The importance of an easy to use CRM

Erin Woodger discusses why joinery companies of all sizes should be utilising a CRM as part of its arsenal.

It’s been interesting to note over the last six months, joinery companies have had to work harder for their sales. Clients are taking longer to make decisions and we have seen the need for a strong level of trust before customers are committing their hard earned cash. 

One of the issues in the replacement window market is that clients can easily put the project off this year and pick it back up next year or even the year after. To build trust, we recommend nurturing the client much more, taking them on a journey to help them understand the quality of your product – that might be with a sample, a showroom or a really informative brochure showcasing your products. They need to know other people like them have purchased similar products from you and been really happy.

There is a real need for case studies and testimonies across the broad spectrum of your products and types of clients – if they are looking for a full house of windows and they read a testimonial about a front door, it will never be as powerful as reading something from someone who has had a full house of windows from you and been delighted with the process and the outcome.

Often clients want to get two or three quotes before making a decision and the time from enquiry to order can be significant. It is far too easy to lose a job because you have not been in the forefront of a clients mind when they are ready to make a decision with all the information they need in front of them. 

In order to stay in contact with these clients and be perceived as helpful, rather than a ‘pushy’ sales person, following a clear sales process that you feel comfortable with and using a CRM is vital. This enables you to keep on top of what you have quoted, be consistent and follow up to a professional and a high standard. 

Generally, the person responsible for the sales in a small to medium sized business is the owner, who has a lot of competing priorities which mean they don’t follow up after quotes or track the progress for each potential client, not giving the business the best opportunity to win that sale. In turn, this usually means they will have to spend even more time quoting!

You may not even have a CRM or a system any more sophisticated than some scraps of paper in your in-tray! If you do have a CRM and it feels clunky to use or difficult to maintain, then you soon give up. A CRM only works if it is consistently updated with each client interaction. Woodge is simple to use, built by people who understand you and your clients and can be used straight out of the box – you can have a clear sales process. Using Woodge is like doing a dot to dot – you just follow from one step to the next without the need to transfer across huge amounts of information – just plug and play! 

And if you’re still on the fence about the importance of a system to track your prospective clients and quotes, utilising a CRM like Woodge can increase your conversion rate by 10%. If you are currently turning over £750k, this would increase your turnover to £900k without employing anyone else or having to do any more quotes. 

Visit the website to book a demo today.

www.woodge.co.uk