One year CRM sales
I want to write about my CRM sales experience in our small startup . During the year several observations were made, which I want to share.
In contrast to the West, we have a poorly developed small and micro-business. Very bad. It seems that this is due to the children's commodity economy. But now is not about that. Ultimately, this means that small companies (up to 10-15 people) will not have the money to pay you. They will try to shrink to a minimum, or look for free options.
We felt most comfortable with medium and large companies. Sowing with modifications, trying to save money, but the money is paid. Here the main point is to build a relationship with the client correctly: to clearly distinguish between the cost of licenses, implementation and customization. The client is more willing to pay when he understands what he is paying for.
However, for some reason I believe in a small business. The only question is how to enter it. In my opinion, the most interesting and correct way is to roll out the free version, make it popular and find an alternative way to monetize. But it is not easy. I don’t know how to do it yet.
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It's funny, but at first we thought that cold calls would boost sales. A separate person sat and called. In general, he called unsuccessfully, but the quality of the clients received was low. Usually, these were random people who did not understand what they wanted. With such difficult and expensive.
Contextual advertising gives more correct contingent. When people come consciously, it means they have already decided to implement. There are only doubts about what to implement. It is much easier and you can work with it.
Yes, I need it. When a team exceeds 5 people fantasy begins. I want my own tasks, my own projects, linking to my own ERP / 1C / warehouse / ... I can say that there was not a single project that would not require customization. And these requirements are quite reasonable. So, to keep the market, you need:
- write a flexible development platform (our way) and powerful api
- make a lot of industry niche solutions (realtors, retail, call centers, etc.)
Another fun fact. No matter what they say, SaaS is convenient. First of all for the money. Secondarily - in quality. Compared to the licked products like SalesForce, custom offline solutions look scary.
Of course, there are objective limitations. For example, for large organizations, customization and integration with their own zoo are critical. But it can be solved in one form or another. The main reason, in my opinion, is purely psychological. Unusual, unfamiliar, scary. I think it will be over soon.
Perhaps that's all. Output will not be. Facts are given as-is. If you have any ideas or objections, I will be glad to see them in the comments.
Where to sell: in a small segment there is little money
In contrast to the West, we have a poorly developed small and micro-business. Very bad. It seems that this is due to the children's commodity economy. But now is not about that. Ultimately, this means that small companies (up to 10-15 people) will not have the money to pay you. They will try to shrink to a minimum, or look for free options.
We felt most comfortable with medium and large companies. Sowing with modifications, trying to save money, but the money is paid. Here the main point is to build a relationship with the client correctly: to clearly distinguish between the cost of licenses, implementation and customization. The client is more willing to pay when he understands what he is paying for.
However, for some reason I believe in a small business. The only question is how to enter it. In my opinion, the most interesting and correct way is to roll out the free version, make it popular and find an alternative way to monetize. But it is not easy. I don’t know how to do it yet.
')
How to sell: cold calls are bad, contextual advertising is good
It's funny, but at first we thought that cold calls would boost sales. A separate person sat and called. In general, he called unsuccessfully, but the quality of the clients received was low. Usually, these were random people who did not understand what they wanted. With such difficult and expensive.
Contextual advertising gives more correct contingent. When people come consciously, it means they have already decided to implement. There are only doubts about what to implement. It is much easier and you can work with it.
What to sell: need customization and niche solutions
Yes, I need it. When a team exceeds 5 people fantasy begins. I want my own tasks, my own projects, linking to my own ERP / 1C / warehouse / ... I can say that there was not a single project that would not require customization. And these requirements are quite reasonable. So, to keep the market, you need:
- write a flexible development platform (our way) and powerful api
- make a lot of industry niche solutions (realtors, retail, call centers, etc.)
Where are we going: Russian companies are in no hurry to SaaS
Another fun fact. No matter what they say, SaaS is convenient. First of all for the money. Secondarily - in quality. Compared to the licked products like SalesForce, custom offline solutions look scary.
Of course, there are objective limitations. For example, for large organizations, customization and integration with their own zoo are critical. But it can be solved in one form or another. The main reason, in my opinion, is purely psychological. Unusual, unfamiliar, scary. I think it will be over soon.
Perhaps that's all. Output will not be. Facts are given as-is. If you have any ideas or objections, I will be glad to see them in the comments.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/102839/
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