more customers. This crucial responsibility falls on Marketing and Sales. Any relationship acts as a bridge between a customer and your company’s offerings.

There are many reasons why companies have a change of heart. They are turning to the use of customer relationship management software. One of the main reasons is to improve the quality of their relationships with customers. Once the relationship becomes the main focus, it leads to more stable relationships. If everyone focuses on it, there will be higher customer satisfaction. Doing this will build your database with loyal customers.

If all this interests you, the most ideal CRM software for you and your company would be Zoho CRM. Think it’s the right sales tool for you? Please continue reading and check out its benefits.

Which Terms Should I Be Familiar With?

Accounts:

These are the business that is being dealt with when it comes to these companies or departments.

Activities:

These are tasks, events, meetings, and calls that have taken place. These activities are the ones that you will carry out with accounts, contacts, or leads.

Contacts:

These are the people from different companies. They are with whom you carry out business-related tasks.

Deals:

These are actual business opportunities that will generate revenue for your company. Here, you are dealing with these potential opportunities with other people or organizations.

Leads:

These are individuals who act as the company’s representatives. They are with whom you can have a potential business relationship.

How Do I Get Started?

Like any new software you’re dealing with, it can be a bit overwhelming at first. Of course, it doesn’t have to be that way. That’s why we’re here to help you out and get started. Before you know, you and your company will be on your way to the right track. The first step will be signing in your key details such as name and company information. After accomplishing that, you may fill out your CRM using sample data. This way, you can practice and experiment with a lot of different and useful features. This will be helpful when it comes to presenting the actual data in real-time.

Home Tab

Once you open Zoho CRM, the Home page will be the very first thing you see on your screen after logging in. You can locate this under the Home tab. On the top bar, you can see Home, Leads, Contacts, Accounts, Deals, Activities, Reports, Analytics, Products, Quotes, Sales Orders, Purchase Orders, Invoices, SalesInbox, and Projects. Right next to Projects, you can click on the three dots. These are the different components of modules all found at the very top of your screen. This will be how the data will be grouped. As you click the Home tab, you’ll see this. This is where you can see the entire overview of the activities taking place when it comes to CRM. You can track its progress as well. Here, you can organize your daily tasks. Other than that, you can manage any task belonging to your team.

There are three ways to view Home. First, the Classic View is set on default. It contains Tasks, Events, and Pipeline (based on stage). The second way is the User’s View. Users are free to customize the format based on that person’s preference. Click the three dots next to User’s View and you will be able to Add Components, Reorder, or View Full Screen. Last but not the least, the last view is Customize Home page. This setting allows you to customize the page based on users and their different roles.

All you have to do is check with the components they’ll be needing. Start inserting them using the sidebar found on the left. When users have access to these pages, they will view the customized page you have done. It will be set on automatic default. For example, only certain components are relevant for certain roles. It will be a different page for someone in Sales and it will be different for someone in Marketing.

Leads

Next to the Home tab is Leads. These are individuals who act as the company’s representatives. Leads are the ones you can have a potential business relationship with. Under this tab, you will find all individual records of leads. Each record consists Lead Name, Company, Email, Phone, and Lead Source. This is set on automatic default. If you would like to change the format, click on the three dots found next to the Projects tab found on the top. Scroll down the list and click on + Create New Module.

By clicking the + button, you can create new records of a new possible lead. You can fill out basic information in fields like First Name, Phone, Company, Email, and many more. You will need to fill out the ones marked in red. They are mandatory. Save these details and it will come out looking like a business card. You will be able to view important information about the lead here. If you wish to view the complete details about this particular lead, you can click on Show Details.

Found on the left sidebar, you can view Info such as Timeline and Data Privacy. The Timeline feature is useful. When you click on it, you can view the History of every recorded activity in the particular record. You can enable Data Privacy if you switch on the compliance settings. You can find more information about the record can under Related List. Here, you will find Notes, Attachments, Products, Open Activities, Closed Activities, Invited Events, Emails, Campaigns, Social, Visits – SalesIQ, and Zoho Survey.

Other actions can be found in the top right corner. This includes Send Email, Convert, and Edit. You can locate other actions by clicking on the three dots. The drop-down list includes Clone, Share, Delete, Print Preview, Find and Merge Duplicates, Mail Merge, Meet Now!, Schedule Online Meeting, Run Macro, Customize Business Card, Organize Lead Details, Add Related List, and Create Button. Also, the left and right arrow buttons help you to navigate from one record to another.

Other Useful Features

Search

In case if you need to pull up something fast, you can use the Search option. You will locate it in the top right area. Enter any keyword. You will view a list of the term found in your modules.

SalesSignals

Clicking on the bell is Notifications. You will find 2 tabs and these are SalesSignals and Feeds. Under SalesSignals, you can find customers and their interaction with your brand. This can happen across a variety of online platforms. This can include calls, campaigns, emails, and surveys.

This could be a possible scenario that you may encounter. You have scheduled a demo for someone sometime next week. This particular lead might start somewhere simple. That person will visit your website to view information about your company. A notification from SalesSignal will inform you of this. Data that will be useful to you is the amount of time that person is spending on what s/he is looking at. You can even gain access to the web pages that person has spent time on. Remember that scheduled demo? Now, you can integrate bits of this useful information. It will help prepare you and increase your chances of converting that lead into a sale or deal.

Feeds

When you click on this particular module, you will be able to interact with other members. Talk about a group effort! Here, you can discuss making decisions about certain things. This will be a faster process when it comes to securing deals. It is useful because these updates will inform you where other members are in the process. If there is a sense of urgency, you can mention certain people or groups to relay such information faster. Notifications can be found under the Feeds tab.

+ Icon

Clicking on the + icon allows you to add records from this list. This includes Leads, Contact, Account, Deal, Product, Quote, Sales Order, Purchase Order, Invoice, Campaign, Vendor, Price Book, Case, Solution, Task, Event, and Call.

Calendar

Next to the + icon is the Calendar. Clicking here will immediately give you access when you need to add an event or schedule a call. There is an option to mark yourself as unavailable to take calls or other activities on a certain date. On the top right, you can find if your contacts have sent an invitation. You have the option to mark it as Accept, Maybe, or Decline.

Conclusion

After going through the basics, Zoho CRM is easy to understand and navigate through. Once users get the feel of it, it’s intuitive to use with its smooth interface. It’s simple enough for any beginner given a short amount of time. For training, it doesn’t take too long before someone becomes familiar. Any user will enjoy using the functional Zoho CRM because of its high-end features. Bonus points go to its customization options. Users can customize settings so that they too are comfortable using the software. Not only that but they have the option to choose which features they need.

Zoho CRM is a sales tool that is ideal for small teams especially startups. It’s not intimidating to use like other existing sales tools. No wonder it’s been the market leader for the past decade. You can connect with your customers anywhere and anytime. Also, you can save more time with its automation features through real-time insights. You can expect increased numbers in sales, high customer retention, and faster growth. Everyone can enjoy using Zoho CRM. Users can be anywhere from startups to large enterprises. If you’re talking about budget, this particular sales tool is affordable. It will cater to serious business people who are always on the move yet stick to a budget.

In your opinion, what do you think of Zoho CRM? Or if you’re a first-time user, would you consider using it? Please share your experiences with us about the sales tool.

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Why Zoho CRM Should Be Your Next Sales Tool