YourSalesManagementGuru by Ken Thoreson, Acumen Management Group
			
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	How Far Has CRM Come?
    
		As a sales leadership consultant, I think this article by Lauren Carlson, "SFA 15 Years Later: Now Every Rep's Best Friend,"   hits on many valid points. The cloud and CRM usability are key elements in the  acceptance of CRM, as is the price/cost issue, especially for the SMB market.  The marketing campaign features are extremely important and the interface to  accounting/ERP systems greatly improves the customer service aspect, as well as  gives a more 360-degree view. They make CRM  more than a salesperson's tool.
		One other element that should be recognized is the "tech  savvy" nature of reps today versus even 10 years ago. This has made CRM acceptance  so much easier.
		However, what is interesting is that forecasting accuracy is  still a challenge for the reps/sales managers. Also, training and implementation  of CRM is still greatly under-emphasized, and I find many organizations with  salespeople using the same CRM system differently and not following a sales  process properly. Third, this lack of discipline leads to inaccurate pipeline and activity  reporting.  
		These few issues are the direct result of sales leadership  and are training and management functions. The mistake I see in many CRM  systems and vendors is that they focus on the salesperson, not on the needs of the  sales manager or organization. Sales leadership requires a more forward-looking approach to build predictable revenue. With a greater proactive  approach and sales management focus, the three topics I mentioned above would help  the sales manager take greater charge of the CRM tool and it would be more of a  useful tool for sales leadership.
 
	Posted by Ken Thoreson on January 17, 2012