Your MSP business has to play “the long game” with many leads. Sometimes there’s no way you’re going to get a conversion otherwise. Customer relationship management (CRM) software helps you maintain consistency in outreach. You can refrain from incidentally sending the same message to prospective customers, or existing ones, you’re trying to upsell.
Bare Minimum Fields to Include in CRM
With lead management through CRM, there are quite a few fields you can use to organize contacts. Some are going to be more or less relevant to different businesses. Consider, at minimum, making the following CRM fields the norm for your lead profiles:
The Full Name of Your Contact and Their Company Name
Whoever your contact is, you want to be sure you have their complete name available. If you don’t have their complete name, at minimum, you want the name they go by publicly.
In addition to their name, you need the name of the company they work for. Sometimes they don’t have deciding power, sometimes they do; if all you have is a gatekeeper, at minimum, you can use this information to round out your profile on this business as a future customer.
Company Size, Location, Country, and/or State
Your MSP business marketing team should categorize lead profiles. One of the best ways to do that is in terms of company size and location. If they’re big and local, it makes more sense to prioritize their conversion than if they’re small and located in a foreign country.
The Source of The Lead, and Who Acquired It
Figure out where the lead came from. Sometimes someone in sales acquired it, sometimes you got lead information another way like through a leads list. If someone in your business sourced that lead, include such information on the CRM profile so you can pump them for information if necessary.
Phone Numbers and Email Addresses
You’ve got to call or message those making up CRM profiles. Phone numbers and email addresses should definitely be included on each digital dossier. Sometimes you’re dealing with a unique customer who has other contact needs. Faxes or addresses can also be important.
Getting More from Leads Through CRM Management
An MSP business properly utilizing CRM software will do well to fill out specific fields for each lead profile. These include the full name of a given contact, the name of their company, the size of their company, the country or state where said company is located, where the lead came from, who got the lead, and any relevant phone numbers, email addresses, or other pertinent info. CRM can work for you, but you’ve got to use it strategically. At minimum, consider these fields as you go about putting together your CRM software.
