Every sale has a beginning — but no two endings are reached the same. In the middle, you’ll find each customer has their own journey, reasons for buying … or not buying.
In other words, sales don’t follow a straight line. They’re filled with momentum stoppers.
But using the right CRM ups your odds of turning each prospect into an extended warranty policy. Let’s explore the what’s, whys and hows.
Momentum Staller #1: Lead Lag
A wise man once said, “If you ain’t first, you’re last.” Sure, he was talking about racing, but the concept still applies to selling. The first person or company to talk to a prospect is most likely to close the deal, especially if you’re using an A/B-tested script to sell warranties.
But what about the leads you’ve already talked to? Who should get the first follow-up? How do you determine? Most sales reps get lost looking at their list of leads and spend more time debating themselves instead of actually selling.
Inline CRM removes that second-guessing by populating each rep’s dashboard with a prioritized queue of prospects. This spurs doing — not thinking about what to do.
Momentum Staller #2: “Let Me Think About It.”
Are there any words sales reps hate hearing more? Probably not, other than, “I need to talk to my spouse.”
Since you can’t force a prospect to buy, you leave them to think and get input. But sales still control the fate of this lead.
And that control is in the follow-up email. Admittedly, this is a delicate piece of marketing. You want to be persistent, but not pushy. And while you want that commission, you don’t want to appear desperate, either.
The best extended warranty CRMs use APIs like MailChimp so your reps can send templated follow-up correspondence with customizable bullet points like:
- Reason the prospect hesitated
- Policies discussed
- Expected pricing
Using a simple, standardized follow-up process like this increases sales by 78%.
Momentum Staller #3: Cloudy Recall
You wouldn’t need a CRM if every prospect bought the first time you spoke with them.
In fact, about 2% of prospects are ready to buy now. For the other 98%, life will get in the way. They’ll get busy. They’ll forget specifics — especially the more time that passes. And let’s be real, if they’re a savvy shopper, they’re likely getting other quotes.
And unless you have a photographic memory, the next time you speak to them could feel like starting from square one.
That’s exactly why a CRM comes in handy. Every detail is logged and time-stamped, conversations are noted, next-steps outlined. Well, as long as your sales reps use a CRM correctly and consistently.
Put plainly, CRMs tell who to follow up with next and what to discuss when you do because each conversation will be steered by facts, not hazy memories.
Momentum Staller #4: Tedious Tasks
How much time do your reps spend selling? Hopefully you’re sitting down or have a stress ball to squeeze, because the answer is a mere 30%. Another way to look at it? Out of 480 working minutes per day, only 144 is devoted toward making money.
For reference, The Godfather lasts 175 minutes!
So where do the other 5+ hours of their day go?
- Meetings
- Data entry
- Pre-call prep
- Calendar management
Now, meetings can’t always be avoided. And there are plenty more tasks not listed that reps have to handle. But each bullet point above leads to less time available to sell — and a CRM can largely help with 75% of them.
That’s like getting anywhere from half a day to a full day back so your sales reps can talk to leads.
Momentum Staller #5: Decision Overload
It’s good to give options.
You likely offer multiple tiers of extended warranties. Maybe even bundled discounts, especially if you’re expanding into other extended warranty verticals.
At the same time, you can have too much of a good thing: Bundles. Discounts. Contract lengths. Each represents a double-edged sword in that they’re another variable your prospect needs to consider.
The more variables involved, the less obvious the answer becomes.
“Yes/no” turns into “What/if.”
CRMs reduce complexity by presenting direct product comparisons because you already know which plans you’ve discussed. That means you can jump into the nitty-gritty about:
- Which contracts cover specific parts (e.g. transmission) or appliances (e.g. refrigerators)
- Term length options
- Savings, if any, when paid all upfront
And, since you have notes, you’ll be able to give your honest opinion about which warranty is best for them to reduce decision fatigue even more.
Sales Momentum, Every Moment
The best sellers aren’t necessarily the most persuasive or charming. They’re the ones who use a CRM to adapt to the pauses, stutters and stops most prospect journeys have.
If you want the technology to keep your reps moving forward, reach out for a 30-day demo of Inline CRM absolutely free.
