A common challenge I see when working with mid-sized businesses is the lack of a CRM, a mismanaged CRM system, or one with little to no buy-in from the team. If this sounds familiar, don’t get discouraged. While a CRM isn’t a magic fix for every sales challenge, a well-implemented system can be a game-changer for driving accountability, visibility, and ultimately, more sales.
Accountability and Visibility: The Keys to Sales Success
Whenever I talk about increasing sales, I always start with accountability. But here’s the thing—accountability can’t exist without visibility. This relationship can be summed up in a simple equation:
Visibility + Accountability = More Sales
The two best ways to gain clear visibility into your sales team’s performance are:
- Sales Leaders Selling and Coaching Reps – Spending time in the field with your reps provides real-time learning opportunities and immediate feedback.
- Good Quality CRM Data – Accurate and reliable CRM data is essential for tracking pipeline health, forecasting, and understanding activity levels. If your team doesn’t trust the data, they won’t use the system effectively.
Keep It Simple
A CRM should support your sales process, not complicate it. The key to high adoption rates is ensuring the CRM integrates seamlessly into your team’s daily workflow. Leadership buy-in is also critical—if senior leaders bypass the system and ask for updates via email instead of pulling data from the CRM, the team will follow suit. A CRM only works when everyone plays by the same rules.
Leveraging Dashboards for Actionable Insights
One of my favorite CRM features is the ability to create dashboards (assuming, of course, that quality data is being input). When building sales strategies, I work with teams to identify key measurable activities that drive results. A well-designed dashboard reflecting these activities—whether on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis—can be a powerful motivator.
For example, I often help clients create 1:1 Meeting Dashboards for their accountability sessions. These dashboards track critical metrics like pipeline, budget, forecast, new deals, and key sales activities (calls, emails, quotes, meetings). This level of transparency ensures sales leaders and their teams stay aligned with clear expectations—eliminating surprises.
Final Thoughts
Implementing a CRM might seem like a heavy lift, but the benefits far outweigh the effort. A well-managed CRM helps sales teams sell more effectively, simplifies follow-ups, streamlines onboarding for new reps, and gives leaders the visibility they need to make strategic decisions. If you’re in the market for a CRM, I recommend HubSpot, Zoho, or Pipedrive for small to mid-sized businesses, while Salesforce is a solid choice for larger organizations.
Cheers,
Kyle Jager
