How do you keep your CRM system updated?

Here's my POV on keeping your CRM system updated: * Regularly review and update customer information. ???? * Set reminders and follow-ups for data entry and maintenance tasks. ??? * Train and educate your team on the importance of CRM data accuracy. ???? * Automate data integration from various sources to minimize manual errors. ???? * Implement data validation rules to ensure data integrity. ??? * Use CRM analytics and reports to identify outdated or inconsistent data. ???? * Regularly cleanse and deduplicate your CRM database. ???? * Encourage customer self-service portals for data updates. ???? ????

The biggest problem ALWAYS with CRM is as with any system: GIGO. Garbage In, Garbage Out. The solution is neither easy nor obvious, because it conflicts with an ingrained cultural bias. CRM's were designed mainly by the American mind, that saw self-serve as second nature, meaning "You do your own lifting. You pick yourself by your own bootstraps." That's deadly for data quality, because the corresponding assumption is that CRM power-users (sales reps & SDR's) should become its data entry clerks. Yet this isn't what they're paid for. It's not how they achieve performance and earn commissions. So, stop expecting reps to fill many data fields. Deploy specialized data sleuths daily to milk reps for insights to feed the CRM system with.

One thing I have found helpful is setting a reminder 2 times a week preferably Monday and Friday to update CRM and keep your leads tidy

There's a lot of stuff to get right *before* you start automating: 1 - You have to choose the right data to put in, in the first place ... if you don't collect something, you can't analyse it. (amusing corporate horror story available here) 2 - you have to get data at the right level of Granularity: 3 - don't forget Completeness 4 - don't forget Accuracy 5 - don't forget Recency 6 - some data you need in dual formats: as both a Counting Unit and a Slice'n'Dice analysis criterion

If you adopt a two-tier CRM data quality management approach, you will guarantee through division of labor a superior data quality output involving human intervention. Sales reps and SDR's should fill only mandatory fields, while assigned data sleuths collect from field reps via email, vmail, or phone calls the rest of the information the system needs but that reps have no time to submit through forms. For the rest, there are tools and vendors capable of running merge/purge routines and data enhancement jobs to do what individuals cannot manually care for. Lastly, through third-party integration, you may run filters, lookups, business rules, etc. to enrich data (e.g. via Dunn & Bradstreet) on-demand or keep it from format corruption.

Log everything! If your team also utilizes your CRM for outbound call tracking, train your team to log everything that happened on the call right away. For example, if the prospect mentions “being under the weather” on the call. I log this. Then on my next follow up call I ask if they are feeling better. Simple gestures like “remembering” that they were not feeling well last time, goes a long way to separate you from the other sales calls they receive. If your team waits until later to log this, fine details like that get forgotten. Train the team to understand why we log everything, and that the true value is for them, for their prospect, and how it will help them improve their conversion rates.

Main problem is not how you enter data, automation, and other tools to be used. We live in digital edge and have way more instruments, helping us to achieve our goals Pipe management (CRM) issue is in par with security concerns, productivity, and any others. Common denominator is human being))) Is is not tools, not IT, it is sales person who is failing to organise his time, set right priorities and finally use all available technologies to have Pipe/CRM updated Moreover, this is first and foremost the problem of not an Individual Contributor, but rather his direct manager, who doesn't set responsibility & accountability boundaries and priorities. Start with people first, especially managers. All technologies are at your service already

Mind Shift: 1 - get senior management to understand that "Data is a Corporate Asset" ... it costs money to get it 2 - it goes out of Date real fast (16% churn rate in contact databases) ... so it costs money to maintain it 3 - if you want CRM Growth, add more money than the resource required for compensation of 16% churn 4 - use of CRM is *obligatory* not optional especially for sales 5 - MBRE = "management by removing excuses" ... ensure solid training is available for all user roles (incl senior Mgmt) 6 - sadly, you need a stick as awell as a carrot ... non-use and abuse carries sanctions ... and these should be stated in terms of employment by HR