We're all looking for new ways to try and gain some extra time back in our lives, so it makes sense to look at a CRM system as a way of getting some extra hours back throughout our hectic working weeks. But how can a CRM system save you time exactly?
1. Pre-Populated Data Entry
This is at the core of most popular CRM platforms and should be the spine that runs throughout the system. This is one of the most common forms of CRM automation that occurs when the system automatically fills in relevant data (also known as pre-populated data) from other parts of the CRM. This saves you so much time as it eliminates the need to type obvious and repetitive information into fields. Not only does it save time, but it can also save countless mistakes such as spelling and typos.
2. Pre-Calculated Data Entry
Similar to pre-populated data entry, good CRM systems will also calculate crucial mathematical data for you, which is not only a huge time saver but also prevents very costly miscalculations from occurring. This is commonly used to calculate important documents such as invoices and quotes; automatically calculating prices and costs against things like VAT, labour costs, discounts and more.
3. Sending Important Documents
Little tasks mount up, and sending important documents to clients can take its toll on your day without realising it. Which address should the invoice be sent to? Who is the account holder? When should it be sent? A CRM helps to iron these questions out as all this data is already stamped against that client. This means you can send out 5 invoices seamlessly to the right person, at the right time, at the touch of one single button.
4. Time Allocation
If you're managing a team of staff, it can be difficult to know what everyone is doing and when. A CRM can help you to allocate vacant time to employees which can ultimately free up some of your own time. This can be viewed via individual and shared calendars or by simply checking their scheduled activities and tasks for the day. Most CRM's give you the ability to do this, as well as giving you the ability to monitor the progress of each specific task; saving you time going back and forth with your employee to check up on progress. This way, you can offload some of your own tasks onto staff members who may not be as busy as you are that day.
5. Importing Data
Perhaps one of the most daunting and time-consuming admin tasks is entering hundreds of contacts or products into a system - this is a common demand when starting with a new
CRM system as you need to transfer your old data into your new system. Luckily, most CRM software packages allow you to simply import hundreds and thousands of pieces of data straight into your CRM. You’ll just need to make sure that the fields match up between your Excel document and your CRM, and the data will be added into your CRM in a matter of minutes!