How CRM Can Help Improve Cash Flow
The phrase ‘cash is king’ is a concept most businesses understand — the positive inflow of cash is the lifeblood that keeps things ticking over smoothly.
According to businessadvice.co.uk, over 70% of small business owners agree that poor cash flow poses the biggest risk to their company, but many aren’t sure how to tackle it, or what they can do to improve it. In this blog, we discuss how a CRM solution can help you to meet this financial challenge head on.
The principles of good cash flow management are very simple. The most important one is ensuring you have more money coming in (on time!) than is going out. This is where a CRM solution can help.
CRM and cash flow
A CRM software solution provides a central location for you to store information about your customers and prospects. This means you can analyse data to build a more accurate picture of your customers and approach them with the right products or services at the right time. As a result you can increase sales and also develop other avenues for further growth and profits.
With a CRM solution you can automate many of your business processes, giving you an accurate picture of how your cash flow is working. For example, you can create reports that reveal where your biggest leads are coming from and when they are most likely to convert.
Here are some best practices for using CRM software to manage cash flow:
Sales pipeline
As previously discussed, a sales pipeline is a visual representation of your sales process, from the initial lead to the final sale. Building and managing your sales pipeline will help you understand the value of each deal and when it could potentially close.
It is the best indicator of your company’s financial health, and allows you to estimate how much you’ll make from your sales opportunities. So if you don’t manage your sales pipeline properly you can quickly run into cash flow problems.
With a CRM system your sales team will be able to keep track of each individual deal, what stage they are at, and if sales staff are on track to hit their targets. It will give you greater understanding of your sales cycle, and help you to forecast which deals should develop into a sale. This knowledge will give you the confidence to make better financial decisions, more accurate predictions and plan for growth or shortfalls.
Lead scoring
To turn sales leads into sales, it’s essential to score each lead based on buying signals and previous conversations with the prospect. Prioritising leads within this type of system ensures your sales team receives the right leads at the right time.
A CRM system can analyse your leads and give you an accurate picture of which lead sources are the most valuable and which will result in the best conversion rate over any time period. As a result, you can optimise your sales process to focus on the most profitable activities, ultimately improving your cash flow.
We hope this blog has helped you to understand how a CRM system can improve your cash flow management, enabling to grow and achieve optimum success. If you need more help and advice on how to better manage your cash flow, contact us here.
CRM Insights helps businesses attract, win and retain more customers. Whether you need to improve your existing CRM system, commission a new one, or convert more of your leads, we give you friendly, cost-effective advice and support. From our base in Peterborough, we’re in easy reach of Huntingdon and Cambridge, and work with a wide range of clients across eastern England.
Contact us here or give us a call on 01733 902340 if you need help planning and implementing your CRM strategy.
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