14 Key Features You Need to Look Out for When Investing in CRM Software

Modern businesses cannot survive without CRM. It’s necessary for tracking leads, monitoring relationships, maintaining contacts, and other crucial functions. However, with so many CRM platforms available, choosing the right one is challenging.

Each CRM has unique features. This means it’s up to a business owner or representative to find the right CRM software. Keep reading to learn what to look for when in need of CRM software.

1. Ease of Use
When selecting a new CRM system, such as what Sharpspring offers, it is essential to look at user experience. Employees appreciate solutions offering an intuitive design.

This makes it fast and easy to find needed information and improves workers’ ability to reach more clients. The ease of use is a factor that can’t be overlooked.

2. Mobile Access
Today’s sales reps need to spend time in and out of the office. Having the ability to access contact information and deals with any device is essential. Ideally, the CRM selected needs to offer both Android and iPhone mobile apps that are easy and reliable to use.

3. Integration
Integration is another vital feature to look for. The software needs to be easy to integrate with any website, email account, or phone. If it’s noticed that a company is closing fewer deals or losing clients, it’s time to make a switch.

4. Team-Wide Communication
Business owners need to consider if the CRM they are using allows sales reps to communicate quickly and share important customer information with other team members, even if they are outside the sales department. Having the ability to tag in marketing and support teams quickly offers more help for deals in progress and provides a huge advantage over sales teams that remain isolated in an organization.

5. Revenue Tracking
When selecting a CRM, try to focus on the one that offers the most visibility regarding revenue tracking. If tracking revenue is impossible, the CRM isn’t providing any benefits. The more data that can be tracked with the CRM, the better.

6. A Simple and Fast Setup
Never commit to CRMs that require an extensive amount of upfront training. What’s even worse is needing a permanent admin to run it. A small business sales team is best served by using intuitive and user-friendly CRM solutions that are easy to learn, and that requires no long-term or ongoing maintenance.

Remember, up to 55 percent of sales reps believe ease of use is the most important feature for any CRM. All the bells and whistles are often overwhelming to reps who only want to sell more, faster.

7. Security
Quality CRM software will gather a large amount of pertinent data for each customer. Some services offer a more significant number of in-depth features than others. However, the one that should become a top priority is security.

The most destructive action a business can take is to lose the trust of customers. This is why all the sensitive data gathered by CRMs should be encrypted. If there is ever a leak, it’s time to make a switch.

8. Contact Syncing
Manual data entry requires countless hours of work by a sales team. A quality CRM reduces these repetitive tasks. This is done by syncing email accounts, calendars, and smart devices and giving a single location for all this pertinent information.

9. Role Specificity
So many CRMs today serve specific roles. It’s possible to find CRMs specific for finance, real estate, PR, and more.

Some situations benefit from the industry-specific CRM solution. That’s because all the needed features are present when the software is implemented.

10. Custom Reports
Most CRM platforms show pipeline and sales figures in an easy to read and understand format. The most useful software options help sales teams make decisions based on source, product, and other filters. This enables users to find the numbers that matter.

11. Data Collection
Quality CRM software store and retrieves data. It also needs to collect data and analyze patterns. Ensuring the system is capable of these sophisticated analytics is crucial.

Most people will know it’s time to switch platforms when the business has scaled beyond the software’s capabilities. If the program struggles to keep up with growth regarding campaigns, leads, or contacts, it’s time to find a new service provider.

12. Sales Process Tools
The CRM used needs to make reps more effective, in addition to more organized. A CRM with a sales process capability helps reps know how and when to reach out. This allows them to focus on closing instead of task management.

The right sales process tool provides managers another way to break down the pipeline, too. Now, it’s possible to do this both quantitatively and qualitatively. With the right CRM solution, managers know if reps are working leads effectively.

13. The Ability to Eliminate Unneeded Features
CRM has evolved. The solutions available today are feature packed. Even with robust features and incredible integrations, some CRM solutions are like smartphones full of bloatware.

It’s essential to change and customize the CRM experience by adding or eliminating features as needed. If this option isn’t offered, it’s best to seek a different CRM provider.

14. Value
For any small or medium-sized business, every dollar spent counts. A CRM that has a huge feature list comes with huge per-user costs typically. Other CRMs nickel-and-dime clients by charging for standard features.

There’s no point in even having a CRM if it’s necessary to pay to view reports. Find a cost-effective CRM with all the features the sales team needs.

Finding the Right CRM
Finding the right CRM solution for a business requires careful consideration of all the available options. Take some time to research what other, similar businesses use to find the solution that best meets a business’s needs.

By using the information here, any business owner should be able to find the best CRM software and ensure it meets all the needs the business has now and in the future.