Sales

Confessions of a Salesforce.com Addict

July 14, 2014

Sales and marketing strategist Michael Hanna comes clean and shares four daily habits of highly successful sales reps who use Salesforce.com.

It’s true. I’m a Salesforce.com addict. And I’m okay with that now.
I have the most stressful job in the company. That’s why I’m using every day. The only way I can keep it together is to use Salesforce.com every day. Actually, sometimes 3, 4, 5, 10 times a day.
At first I did it because my boss made me. But after my first high performance quarter I was hooked. Now the first thing I reach for every morning is my pipeline. It took me a while to admit that I’d formed a habit — a very good one.
Other sales reps need to understand you can’t just “do salesforce” and expect to get high performance. You’ve got to do it right. So hear me out — there’s a method to my madness and a reason to my rhyme.

The Method to My Madness: My Daily Habits

I have a daily routine to keep myself focused and organized. I depend on Salesforce to do these four things every day:

1) Follow-up on new qualified leads

When I receive a new qualified lead, I get on it like a Canadian on ketchup!  I keep a report listing my new leads for follow up. My goal is to empty the list by 10 am every morning.

2) Source new leads

I may have a BDR finding new leads for me, but my pipeline is still my responsibility. If I didn’t accept at least one of my BDR’s leads that day, then I find my own. I’ve got to have one every day!

3) Advance pipeline

Each day I review every opportunity in my pipeline and ask myself these questions:
 

  • According to the prospect, what and when is the next step? I capture this in Salesforce after every meeting.
  • What can I do today to make that next step more successful? More research, send materials, practice my presentation? I’ve got to do something to keep it fresh.

4) Learn my market

I’m obsessed with getting smarter every day. I have to know what’s going on in my market! Things are changing so fast that by the time I’m smart, I’m dumb again! I know which sources I trust, and that makes me a trust worthy source as well! I keep a list of those sources on my Salesforce panel so I remember to check them daily. If I like what I find, I post it and I send it to clients I think would appreciate it.

All four actions in my daily cadence are just one click away from my home dashboard in Salesforce.

The Reason to My Rhyme: It Makes Me See Things

Like in any relationship, I get out of Salesforce what I put into it.  This may sound crazy, but when I really put a lot into it, Salesforce makes me see things.  Wonderful things! Things like my conversion rates, win rates, forecasting accuracy and competitive intelligence.  I start every week with these insights, just taking it all in.  That helps me focus my habits in the right direction.
It’s all about trust. If I don’t follow a consistent process to manage my opportunities and activities, then I can’t trust my reports and dashboards. That leaves me without insights, selling based on gut feel. That makes me nervous. I feel like I’m driving my car without a dashboard!
I can still recall the first time I used Salesforce so much it made my head spin. It was end of quarter. All I remember is waking up and thinking I was in paradise. Then I realized where I was… President’s Club!

Looking for More Tips on Using Salesforce?

OpenView teamed up with Michael Hanna, President of Hanna Strategy Group, to deliver a free presentation packed with actionable insights and tips on:

  • How to build good sales habits through increased accountability
  • How to better inform your sales strategies with Salesforce.com insights
  • 7 tactical hacks to get more out of your Salesforce.com implementation and help your team hit quota faster

Ready to learn how to use Salesforce.com to help your reps hit quota, and deliver on your sales strategy?

Register for our free webinar: 7 Salesforce Hacks to Help Your Team Hit Quota

Image courtesy of Steve Jurvetson

Founder & Principal

Michael has led revenue operations at some of the world's fastest growing technology companies, including Shopify, Intuit, Clio and Eloqua (now Oracle Marketing Cloud). He is known for his ability to develop high-impact leaders, and align customer-facing teams to deliver sustainable revenue growth. Michael is happily married to Dana Hanna, his co-founder and wife of 23 years. They founded Hanna Strategy to help companies grow and leaders mature to their next level of impact. He offers coaching for Founders and Revenue Leaders, and consulting for B2B companies looking to systematize their revenue growth.