In B2B Sales, Not Everything is a Contact.
Managing the complexities of multiple relationships by putting our data where it belongs.
As we consider the singular focus required in our efforts to ensure our prospects and customers feel a personal level of service we must also consider the nature of the information we accumulate on their behalf. Of particular concern is that we keep the information we collect available and discoverable when our primary relationship expands to other contacts in our database. What may be true for our primary contact may also be true for related, subsequent contacts when we are focusing on the larger picture, or an opportunity that involves multiple parties.
As we consider the singular focus required in our efforts to ensure our prospects and customers feel a personal level of service we must also consider the nature of the information we accumulate on their behalf. Of particular concern is that we keep the information we collect available and discoverable when our primary relationship expands to other contacts in our database. What may be true for our primary contact may also be true for related, subsequent contacts when we are focusing on the larger picture, or an opportunity that involves multiple parties.
Contact fields that will cause problems with our relationships. When we are tracking what might be considered Company-level information against the contact, every new contact we add to the database may then have different data that the primary contact. Keep that data on the Company Record. Examples:
· ID/Status
· Number of employees/beds/insured/users
· Budget
· Industry
· Last product/policy/service purchased
· Customer/Account Number
These are examples of data unique to the company for which our contact works, not the contact him- or herself.
How to fix it. Company records can link fields to Contact records. We need to collect information like the examples above when we are qualifying our prospect. We wouldn’t create a Company record until there is another contact from that company added to our database. Sage ACT! allows fields on the Contact record to be linked to the same fields on the Company record.
When the field doesn’t exist on the Company record we would need to add it from Tools | Define Fields and link the new Company field to the original field on the Contact record. When the field is changed on the Company record, as when the ID/Status field is changed from “Prospect” to “Customer”, we will be prompted to update the linked information to all linked contact records.
An added benefit to working with the Company record is that it consolidates all the conversations we have had with all contacts at that company with all the ACT! users on our team on the History tab. We also see aggregated views of all Notes, Activities, and Opportunities, giving us deep insight into the value of the relationship unavailable on the multiple Contact records alone.
Can all the companies be created at once? Yes. With all the linked fields and contacts associated, too. (One of our favorite add-on solutions for this task comes from Egen Consulting, Company Wizard.)
Consider opportunity-based information. Taking this concept forward, let’s ditch the deal-based data we might put on the Contact record and move over to Opportunities. This entity is often overlooked, but it happens to be the center of our revenue focus. Why bother? If things like Insurance Policy data, as an example, are being managed on the Contact record then what happens to that good information when the renewal comes in a year later? We have to overwrite perfectly good and worthwhile data in favor of the latest data.
One way to fix this is to move all our data over to the Opportunities record. This way when a renewal (as an example) comes in the renewal will be an additional record against the Contact record (and the Company record), leaving us visibility into our sales history with our customer over the life of this customer.
Not everything is a contact. Now we are tracking relevant data giving us better insight into our B2B relationships, and delivering better service to our prospects and customers.
If you would like help with a transformation like this one please respond to this email or give us a call.
Good design is good business.
Not everything is a contact. Now we are tracking relevant data giving us better insight into our B2B relationships, and delivering better service to our prospects and customers.
If you would like help with a transformation like this one please respond to this email or give us a call.
Good design is good business.
