Watch Out for These 8 Types of Dirty Data in Your CRM in 2024 RevOps 10 min One of the most significant sources of business cost is dirty data – a towering $13 million on average, per year.  And it’s not just the financial impact.  With dirty data, your reps have difficulty tracking the lead’s source. They lose precious time and face the brunt of lower productivity. Not only this, it also causes resource disruptions, failed communication (both internal and external), and wasted marketing expenditures.  In contrast, high-quality data is key to a solid revenue operations function. Accessible and relevant data can help leaders gain timely and actionable insights, streamline processes, and make informed business decisions.  Since dirty data has a devastating influence on business – a sobering understatement – it’s critical to understand what it is, how it affects business, and how you can deal with it. What is Dirty Data? While data is essential to every organization, not all of it adds value to your business. One bad apple that ruins the whole marketing and sales basket is dirty data.  As much as 74% of organizations admit they need to improve data management to avoid competitive and financial disadvantages. In essence, dirty data is inaccurate information that disrupts a company’s database and impacts key functions like GTM, segmentation, personalization, lead scoring, prospecting, and ideal customer profile planning, among others. The result? Poor business decisions, inefficiencies, missed opportunities, and reputational damage.  And that’s not it. Poor data quality hits organizations where it hurts the most – on average, $15 million per year in losses.  Dirty data enters the CRM mainly through manual data recording, human error, poor inter-departmental coordination, or third-party integrations. To guarantee that every lead touchpoint is exceptional, you need to understand different types of dirty data and how to clean it. Types of Dirty Data in your CRM While dirty data comes in many forms, we’ve clubbed them under 8 categories. Let’s take a look below. 1. Duplicate Data Duplicate data is the most common type of dirty data. Repetitive leads, accounts, and contacts are just a few data points unintentionally shared with other records in the CRM. Although carbon copy duplicates are the simplest to identify and remove, partial duplicates – which are occasionally the result of human error – cause more significant issues. Duplicate data can lead to skewed analysis, inefficient workflows, overloaded storage systems, inaccurate data recovery, ineffective personalization, and repetitive customer communication. For instance, each account receives or expects a tailored interaction when it comes to ABM. If you have the same prospect listed three times in your database and repeatedly send them the same email, the prospect may feel that your campaign is automated and not personalized. It only frustrates the prospect, lowering the chances of conversion. How to clean Duplicate Data? In the current scenario, where businesses deal with enormous amounts of data daily, manual data cleansing is insufficient. Besides, manual cleaning doesn’t always get rid of partial duplicates. Invest in an automation platform that detects and cleans up data and merges or deletes duplicates. Additionally, it can sort and integrate duplicate data using criteria unique to your company. 2. Insecure Data Driven by data expansion, security regulations have transformed the marketing landscape. In parallel, significant privacy issues have disrupted consumer-firm relationships, prompting changes in both regulatory interventions and people’s privacy-protective behaviours. Important privacy and data security laws, such as GDPR and CCPA, are now in place. Data that is non-compliant with these laws, or insecure data, can attract steep financial penalties. For instance, a user may have previously provided their data without consenting to your data sharing and privacy policy. This kind of insecure data can result in serious repercussions. Today’s business environment is growing more and more consumer-focused, and digital consent, opt-ins, and privacy notifications are becoming the new standard. Being compliant with these rules becomes practically impossible without good CRM hygiene. And let’s not forget the negative impact on brand reputation. Giants like Amazon and WhatsApp have already paid hefty fines totalling more than $800 million and $270 million, respectively, for alleged GDPR non-compliance while battling public criticism. How to clean Insecure Data? Having a clean database can directly contribute to complying with data privacy laws. Best practices to clean insecure data include deleting unusable and insecure records from your CRM, merging duplicates for more up-to-date information, consolidating your data stack and automating the lead-to-account linking process, and hosting your CRM on legally compliant cloud software. 3. Outdated Data Would an old report from five years ago help your business make intelligent decisions? Data that seems significant today might no longer be relevant tomorrow. Analytics based on outdated data is like traveling with the wrong GPS Data only to drive over a ledge. Consider this. A website user fills out a form to get your resource. They turn into a prospect during the following months and interact with your company more, subscribing to newsletters and responding to emails. However, your CRM isn’t updated with this information. Therefore, the content you provide them is still geared toward a fresh lead rather than one already being nurtured. It limits their ability to proceed further down the funnel toward becoming customers. Other reasons for outdated data could be job changes, organizational reorganizations or mergers, and antiquated software systems that can’t keep up with the rapid rate of technological advancement. How to clean Outdated Data? The best way to get rid of outdated data is to purge and cleanse data before migrating it or integrating new systems. Another thing is to determine the critical period for your business. Delete any data in the system from before. While manual cleansing can take days or weeks, automation can finish this task for you in a matter of hours. So, switch to an automated tool. 4. Incomplete Data If a record is missing essential elements to process the incoming data before sales and marketing take action, it’s considered incomplete. Data gaps make the job of sales reps significantly harder. Unfortunately, incomplete data issues are pretty

MEDDIC vs Challenger: What’s the Difference? RevOps 10 min Hitting targets is one of the topmost goals for any sales rep. Understandably, all sales teams want to perform consistently well and achieve their goals.  But if you’ve seen your teams struggle in the last few years, you’re certainly not alone.  A recent crowdsourced survey by SaaStr shows that only 18% of sales teams hit a 70%+ quota attainment level. Average quota attainment for reps is down 5 points in 2023 from 2021. Quota attainment is also down for 5 out of 7 such teams.  To change the narrative, you’re probably digging into different sales methods that more successful businesses use. Or, you may simply want to level up your sales game as organizational growth becomes stagnant.  The first few methods popping up will undoubtedly be the MEDDIC and Challenger Sale. Both are useful with proven results for different companies. But confusion may persist on MEDDIC vs Challenger Sale and which one’s the best for you.  We’ve put together a quick overview of both methods that could help you make a decision.  Understanding the MEDDIC Academy Sales Method For 71.4% of sales professionals, only 50% or less of their initial leads are a good fit for their ICP. Reps blame poor qualification of potential customers before taking them through the entire sales process for 67% of lost deals.   There’s one method that shines in these situations.  MEDDIC is a B2B sales qualification methodology used to understand the customer at each stage of the buyer journey. The process drives revenue and business growth by qualifying buyers more accurately.  Here’s how the MEDDIC Academy explains what the process stands for: 1. Metrics What is the quantifiable value of your product for the customer?  2. Economic Buyer Who has the final word on the financial decision at the buyer’s end?  3. Decision Criteria What factors or criteria influence the purchase decision?  4. Decision Process How does the buyer reach a decision?  5. Implicate Pain What is a problem serious enough for the buyer to seek an external solution?  6. Champion Who is the stakeholder most invested in onboarding your solution?  MEDDIC places the focus on customer experience instead of selling with the sole objective of making money. It works because 56% of sales leaders consider engaging and paying attention to gain a client’s trust as the best approach.  With the MEDDIC Academy method, you can: Find leads that are the right fit for you Access critical stakeholders in the buyer committee  Build better forecasts  Boost winning rates  Over time, the MEDDIC Academy has included more steps, such as MEDDPICC, where P stands for paper process and C is competition.  Understanding the Challenger Sale Method Today, 32% of B2B buyers use more sources to research and evaluate processes than before. And 31% spend more time on social media to check out vendors and their solutions.  This means customers enter into a sales transaction with preconceived notions about the product. Reps need to develop an experience going beyond features and benefits. Instead, sellers could challenge the buyer and disrupt their current thinking. This is the Challenger Sale Method. You’re a challenge seller if you: Have a unique perspective of the world Understand the customer’s business in and out Create constructive tension using a casual debate Intentionally dispute the customer’s thinking Push the customer to get out of their comfort zone  Here’s what the Challenger Sale process looks like: 1. Warm-up First up, you build credibility with prospects by researching and investigating their pain points, challenges, and needs. Then, you describe these issues to the buyer in a way they agree.  2. Reframe You reframe the problem as a growth opportunity. This switch is made by sharing an insight that the buyer may not have considered before. 3. Rational drowning You back your reframing with quantitative data and the latest statistics. Numbers illustrate the risk of leaving the problem unresolved. It uses rational thinking to appeal to the customer’s emotions.  4. Value proposition Show the buyer possibilities of a better future. Tie their value drivers with your solution’s capabilities (without explicitly introducing the product).  5. Introducing the solution After the building blocks are in place, you can introduce your product. This is when you explain exactly how it solves the buyer’s problem. With Challenger Sale, you deliver insights into an unknown problem or opportunity in the buyer’s business. Your product is uniquely positioned to solve this problem. By encouraging the buyer to consider new opportunities, a Challenger Seller offers alternative ways forward. But they need three essential skills to succeed:  Teach by providing insights on new or better ways to solve the buyer’s problem  Tailor the message to the buyer’s needs Take control of the sale and guide the customer to closure MEDDIC vs Challenger Sale: How Do They Compare? Some sales experts consider MEDDIC as a sales methodology and Challenger Sale as simply an approach. But there’s more to it.  We’ve listed each MEDDIC vs Challenger Sale comparison below.  Despite the long list of MEDDIC vs Challenger Sale differences, both methods have three things in common: 1. Buyer evolution Both methods take into account the evolving buyer. MEDDIC considers the transformation from the individual buyer to a buying committee with multiple members.  Similarly, Challenger Sale knows that buyers are gathering more information online and contacting the seller later during their journey.  2. Buyer’s drivers Both MEDDIC and Challenger Sale identify the buyer’s value and economic drivers for the selling process.  3. Cross-functional alignment  MEDDIC and Challenger Sale need alignment between revenue teams and leadership buy-in. Marketing managers and leaders provide training and resources for all reps.  Challenger vs MEDDIC Academy Process: What’s the Verdict? Here’s a list of things to keep in mind when considering MEDDIC vs Challenger Sale.   MEDDIC Use the MEDDIC Academy sales process to determine if a prospect is the right fit for your company. It helps teams that are struggling to keep up with the existing sales process and want to improve.  MEDDIC can intervene to help you: Sell to the correct buyer Identify the right stakeholders in a complex enterprise B2B buying committee Regardless of so

Migrating your CRM to Salesforce? Don’t Leave Behind Crucial Activity Data! RevOps 10 min Salesforce data migration is a challenging project for most operations leaders. Your CRM system contains critical information about your customers that can help drive positive business outcomes. When you decide to migrate to a new CRM system like Salesforce, you don’t want to lose out on this valuable data from the old system.  But loss of critical activity data during Salesforce data migration is common. This loss directly translates to missed opportunities that already exist in your CRM. In this article, we will explore the challenges related to capture of activity data while migrating your CRM to Salesforce. And how you can avoid this major pitfall with the right data strategy.    Activity Data Loss During Salesforce Data Migration The biggest problem during Salesforce data migration is loss of historical data. This does not include data related to opportunities and accounts in the old CRM. This data loss caters to multiple fields within opportunities. Examples include email exchanges, opportunity contacts, or notes associated with deals. With such crucial activity data missing, revenue teams lose sight of many deals. With the loss of this activity data, revenue leaders miss out on finding answers to critical questions that move the revenue needs. Examples include: How many emails were exchanged? What was the context of those emails? Who were the contacts involved in the deal? What was the role these contacts were playing in the purchase process? What were the pricing related details that came up during conversations? These granular details give a clear view of the sales pipeline to revenue leaders. And armour them with information they can use to coach their reps better and lock in more deals every quarter. This data also provides leading indicators that can act as predictive measures of future performance. Despite best efforts, this revenue data gets lost during Salesforce data migration. There are different data transfer woes operations leaders face when they migrate their CRM to Salesforce. Failure to transfer the data under the right fields. For example, instead of going under the “opportunity” field, it might get fed into the “account” field. The ability to parse the metadata from Gmail to get into Salesforce remains a challenge.  Even if the data gets added to Salesforce, the activity data is mostly of the migration date and not the actual date in which the activity actually took place. This makes the information lose its relevance.  There is a chance of losing a lot of other data from the old CRM while migrating to Salesforce. While most CRMs do offer plugins to transfer activity data into Salesforce, these plugins do not work effectively under all conditions. As a result, they end up being unreliable mediums to capture data.  Most tools also require the contacts to be already in Salesforce for the activity to be captured. When nobody adds the contacts, associated activities automatically get missed out from the new CRM.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpJxlPnfIoQ&t=2727s 5 Alarming Consequences of Data Loss The consequences of activity data loss during a CRM data migration can have catastrophic effects on your business.  Data loss can cause a direct dent on your revenue engine. Let’s look at some of these alarming consequences: 1. Poor deal reviews Deal reviews form an integral part of closing more sales. It helps sales managers know what’s going on in their pipeline, and devise strategies to pivot wherever necessary to avoid risks.  Data is the fuel that runs successful deal reviews. To conduct effective reviews and 1-1 coaching sessions, sales teams need access to the right data. They also need to be able to use that data to drive intelligence across the revenue engine. But with lost data during migration, sales teams lose access to critical revenue data that can help them close more opportunities during the quarter. And with missing data, organizations fail to create those data-driven strategies that can help devise successful sales strategies.  For example, backing up data in deal reviews during CRM data migration becomes questionable. Without historical data and associated activities getting tracked, sales teams won’t know which stakeholders are a part of the buying committee.  In short, without the right data, deal reviews fail to make sales teams more successful. The results in failed campaigns to drive sales forward, more gaps in the selling process, frustrated sales teams and inability to meet quotas. 2. Inaccurate sales forecasting Sales forecast is a critical element of running a successful revenue operations function. With sales forecasting numbers, revenue leaders are in a better position to carefully align resources towards the right areas.  But less than 50% of sales leaders and sellers have high confidence in their forecasting accuracy. Without the right data at the right place, making accurate sales forecasts becomes very challenging. To be able to make an accurate forecast, revenue leaders need access to historical data to get a visibility of how the sales pipeline is progressing at an organizational level. Bit losing this critical data during a migration project translates into lack of clarity into critical questions like: Which are the deals moving towards closure this quarter? What is the stage different deals are at? Which deals are not likely to close? Longer sales cycles, missed quotas and an unclear picture of deals make predicting accurate sales figures an ambiguous exercise. And relying on human tendencies like guesswork and instinct give rise to ambiguous forecast numbers. Complete and trustworthy data in CRM and other GTM tools is the first step to achieving confidence in sales forecasts. Without this unified data visibility, sales teams fail to focus on the right deals and fall prey to risks that fail to predict the fate of their deals.  3. Surge in operational cost  The loss of data during Salesforce data migration is usually realized when the decision to migrate to Salesforce has already been taken. This puts businesses in panic mode as the possibility of significant data loss hits them in the last few days of the migration.  The second realization that hits organizations is

How a Revenue Intelligence System Eliminates CRM Data Challenges RevOps 10 min In this blog

Everything You Need to Know About Sales Commission Structures RevOps 10 min Compensation (of which sales commission structure is a critical part) plays a highly influential role in driving rep behavior. And it becomes particularly important when reps don’t want to stay around in one company for too long.  It takes an average of 3 months for a new seller to interact with buyers, 9 for them to perform competently, and 15 for them to become top performers. However, the average tenure that reps remain with an organization for is only 1.4 years in 2022.  This shows that once reps have learned all they can with you, they’ll move on to a new organization (most likely one that pays better).  Just hiring the best reps isn’t enough to increase sales. They should be motivated enough to stick around through the ups and down and simultaneously improve their performance.  To achieve this, you need to tailor a sales commission structure template that gives them the incentive to always come out on top.  Let’s find out how. What Is a Sales Commission Structure? “Sales commission” is the amount sales reps earn on each sale.  “Sales commission structure” outlines how you will compensate the rep with a commission and how much this amount should be, based on the sale.  It also includes the timelines for commission payment, i.e., when you’ll pay reps their commission—weekly, monthly, quarterly, or something else.  Remember, the plan you choose directly impacts your reps’ earnings. Therefore, it’s vital that you set up a fair and sufficiently rewarding sales commission structure template. How Does a Sales Commission Structure Compare to a Sales Compensation Plan? Sometimes, commission may be confused with compensation. Here’s a simple tip to differentiate between them.  A compensation plan includes the rep’s total earnings—salary (or fixed pay), commission, incentives, bonus, and on-target earnings (OTE).  As you can see, the commission is just one part of the overall compensation plan. It doesn’t denote compensation in its entirety. Types of Sales Commission Structure Templates There are several sales commission structures you can choose from. It could also be that your team or organization needs a unique sales commission structure template. So, sometimes you may need to combine a couple of these plans.  Below are 10 popular structures you can try.   1. Straight Commission This sales commission structure doesn’t include a base pay or fixed salary. Instead, reps earn 100% commission based entirely on deals they close.  For instance, if a rep closes a deal for $100,000 and the straight commission rate is 10%, the rep will earn $10,000 as commission (without any base pay).  Straight commission is gradually moving out of favor among sales organizations because retaining talent is challenging without the security of fixed pay. It only increases reps’ stress levels and may push them to partake in bad sales practices.  Also, each rep has their own set of skills and practices that make them unique. A straight sales commission structure template doesn’t account for these skills.  When to use this structure:  Shortcomings of the straight commission structure don’t completely nullify its usefulness. You can turn to this plan if you’re a startup or a small organization with limited capital. 2. Base Salary Plus Commission This structure is the most widely adopted across industries and organizations.  Typically, a rep’s compensation is split between salary and variable pay (which includes commission). The split may be 50/50 or 60/40, depending on what you can offer as a salary while still incentivizing reps.  A “base salary plus commission” structure works well because commission motivates reps to continue improving their performance, whereas salary acts as a safety net to retain them in tough situations.  When to use this structure:  You can deploy this sales commission structure template if you’re striving to maintain a good balance between your sales budget and commission. 3. Revenue Commission  In a “revenue commission” structure, reps earn a flat commission percentage on each deal won. So, if your rep closes a deal for $100,000 and the commission is set at 7%, they earn a commission of $7,000.    However, this structure again doesn’t consider each rep’s distinctive selling capabilities.  When to use this structure:  Revenue commission works well when your team is small, your product offerings aren’t too complex, or you’re selling only one product with fixed pricing. 4. Gross Margin Commission  The gross margin commission structure follows a similar approach to the revenue commission structure.  However, instead of revenue (ARR or contract value), reps earn commission on the gross revenue (or profit on sales). Say your rep sold a contract for $150,000 but incurred a cost of $25,000 for the company. These costs may include travel to meet the client or a discount for the buyer. Under the gross margin commission structure, the rep will earn a commission on $125,000 ($150,000 less $25,000). Gross margin commission motivates reps to close deals at higher margins, ultimately benefiting the organization. When to use this structure:  If you aim to ensure bottom line profitability, this sales commission structure template can help reps win deals without incurring too much expense. This may also speed up the sales cycle. 5. Tiered Commission  In tiered commission, reps earn incremental commission on each deal closed, depending on the tier in which it falls.  The bigger the deal closed, the higher the tier and the higher the commission earned.  For example, for deals under $50,000, reps earn a commission of 5%, but for deals under $100,000, the commission moves up to 7%, and so on.  Tier Deal Size Commission  A Up to $50,000 5% B $50,000 to $100,000 7% C $100,000 to $150,000 10$ Tiered commission encourages reps to continually achieve and exceed targets for higher rewards. But, to maintain your business’s profitability, you may want to cap the maximum commission a rep can take home. When to use this structure:  A tiered commission structure works best when scaling your team, as it promotes over-performance and separates top performers from low. Not just that, it also motivates average and low performers to push

Everything You Need to Know About Gross Revenue Retention RevOps 10 min In a world where every organization is looking to acquire new customers, an often overlooked source of revenue is – Revenue Retention. Revenue made by retaining customers is the lifeblood of a successful organization. Retained customers often have higher lifetime value, reflecting their satisfaction and loyalty. Satisfied customers also contribute to a positive brand image and word-of-mouth referrals, giving companies a competitive edge.    Moreover, long-term customer relationships offer opportunities for cross-selling and upselling, while their feedback helps businesses refine and enhance their products and services, ultimately driving sustained growth and success. Revenue retention is pivotal for companies because it signifies the ability to sustain existing customer relationships and, consequently, maintain a stable revenue flow. Retaining customers not only lowers customer acquisition costs but also bolsters long-term profitability and growth.  To measure the revenue for retained customers, companies often use a metric called Gross Revenue Retention (GRR).    What is GRR? Gross Revenue Retention refers to a business’s capacity to keep its current customers. When a business successfully holds onto its customers, it maintains its revenue. In more straightforward terms, Gross Revenue Retention is the percentage of customers a business manages to keep at their current pricing or contract value. It stands as a pivotal customer retention metric for subscription-based companies and those operating in the SaaS industry. The comprehension and monitoring of GRR enable them to assess the overall efficiency of their customer retention tactics. The significance of Gross Revenue Retention goes beyond customer retention; it also functions as a gauge for prospective investors who consider this ratio when assessing a company’s investment suitability. How to Calculate GRR The Gross Revenue Retention rate formula measures the percentage of current customers retained over a specific timeframe. You can determine it using the following GRR formula: In this equation, MRR start represents the Monthly Recurring Revenue at the beginning of the month. This figure represents the recurring revenue at the outset of any period for which we want to compute the Gross Revenue Retention. Churn signifies the decline in revenue resulting from customers canceling their subscription or terminating their contract with the company. It represents a total revenue loss. Contraction, on the other hand, denotes the reduction in revenue caused by customers switching to a less expensive subscription plan. It entails a partial revenue loss since the customer’s revenue has decreased, but the revenue stream is not completely terminated. Let’s consider a quick example to calculate GRR for company XYZ, using the following financial figures: – Monthly Recurring Revenue: $15,000 – New Sales: $2,000 – Upselling to existing customers: $2,000 – Customer Attrition (Churn): $1,000 – Customer Downgrades: $1,000 By using Gross Revenue Retention rate formula: GRR = (15,000 – (1,000 + 1,000)) / 15,000 GRR = (15,000 – 2,000) / 15,000 GRR = 13,000 / 15,000 GRR = 0.8667 (rounded to 2 decimal places) GRR = 86.67% As mentioned earlier, the calculations do not include new sales and upselling. After this calculation, we find that XYZ SaaS company has a GRR of 86.67%, indicating that it successfully retained 86.67% of its revenue from existing customers. Apart from GRR, another popular metric used by organizations to measure revenue retention is NRR.  What is NRR? Net Revenue Retention (NRR) is a customer retention metric that assesses a company’s ability to grow its revenue from existing customers. It considers the revenue generated from current customers while considering any losses due to churn, contraction, or downgrades. NRR provides insight into the overall health of a company’s customer base and its effectiveness in retaining customers and expanding revenue from those customers through upselling or cross-selling. The formula for calculating NRR is as follows: A positive NRR value indicates that a company is retaining its existing customers and increasing revenue from them. Conversely, a negative NRR suggests that losses from customer churn, contraction, and downgrades are outpacing revenue growth from the existing customer base. Gross Revenue Retention vs Net Revenue Retention Gross Revenue Retention (GRR) and Net Revenue Retention (NRR) are two important financial indicators that underscore a company’s capacity to hold onto customers and sustain its revenue. The key difference between GRR vs. NRR centers around whether expansion revenue is considered. GRR concentrates solely on revenue derived from current customers without factoring in any supplementary income stemming from upsells, cross-sells, or upgrades. This metric offers insights into your company’s ability to maintain its fundamental revenue streams over time. The greater the proximity of GRR to 100%, the more favorable the situation. However, this is contingent on the size of the customer base. Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) tend to experience higher churn rates and lower retention figures. Conversely, NRR considers retained customer revenue while also incorporating growth-related activities, like opportunities for upselling and cross-selling to existing clients. NRR presents a more holistic view of your company’s overall retention performance. NRR serves as a useful tool for business owners and stakeholders to assess the business’s expansion. It functions as a growth indicator, offering insights into the effectiveness of cross-selling and upselling strategies. An NRR value greater than 100% signifies growth, while NRR at 100% denotes a static business. When NRR is below 100%, it indicates a decline. According to advisor Dave Kellogg, a solid median NRR for private companies stands at 104%. It’s important to emphasize that NRR exclusively considers existing customers. To gain a comprehensive understanding of the business’s performance, it’s advisable to combine NRR with other metrics. Now that we have understood the difference between Gross Revenue Retention vs Net Revenue Retention, let’s understand the importance of tracking GRR for companies.  Importance of GRR As mentioned before, Gross Revenue Retention serves as a stability gauge for SaaS companies, revealing the initial revenue at the start of a period and how much has been eroded by the end. SaaS firms monitor GRR to gauge how strongly customers have either severed ties with or weakened their connections to the company. A higher customer loss may signal potential problems with

Top 4 CRM AI Use Cases RevOps 10 min 91% of companies with more than 11 employees use Customer Relationship Management (CRM). However, only 12% of them actually use an AI-powered CRM tool! A lot of users believe that AI in CRM is still in the future and the current processes don’t require automation. But is this the case? What is an AI-powered CRM, and what are its use cases? Can businesses realize real benefit by using AI in their CRM? If so, what are the processes they can automate? We discuss all this, and a lot more in this detailed blog post. Read on. What is AI in CRM? CRM manages and maintains relationships with customers, prospects, and other business contacts. AI in CRM refers to integrating AI technologies into CRM software and processes to enhance customer interactions and improve business outcomes. AI in CRM enables businesses to analyze vast amounts of customer data, predict customer behavior, automate tasks, and personalize customer experiences. It empowers companies to deliver more targeted marketing, provide proactive customer support, and make data-driven decisions, ultimately leading to better customer satisfaction and increased sales. Why is AI required in CRM in 2025? In the modern business world, organizations require AI due to the following reasons: 1. Increasing unstructured data As the number of transactions grows, so does the volume of customer data. While this presents an opportunity for businesses to gain deeper insights into their customers, it also poses the challenge of managing and extracting relevant information from the predominantly unstructured data. However, AI tools offer a solution by converting unstructured data, which accounts for approximately 90% of the total data, into structured data, enabling businesses to leverage valuable information effectively. 2. Complex processes and relationships In addition to the expanding data volume, the rise in transactions leads to more intricate business processes and relationships. This complexity hinders a clear understanding of company relationships and accurate analysis of customer patterns. According to Xant, sales representatives spend over half of their time within CRM attempting to manage tasks more efficiently. AI technology presents a solution to this challenge by automating many of these tasks and providing valuable insights. By understanding customer sentiments, businesses can promptly address issues, improve their offerings, and enhance overall customer satisfaction. Benefits of AI-powered CRM Let’s have a detailed look at the benefits of AI-powered CRM. 1. Clean CRM data AI can help you achieve comprehensive contact lists for each account in your CRM by extracting them from your representatives’ email inboxes, calendars, and Zoom meetings. You can precisely categorize Account contacts and Opportunity Contact Roles (OCR) based on their engagement and relevance to ongoing Opportunities. AI can also automatically enhance each contact with updated job titles and phone numbers that remain up-to-date whenever changes occur. 2. Qualified pipeline Detect the absence of pre-engaged contacts or leads within the CRM. Conduct campaigns targeting GDPR-compliant contacts to expand the pipeline and expedite sales cycles, and identify contact roles to enhance targeted outreach efforts. 3. Tech Stack Audit Deep dive into the existing tools that your company is using. Identify all redundancies, and find opportunities to streamline the entire tech stack. i. Map Out Tools Compile a list of all tools used by teams, noting their purpose and how they work with the CRM. ii. Evaluate Use and Cost Determine if tools are actively used or if there are duplicates. Look for cost-saving opportunities by consolidating tools when possible.   3. Supercharged ABM You can recover inactive and lost deals and impact ongoing opportunities by employing Account-based Marketing (ABM) campaigns with current first-party buyer contacts directly sourced from sellers’ email inboxes and calendars. Increase funnel conversions by precisely targeting buyers through deep insights into buyer engagement within high-priority accounts, their buying roles, and the current sales stage of each account. 4. Data analysis and insights AI can allow you to process and analyze vast amounts of customer data to identify patterns, trends, and customer preferences, allowing businesses to make data-driven decisions. 5. Predictive analytics AI algorithms can predict customer behavior, such as identifying potential churn or predicting purchase intent, helping businesses proactively address customer needs. 6. Sentiment analysis AI can analyze customer sentiments from various sources, such as social media and surveys, helping companies understand customer satisfaction levels and identify potential issues. 7. Lead scoring and nurturing Assess and prioritize leads based on their likelihood to convert, optimizing sales efforts and increasing conversion rates. 8. Personalization AI Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems have the capacity to customize customer engagements through the examination of valuable customer information like previous buying patterns, online activities, and demographic details. Subsequently, this data can be utilized to personalize marketing communications, suggest products, and facilitate customer support interactions, catering to the distinctive requirements and preferences of each individual customer. 9. Chatbots Chatbots can deliver immediate customer support, thereby enhancing response times. These chatbots are capable of addressing common inquiries, offering product suggestions, and handling uncomplicated transactions. Consequently, this expedites the overall process and allows human agents to concentrate on more intricate and demanding matters. 10. Omnichannel presence AI-driven CRMs have the capability to deliver smooth and uninterrupted customer support through various communication channels, including email, social media, chat, and phone. This enables customers to interact with businesses through their preferred means, leading to enhanced engagement and satisfaction. 11. Sales forecasting and performance analysis CRM can analyze historical sales data, market trends, and external factors to predict future sales performance accurately. This enables businesses to make informed decisions, allocate resources efficiently, and set realistic sales targets for their teams. 12. Churn Prediction and Customer Retention AI can analyze customer behavior and historical data to predict the likelihood of customer churn. By identifying potential churn risks, businesses can implement targeted retention strategies to reduce customer attrition and improve loyalty.  With so many benefits, it is no wonder that businesses use AI-powered CRM for various business use cases. Let’s have a look at some of them:    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8-8i1LNk3k&t=624s Top AI CRM Use Cases By analyzing

How to Stop Your Reps From Dreading CRM Data Entry RevOps 10 min CRM adoption. Two words which are enough to run a chill down a revenue leader’s spine. Less than 40% of companies have full-scale adoption of a CRM. Why?  The #1 challenge while adopting or working with a CRM is data entry leading to an even bigger problem of CRM failures. No wonder, 23% of people say that manual data entry is one of the major barriers of beginning to use a CRM or the challenges of using one regularly. This is where the revenue leaders must jump in to ensure that CRM usage is not seen as a punishment, but rather as a valuable tool that eases their sales reps’ day-to-day lives. Don’t know where to start? Fret not!  In this article, we will address the pain points of your reps while dealing with CRM data entry and how you can stop them from dreading it. In the end, we will also be sharing a tool that can take away all the data entry fatigue.     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zM0jwDaP88&t=3671s Reps Dread CRM Data Entry No prizes for guessing that reps HATE CRM data entry. Yet they are inundated time and again to spend time on this manual task. Rather than helping them sell more. RevOps tech stack expert Don Otvos outlines his approach to getting rid of the data entry fear. But before we solve it for you, let’s discuss why the CRM dashboard instills dread in the minds of reps using it. 1. Disconnect from selling  When reps spend a major chunk of time punching data into the CRM system, they may feel disconnected from the core purpose of their job, which is – to sell and build relationships with customers.  Engaging in data entry tasks can pull them away from actively interacting with potential clients, leading to frustration and a sense of detachment from their primary sales goals. 2. Perceived lack of value Some reps may struggle to see the direct benefits of data entry in their day-to-day selling activities. They might question whether the time and effort invested in feeding information into the CRM actually contribute to closing deals.  This perception can make data entry feel like a mundane and non-rewarding task, resulting in reluctance and disinterest. 3. Time-consuming & tedious nature  Manual data entry is quite frustrating as its repetitive and time-consuming which further requires careful attention to detail.  Reps end up spending a significant time of their workday typing in information, updating records, and managing records which can be mentally draining and lead to reduced job satisfaction. Instead, reps prefer to invest their time & energy in more impactful sales-related activities. CRM data entry bogs down your sales as 35% of salespeople are spending over an hour a day on data entry work eating up the time they should be spending on selling. 4. Increased workload Sales reps have the most demanding schedules and on top of their schedules comes the dreadful CRM data entry.  It can feel like an additional burden creating a sense of overwhelm, as reps need to balance their selling responsibilities with the admin task of maintaining accurate and updated CRM records. 5. Data privacy concerns Dealing with customer data requires a high level of responsibility and discretion. Reps may worry about the potential consequences of mishandling sensitive customer information or accidentally sharing confidential data with unauthorized individuals.  These concerns add to the stress and anxiety of the data entry process, as reps are always trying to maintain data privacy and adhere to relevant regulations.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nhp3R9b-a5s&t=1s 5 Ways to Stop your Reps from Dreading CRM Data Entry RevOps can make things easier for the reps by deploying tools and streamlining processes. We will discuss these in detail now.  1. Simplify the data entry process & use automation The first and foremost thing to do for getting rid of the reps’ fear is to make things easy for them. How? One word – automation.  By automating data entry processes, you can relieve the burden on your sales reps. The automation tools work quietly in the background, eliminating the need for reps to manually input data saving them 8+ hours of time every week.  As Don Otvos aptly puts it,  Additionally, you may use tools that are compatible with mobile devices allowing reps to update information on the go, further easing the data entry burden. 2. Incorporate voice-to-text and AI assistants Typing lengthy notes and updates can be a time-consuming task for sales reps. You may deploy voice-to-text functionality, to enable reps to dictate their interactions, follow-ups, and insights directly into the CRM.  AI-powered assistants can transcribe voice inputs accurately and categorize them appropriately, ensuring data integrity while saving valuable time for your sales team. 3. Integration with sales tools Make sure you integrate the CRM with other sales tools to improve the data entry completeness by eliminating duplicate efforts and ensuring a holistic view of customer interactions.  For instance, when a sales rep schedules a meeting in their calendar, the CRM should automatically update the relevant contact’s record with the appointment details.  Similarly, integrate email clients so that reps can easily log email interactions and track correspondence history within the CRM. 4. Real-time alerts To prevent data entry tasks from piling up and becoming overwhelming, implement real-time alerts and notifications.  Notify reps about essential tasks, follow-ups, or deadlines through the CRM. With timely reminders, sales reps can promptly act on essential tasks preventing any lapses in customer communication.  For instance, Nektar Buzz pushes the right insights to the right people at the right time. The sights are directly sent to Slack or Teams so that sales teams can be alerted about deals in real-time without adopting yet another dashboard.  5. Showcase the value of CRM data Communicate the importance of accurate and timely CRM data to your sales team. Regularly share success stories and use case scenarios that illustrate how leveraging CRM data has directly contributed to closing deals, understanding customer needs, and creating tailored sales strategies.  By demonstrating the tangible benefits of data entry,

10 Ways to Improve Sales Efficiency in 2025 RevOps 10 min In every business, strategies are crafted, deals are made, and profits are pursued,  But there exists a hidden force that can make or break a business’ journey toward success.  Efficiency. That’s right!  Efficiency in business is like the wind beneath the wings of a soaring eagle, pushing it to new heights with minimal effort.  To be precise, efficiency is the ability to achieve maximum output with minimal wasted resources, time, or effort.  And within sales, efficiency is a pretty important aspect of a healthy sales pipeline. It is the guiding star that illuminates the way to increased revenue, more conversions, and sustainable growth.  In this blog, we will delve into the impact of sales efficiency, actionable insights to boost it, calculation methods, and the metrics you need to track. Let’s get started with the basics.  What is Sales Efficiency? Sales efficiency refers to the ability of a sales team/rep to generate better results with the least amount of resources, time, and effort.  It is about finding ways to simplify and optimize every stage of the sales cycle, from lead generation and prospecting to qualification, presentation, negotiation, and closing.  That doesn’t mean your reps have to constantly make more calls or send more emails. Instead, they must focus on high-quality leads, prioritize activities that have better ROI, and eliminate unnecessary steps without hampering sales success. In a nutshell, sales efficiency is about focusing on the right activities, with the right people, at the right time. But, isn’t this sales effectiveness?  Definitely not! Read on. Sales Efficiency vs. Sales Effectiveness Businesses often use sales efficiency and sales effectiveness interchangeably. While they are closely related, they focus on different aspects of the sales process.  Sales efficiency is working optimally towards achieving the sales goals while sales effectiveness is more about setting the right goals and making sure progress is made in that direction.  Think of the concept of sales efficiency as a car’s speed, while sales effectiveness is the destination the car is trying to reach. Sales efficiency involves optimizing the car’s speed, fuel, and minimizing stops, allowing it to reach its destination faster and with less cost.  In contrast, sales effectiveness is all about choosing the right route, navigating through traffic, and making necessary adjustments to ensure the car reaches its desired destination. Sales effectiveness is the quality of the actions, while efficiency is the speed of the actions. Julie Thomas, President and CEO at Value Selling Associates To achieve success in sales, it’s essential to prioritize both efficiency and effectiveness.  Neglecting efficiency could result in a sales team struggling to achieve its goals within the required timeframe. Meanwhile, ignoring effectiveness could lead to a lot of effort being put in without making any progress toward the right goals. Enough of pessimism! Let’s shift our perspective to how sales efficiency can positively impact your business outcomes.  How Does Sales Efficiency Boost Revenue? Sales efficiency can indeed make a significant difference in the success and growth of a business. Here are some ways in which sales efficiency can have a positive impact: 1. Resource optimization Sales efficiency plays an integral role in optimizing resources within the sales function. By identifying areas of inefficiency and eliminating low-impact activities, businesses can allocate their resources effectively.  This includes streamlining sales processes, automating routine tasks, and leveraging tech to introduce productivity in processes. It also helps to identify the most effective sales channels and optimize human resources by aligning suitable responsibilities with the reps’ skill sets. Optimal resource allocation helps businesses create a lean and effective sales operation. 2. Identify improvement areas & refine sales performance As a company strives for sales efficiency, it carries out a thorough evaluation of its sales processes and team performance, exposing multiple areas for improvement and growth opportunities. By analyzing data and metrics, companies are able to pinpoint bottlenecks, inefficiencies, and areas of underperformance. This then allows them to correct measures for increasing productivity, optimizing workflows, and eliminating blockers.  3. Improved customer experience Sales efficiency goes beyond just closing deals; it also focuses on delivering an exceptional customer experience throughout the sales journey.  Efficient sales processes ensure that every interaction with customers is meaningful, valuable, and tailored to their specific requirements, leading to higher customer satisfaction, retention, and ultimately, efficient growth. Eric Welsh, Director of RevOps at Demostack defines efficient growth as “every team in a go-to-market function working towards the same objective.” Check out his full conversation with us below.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQL_wSyj9mE&t=716s 4. Improved sales forecasting Sales efficiency empowers businesses to improve their sales forecasting capabilities as well. With streamlined processes, data analysis, historical trends, and market insights, businesses can collect relevant data points consistently and promptly, facilitating more accurate sales forecasting.  This enables them to allocate resources effectively, set realistic targets, and make informed business decisions. 5. Adaptability to market changes Sales efficiency equips businesses with the agility and flexibility to adapt to dynamic market conditions.  By continuously monitoring market trends, customer behavior, and competitor activities, companies can proactively adjust their sales strategies and approaches. This allows them to seize emerging opportunities and overcome challenges.  Efficient sales processes also help them to quickly respond to changing customer needs, competitive landscape, and tech advancements, ensuring sustained growth.  Measuring Sales Efficiency Measuring sales efficiency is a must for businesses to assess their performance and identify areas where improvement is needed.  One commonly used formula to measure sales efficiency is: Sales Efficiency = (Revenue / Sales & Marketing Costs) x 100 This formula calculates the ratio of revenue generated to the costs incurred in sales and marketing activities. It provides a quantitative measure of how effectively a company is utilizing its resources to generate revenue.  A higher sales efficiency ratio indicates that the business is generating more revenue relative to its sales and marketing costs, suggesting a more efficient and effective sales operations. Now, you may want to ask – what is a good sales efficiency ratio? A high sales efficiency ratio generally indicates a strong sales performance,