While we are huge fans of using a customer database tool such as Zoho CRM for your business, one of the biggest pain points can be CRM analytics and reporting. After you and your team have gone through the process of dutifully inputting data and keeping things up to date, how do you measure sales and marketing success?

This article aims at preparing CRM users, especially those using Zoho CRM, for how you can slice and dice your data to make the most of your CRM analytics. 

What is your goal for CRM Analytics?

Yes, this may initially seem like a silly question but we promise it is important. When we've asked clients this question, often there is a long pause. Sometimes the client will tell us they need to think about it more and get with the team. Why? Frankly, people know that data analytics is important but without a goal in mind it's just a bunch of...

Have you considered the hygiene of your CRM Data?

Yes, dirty data could be a major problem in your organization. Maybe you have been doing some spring cleaning around the house. Well, it's also a good time to give your CRM data clean-up. 

Clean, organized, and accurate data is essential for the success of your sales and marketing efforts. This is the data you use for personalization of your marketing campaigns and automations. 

How Does Your CRM Data Get "Dirty" to Begin with?

"Dirty" or bad data is information in your CRM that is inaccurate, duplicate, missing, outdated, or simply input in the wrong format. These are the most common ways for your CRM to have "dirty" data.

1. Information gets outdated every year... 

• 40% of email users change their email address at least once every two years
• 20% of postal addresses change each year
• 18% of phone...

This is the fifth and final article in our business and marketing automation series. If you missed the other articles, we recommend checking them out too. Here's what we've talked about so far...

1. Sales Team Automations in Your CRM offers some specific ideas for automations you can setup to help your sales team close sales faster and make them work more efficiently. 

2. Email Sequences talks about the smart ways to use email automation that help your business and how they compare with email templates. 

3. Marketing Automations in Kajabi is a unique topic for our community interested in hosting online courses and using that platform. 

4. Automating Accounting and Bookkeeping shares automation ideas (mostly in the Zoho Finance Suite) to make your life easier. 

 Invest in Nurturing Client Relationships

What if you could...

Accounting and Bookkeeping Automation Ideas

As we continue our journey through some great automation ideas, this week the focus shifts to finance.

Yes, there are things in your bookkeeping and finance software to automate and make your life easier. Since we use the Zoho Finance Suite, most of the automation ideas here will reference those apps. However, many of these can be done in other platforms or by using tools such as Zapier.

If you missed the previous articles in the automation series, you can catch up. The first article was about Automations for your Sales Team.  That one provides useful CRM Automation Ideas to help your sales team close deals faster. The second article talked about Email Sequences and Email Automations where we shared clever Email Automations to engage both prospects and customers.

Avoiding Double Data Entry

Connect...

Clever Email Automations to Engage Prospects and Customers

Email Automation Vs. Email Templates

Before jumping into the list of CRM email automation ideas, first we should identify whether your email SHOULD be automated or not. 

Both email automation and email templates are great tools. It's important to know how to use each one based on what you need to accomplish.

As long as your CRM data is clean, you can draw upon the information you have about prospects and contacts to send customize emails and deliver highly relevant information using email automation. This means that you and your team are vigilant about keeping things up to date and entering information in the correct data fields.

One way to gather clean information from prospects and customers is to quiz or survey them. Keep it simple. A few questions you could ask are: how did they hear about your company in...

If you are new to the Zoho Suite of applications, then you will understand what I mean when I say there are a LOT of options - so many that it can be overwhelming at times. What's more challenging is that you can find similar features and functions available in different Zoho apps, and they are used in slightly different ways.

Over the years of learning as much as I can about this suite of software tools, I have often enjoyed the variety of challenges. Other times, I just want a straight answer. Among the apps that the Beckmann Collaborative team has learned (and will continue to learn about) is Zoho Analytics. What a powerful tool for a business!

What is Zoho Analytics?

This is a business intelligence (BI) data analytics platform. It lets you create beautiful charts and reports to easily analyze your business data. Who doesn't love data visualizations?

I can get...

Part 3: CRM Workflows

Welcome to the third and final installment of our CRM Best Practices series.  These articles walk you through how to evaluate, setup, and properly use your CRM software.

If you missed the first article, then you can get started with your CRM evaluation. The second article includes valuable tips on CRM user best practices.

This article covers important tips for your CRM workflows through both initial setup and recurring maintenance of your database. These tips can help the growth of your business and improve decision making.

What is a Workflow?

A workflow is simply a routine or recurring process used to get the best results in the most efficient amount of time. It can be illustrated as a series of steps in a diagram or a checklist showing what needs to be completed and the sequence.

Read more about marketing workflows in this...

Since so many of us have been bummed about Zoholics being canceled, I decided to host a virtual Zoho CRM user group.  As luck would have it, a fellow partner (Josh Wagner, Stratosphere Sales) enthusiastically agreed to join me and offer his Zoho insights too. My only expectation was for a few people who already know me to show up. The response was great, and the user group itself was even better. 

About 13 of us showed up in a virtual meeting last week. We got to know each other, shared experiences about CRM best practices, and I think we all learned a few useful things.  

Some of our big takeaways:

• While Zoho offers a fantastic suite of products, it is a challenge to know enough about all of the apps.
• We are all looking for resources to learn more and get our questions answered.
• There are several online communities that are helpful to know...

Dear Fellow Entrepreneur, Business Owner, Marketer, and Salesperson,
(I currently am all of these roles in my business) 

    Some salespeople appear to have a secret formula or to have inherited their natural sales traits, right?  There's more to sales than raw talent.  You don't need to be born into sales. The truth is that companies offering proper training and support are much more successful than competitors who expect their natural-born sellers to carry the load.

If you feel the pressure and fear making silly mistakes, then check out our Top 10 list of sales fails and CRM pitfalls. You can circumvent these issues in your business, as long as you have a plan and plenty of practice. 

Why Are You Struggling to Sell?

What are your Sales Fails?

Let's start with the list of possibilities. Click any of the phrases below to read...

Written by Randi Zimmermann | UPDATED August 31, 2020

In my previous blog post, I defined Zoho Projects and some of the key features that Beckmann Collaborative uses in the application. This article dives into some of the features that you'll notice upon first logging into Zoho Projects.

The first time you log in to any project management platform, it might be intimidating. In Zoho Project you will see feeds, projects, dashboards, and task lists. No need to fear, this article will guide you through with some helpful directions. 

Zoho Projects Dashboard

The first screen you see will either be your feed or your dashboard - depending on the default setup with your organization. The feed is similar to one you might see in a social media feed - showing real-time updates about what tasks have been opened, closed, or commented on. This can be...